A few weeks ago while watching the MLS Player Combine I was struck by a strange realization;
what happens in the Seattle Sounders FO is a spectator sport and that for me it is one of my
favorite aspects of the game.
The internet broadcasts for the Combine were sponsored by a video game called Football Manager
2012 by Sega.
When Sigi Schmid said Saturday, "there are a couple guys I'm concerned about a little bit that I
don't think came back as fit as I would have liked," some alarm bells went off in with in the
Seattle Sounders fanbase. The question asked concerned how the team needed to change training in
light of the CONCACAF Champions League series against Santos Laguna that starts a week and a half
prior to League play.
An undisclosed location in Kansas City. A temporary Sigi-bunker has been erected in an
underground location and is currently host to a predraft party. The computer monitors are flooded
with bright colors and visualizations mixing with a reel of Sounders highlights. My World by Iggy
Azalea is pumping through the speakers, continually being remixed over with bits of Justice and
LMFAO by the Sigibot who is serving as DJ for the night.
So Bob Bradley calls:
"Sigi, I was reading your blog and saw your thing, whatever that thing was on Run of Play, was
that even a thing? About being a woman without women, and I'm like really? You're such a
douche."
"Really? I just think they should write about women's soccer more. Some.
A former trialist, a former Uruguay World Cup national team player and a Generation Adidas #1
pick headline the strongest positional set of Seattle Sounder FC. Sigi uses these men to be the
playmakers on the outside, each in their own way. Two are used to chase long balls, only one is a
traditional crosser and all tuck into take shots.
Way back in September, Feedburner stopped working with RSS feeds over secure connections. This
meant that the vast majority of Fake Sigi followers stopped receiving updates. It turns out the
only way to get Feedburner to serve a secure RSS feed is to actually cancel that feed. That is what
I have done, and that is why several of you are now seeing a bunch of articles fill up your
aggregator.
After reviewing the losses I decided to lump the remaining defenders together. Seattle Sounders
FC returns two fullbacks, three centerbacks and Zach Scott man-marker. These ratings add clarity in
the various authors' opinions about why Seattle is reinventing it's fullback positions signing Adam
Johansson, pursuing Christian Sivebaek and possibly adding more wide defensive talent either
through a young international or draftee.
The Sigi-bunker is in a worse state of disrepair than usual. TV screens looking down from the
rafters flicker on and off. The screen showing a loop of Kasey Keller smashing into a goal post is
the only screen 100% functional.
A computer terminal shows the disfigured face of Bruce Arena in mid-edit in Final Cut.
With the announcement of the twelve players protected from selection in the Montreal Impact's
expansion draft there are a few players that could be labeled as "key" to the strong 2011 who were
left available for selection. The protected list is heavy on players up the spine was well as wide
midfielders but leaves three fullbacks available as neither of the left backs (Tyson Wahl or Leo
Gonzalez) nor iron man James Riley are protected.
Sources exclusive to Fake Sigi have revealed that the new Sounders jersey that was revealed
online yesterday will only be the first step in a radical new makeover of the team's look for 2012.
It is being said that, while not 100% final, Seattle players will wear clown makeup as part of
their third uniform for 2012.
Mauro Rosales 'Very Unlikely' To Play On Saturday
Mauro Rosales was healthy enough to run at practice on Thursday and was even able to do some
stuff with the ball, but coach Sigi Schmid made it pretty clear that a best-case scenario would
involve his midfielder making a substitution appearance on the return leg.
Playing for pride isn't a common thing for the Seattle Sounders, at least not because they have
been so damn good that the result bears little meaning. Lose and nothing really changes. With a
draw the Sounders win the group. With a win they may just knock out the reigning champs. This game
has a chance to get a little negative, because Monterrey's scenario is really simple, if they get a
point they advance.
At today's practice the number one topic was Kasey Keller. Nearly every interview of every
player mentioned him it's almost as if there's a game of bigger importance than a typical regular
season match this Saturday. The club is going to give the fans a massive amount of schwag,
including a pretty kick ass captain's armband which the assembled media got to see today.
