Sigi Schmid Tired of Viewing Same Old Movie

After a frustrating 1-0 loss at home to the vastly improved San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC Coach Sigi Schmid showed creative aptitude in constructing a movie analogy. Schmid saw the loss as a case of playing with motivation through a large part of a match but losing concentration over the short haul with the result being a loss. “You close your eyes for part of a film and you lose its entire thread,” Schmid said. He zeroed in on the fact that the Sounders looked flat, listless, and lacked crispness as well as concentration early in the match, which saw the team lose twice in a row at the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field before the home faithful for the only time in the team’s history. “We played poorly in the first 10 minutes,” Schmid said, “and then we rebounded.  The fact we rebounded did not enable us to win and that’s what counts.” In addition to allowing the visitors from Northern California to score in the 11th minute on the game’s only score with a Chris Wondolowski left-footer, there was other evidence Schmid cited of poor concentration in other phases of play. One point he made was the tendency of his players to spend ...

San Jose Earthquake Defense Bends But Does Not Break, Seattle Sounders Edged 1-0

The San Jose Earthquakes have improved mightily this season through outstanding defense.  Today on the Xbox pitch of Qwest Field before 35,953 onlookers, the visitors scored once early in the contest and made the goal stand up for a 1-0 win over Seattle Sounders FC. The San Jose improvement has been meteoric.  Last season the defense was porous as the Northern California team yielded an MLS high of 50 goals.  With today’s victory San Jose sits in second place in the Western Conference behind only the high flying L.A. Galaxy. The San Jose surge has resulted in four straight triumphs, all via the shutout route.  The loss marked the only time that the Sounders have dropped two straight contests at home.  They remain winless this season against Western opponents going into their next league competition next Saturday at Colorado. The win put the Earthquakes at 5-2-1 with 16 points.  The loss moved the Sounders under the five hundred mark to 3-4-3 and 12 points. Chris Wondolowski came into the action as San Jose’s hot point producer with four goals.  In the 11th minute Bobby Convey served a ball headed by Brandon McDonald and Bobby Burling that reached Wondolowski.  His left-footed boot rolled just inside ...

Frank Yallop’s Coaching Has San Jose Earthquakes Vastly Improved

Last season the San Jose Earthquakes had the dubious distinction of giving up a league high 50 goals. The improvement has been so vast that San Jose visits Seattle for a Sunday match against the Sounders in a four way tie for second in the MLS West with 13 points. Credit much of this surge to the coaching of Frank Yallop. As a player he performed 52 times for the Canadian National Team. As a coach prior to assuming the reins of expansionist San Jose last year he had stints coaching the Canadian National Team from 2004-06 and the Los Angeles Galaxy from 2006-07. Begin Slideshow

Seattle Sounders FC To Face Central American Team in CONCACAF Champions League

With the Seattle Sounders FC already playing two attractive friendlies with Boca Juniors and Celtic visiting the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field, there is more of the same type of international activity slated to begin at the end of July. The Sounders will face a yet-to-be-determined Central American team in the Preliminary Round of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. The pairings were determined by a draw held Wednesday at the CONCACAF offices in New York. The first leg of the Preliminary Round will be July 27-29 with the second leg a week later. The winners advance to the six-round Group Stage, which will begin August 17-19. Sounders FC will play its home match on the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field. Competition dates and ticket information will be announced soon. "Champions League is the most important tournament in our region," said General Manager Adrian Hanauer. "As we assessed opportunities to make this a prominent event, Qwest Field became the logical choice." Winners of the Preliminary Round series will advance to the Group Stage, which begins August 17-19. If Sounders FC advances to the Group Stage, it would join Monterrey (Mexico), Saprissa (Costa Rica) and either Tauro (Panama) or Marathon (Honduras) in Group C. Seattle earned a berth ...

Mr. Excitement Fredy Montero Strikes for Seattle Sounders

The Seattle Sounders FC did not wish to offend.  They wanted, though, to be very offensive. With goals in short supply, the emphasis in practice this week was penetrating the net of the Eastern Conference’s leading team, the New York Red Bulls.  The Red Bulls had yet to taste defeat since moving to their new stadium this season in Harrison, New Jersey. The issue for coach Sigi Schmid’s Seattle team became increasingly critical after last week’s match against the Western Conference’s pacesetters, the Los Angeles Galaxy.  The 4-0 blanking prompted an embarrassed Sounders management to issue a refund to season ticket holders. Those fans were provided with a credit applicable for one game in a 2011 season package, costing the club an estimated $1 million. If there was one Sounders player who felt more embarrassed than anyone in the team’s worst ever home loss last week, it figured to be forward Fredy Montero.  He was pulled from the contest at the 58 minute mark and replaced with 18-year-old recent Colombian signee Miguel Montano and watched most of this contest from the sideline. It was a moment presaging high drama as Mr. Excitement Montero, a high impact forward with an aggressive attacking style, was inserted into ...