The Philadelphia Union's good-to-bad defensive fluctuations have forced them to become an
Eastern Conference contender after an early season when they seemed to dominated the weaker side of
the bracket. With Faryd Mondragon maybe making a return the Seattle Sounders will get to discover
if it was his lack of experience or one of the most baffling trades in MLS this season that is the
fault for their weaknesses defensively.
Success! The Seattle Sounders defeated the Chicago Fire 2-0 to win the U.S. Open Cup for a third
straight year. I admit I had my moments of doubt. Their defense almost seemed prescient in their
ability to intercept passes and shots. Luckily, Fredy Montero scored the go-ahead goal just when I
was mentally preparing for a grueling overtime.
The word "treble" does not get mentioned very often in U.S. soccer circles. It's a term that
gets thrown around a bit in European soccer, especially with Porto (2010-11) and Inter Milan
(2009-10) accomplishing the feat in recent seasons, but it's something no MLS team has ever
accomplished and is therefore relegated to the fringes.
Union
The Union have not released updated injury information on Zac MacMath as of this morning.
Keon Daniel is listed as part of the T&T national team that underwent light training in Bermuda
yesterday.
Local lad and former Union trialist Jeremiah White is working out with the Montreal Impact as
they look to form a roster for their first season in MLS.
Soccer is a game of goals. Not necessarily pretty goals, not amazing feats of beating strong
defense, just goals. Saturday night as the Seattle Sounders beat the New England Revolution 2:1 the
goals made were all off of defensive errors. Diego Fagundez was unmarked on a corner leaving him
with just Kasey Keller to beat.
Their Words We have a talented player in this league, a player who's a good player, who fans want
to come and watch play, then we let thugs hit him and we don't protect him enough. I think that's
something that's got to happen with the referees. I'm very disappointed with the last two games.
Sounders coach Sigi Schmid, as quoted in The Seattle Times on the injury to midfielder Mauro
Rosales.
Mauro Rosales won't be getting an MRI until Monday, so how long he won't be in the lineup is
still up in the air. But what we do know is that he will not be playing Tuesday night against CS
Herediano. Doing a bit of research though, he was unlikely to start anyway. He had only started in
one of the previous CONCACAF Champions League matches.
Night. A futuristic car silently speeds down a deserted road in the countryside east of
Cleveland. Inside are Fake Sigi and Fake Adrian Hanauer. The car winds through valleys and farms
before finally entering an underground garage in the middle of the countryside.
FS and FA get out and walk into the new Sigi bunker.
Seattle 6 - Columbus 2 With Seattle coach Sigi Schmid stressing the importance of the MLS and Open
Cup schedule in fielding a weak lineup in Mexico, Columbus proved little problem for the Sounders
at CenturyLink Field. Seattle was already up four goals when Jeff Cunningham converted a penalty
kick in the 59th minute to become Major League Soccer's all-time leading scorer.
Lost in the announcement of the new SB Nation iPhone App, and the excitement that Adrian and
Mauro are talking extension was this post by jake. In it he talks a bit about one of the traits of
the Sounders identity - wide midfielders who are kind of like forwards.
If we ought to have learned one thing from watching the Sounders for 2.
Frontpaged because I (Dave) found this an intriguing conversation.
In fact, I'd argue that the Sounders' newfound ability to win ugly is
a hugely positive development.
Jeremiah wrote this in his post covering the highlights of last night's improbable CCL victory
in Monterrey.
Take a look at this photo (h/t @coulterchris) that recently appeared on SoundersFC.com. You'll
find 18 Seattle Sounders. You'll also notice some conspicuous absences. Among the players not in
this photo taken prior to Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League group stage match against Monterrey
are Fredy Montero, Kasey Keller, Mauro Rosales and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.
In amongst all the transfer chatter and trades around the league is a solid weekend of MLS
action where the Seattle Sounders will need to get a home win over Chivas USAif Sigi's club is to
remain in the hunt for the Supporters Shield. This midday match looks to have ideal footballing
weather with the Rave Green remaining in their own beds for a full week of preparation.
Sporting Kansas City entered the day on a high note and strong favorites. They'd never lost in
MLS at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. They had not lost in MLS play in their past 14 matches. As
happened to the Columbus Crew and Real Salt Lake, those streaks ended when Mauro Rosales and Lamar
Neagle continued the theme of grabbing points late with clutch goals.
Even prior to Seattle Sounders practice being opened up to media the emphasis was on defense.
There was a full team meeting that emphasized that it isn't an issue for just the backline, but for
everyone. Coach Sigi Schmid noted this as the first element from his post-practice conference;
We wanted them to look at the goals that we've taken.
The slide of the Houston Dynamo started shortly after they defeated the Seattle Sounders in that
two-leg MLS Cup Playoff match back in 2009. This season one of the most frustrating results of the
year was the draw at Qwest when Tally Hall stood on his head. Now when these two teams meet it will
be a defining moment for the Orange as they try to stay alive in the Playoff hunt, while Seattle
has the opportunity for its best July ever.
The Seattle Sounders went down to San Fransisco FC of Panama and surprisingly got a result that
would be somewhat expected based on the statistics of the matter. A one-nil loss on the road in the
CONCACAF Champions League is not an unusual result, even when the road team is "better." Home sides
in the CCL score about 2.
Hate to keep lingering on the Manchester United match, but this is a pretty great video that
includes audio from Arlo and Sigi. The difference in mood between the first and second halves are
predictably stark. Worth noting is Sigi's reaction at the end of the match, which is quite
literally a shoulder shrug.
The day after matches, we usually reserve for rational discussion. But because of the somewhat
crazy nature of Wednesday's 7-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United, I think I may have
over-compensated the day of. With so many people absolutely freaking out -- or at least a few
people doing so very loudly -- I didn't want to feed into that.
By J Hutcherson - WASHINGTON, DC (Jul 21, 2011) US Soccer Players -- Credit Sigi Schmid once again
for resisting the urge to talk like a coach. He was in charge of a squad that lost 7-0 before a
massive crowd, and he resisted any urge to go into teachable moment mode. Instead, he called it
like he saw it.
Sigi Schmid, often mentioned as a potential successor to current U.S. national team coach Bob
Bradley, has signed an extension that will keep him with the Seattle Sounders through the 2015
season.
Schmid -- the MLS career leader in both regular-season victories (he has a 148-107-82 record) and
postseason victories (19-10-5) -- has guided the Sounders to two U.
Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.
Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the
Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling
match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last
Sunday.
Not even an opponent scoring three goals can stop the red-hot Seattle Sounders these days.
Behind goals from Alvaro Fernandez, Roger Levesque, Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales, the
Sounders knocked off the defending champion Colorado Rapids 4-3 at home on Saturday in a thrilling
match. Seattle had to come back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits, just as they had against Portland last
Sunday.
The Timbers limped into the derby on a six match winless slide while the Sounders came in red hot
unbeaten in seven.
Portland's Strategy
For the second straight match, Kenny Cooper was left on the bench. John Spencer elected to play
4-1-4-1 to congest the midfield. Marcelin was brought on and played in a defensive midfield role
for Portland.
Today's practice was at the Starfire Stadium. While this might seem like it has to do with
facing the Portland Timbers and their smaller pitch, it actually had to do with the Sounders FC
Youth Cup tournament. Sigi Schmid had the team working on small field/small side drills focusing on
technical play, while a small group broke off to work on set-play service.
Fourth of July matches are often hidden and buried from our psyche. There is just so much other
stuff going on in the average American household. What shouldn't be forgotten is that the Seattle
Sounders had more chances in the first 30 and last 15 than the Los Angeles Galaxy did. While the
Galaxy controlled the 45 minutes within that period.