Seattle Sounders Turn Hounds Loose Against Columbus Crew

In competitive athletics a phrase can be worth a thousand words in defining motivation.  This was the case leading up to Seattle Sounders FC’s important match with tough rival Columbus Crew last night. The result was a 1-1 tie between two strong and well-coached rivals, but once again the Sounders came away from a match with a strong feeling that they should have won. Coach Sigi Schmid recognized the importance of a speedy attack strategy in facing one of the MLS’s premier teams, and the operative phrase preceding the contest was that of intending to “turn loose the hounds” in the pursuit of goals and victory. The team strategy involved a tactical switch in the starting lineup.  Veteran Freddie Ljungberg was positioned in the middle of the midfield scheme of a 4-3-3 deployment. Before the match Schmid, whose last coaching stop before Seattle was Columbus, remarked, “It’s tougher to lose to your friends.  If you lose you never hear the end of it.” The Sounders have been plagued this season by having victory chances stymied by late goals, particularly in stoppage time, which to Seattle fans has loomed like a voodoo hex. With that thought in mind it was realized that a sound strategy for the ...

Seattle Sounders Sign Forward Miguel Montaño

One day following the announcement of the trading of midfielder Stephen King to DC United a new deal was announced, the signing of Colombian forward Miguel Montaño.  As per Major League Soccer and Sounders FC policy, terms were not disclosed. With the receipt of his P-1 work permit and international clearance, Montaño was added to the official roster and is eligible to play. He had been training with the Sounders since March 17. Montaño, 18, most recently played for Quilmes Atletico Club in the Quintata, the fifth tier of the Argentine development structure. He scored 13 goals in 19 games last season. In 2008, Montaño scored 18 goals in 24 games for the reserve team of Colombia's Envigado FC. Just prior to being signed by the Sounders, the 5'11", 150 pound forward made his first international appearance for the Colombia under-20 National Team. Montaño is a Colombian citizen who makes his home in Palmira, Colombia. "Montaño is an exciting, young attacking player with a big upside," Sounders Coach Sigi Schmid said. "He has pace and is two-footed. We look forward to his stay with Sounders FC."Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Stephen King Traded by Seattle Sounders to D.C. United

Seattle Sounders FC announced today that midfielder Stephen King has been traded to D.C. United in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2011 MLS Super Draft. King is in his third MLS season. This was his second campaign with the Sounders. He made 10 appearances, including three starts, in 2009. King also started five U.S. Open Cup matches, scoring three goals, including two-game winners. He added one assist. The 24-year-old midfielder, who has not appeared in a match this season, made eight starts and a total of 20 appearances for the Chicago Fire as a rookie in 2008. He was chosen by Seattle in the 2008 expansion draft. “Stephen is a wonderful guy and we want to thank him for his contributions,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “We wish him all the best.” The high point of King’s Seattle career was scoring two game-winning goals in U.S. Open Cup play, including in the semifinal against Houston. King had an impressive collegiate career at the University of Maryland. He led the Terrapins to the 2005 NCAA championship, scoring 15 goals. King was a two-time Hermann Trophy semifinalist.Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Seattle Sounders Setting Standard for 2010 MLS Attendance

Major League Soccer has long recognized the interest and value of the impressive fan base of the Seattle Sounders FC, and the enthusiasm with which locals fill the Xbox Pitch at Qwest Field and root on the home team. Based on current MLS attendance figures, the Sounders on three home dates have averaged an impressive 36,077, drawing a total of 108,231 thus far in the 2010 campaign. Philadelphia Union was next with 34,870, based on one appearance.  It should also be noted that Philadelphia will be switching venues in late June when their soccer specific PPL Park is slated to open.  PPL Park will hold a capacity of around 18,500, according to Jonathon Feyerherm of The 90th Minute Soccer Blog. Los Angeles Galaxy, while not at the level of support the team enjoyed when David Beckham was healthy, has drawn a solid 61,525 over three appearances, for an average of 20,508. Toronto FC continues to draw solidly.  In two appearances, the Canadian club has played to 40,372 patrons, for an average of 20,186 per contest. Real Salt Lake and D.C. United have averaged close to 20,000 fans per game.  The Utah club played to a throng of 19,970 in its sole home appearance this season.  ...

Seattle Sounders Seek to “Close the Deal”

In sales parlance, one of the key phrases throughout the years has been to “close the deal.” One of the key indicators that separates a poor (or average) sales representative and a stellar one lies in that important closing sequence, when a prospective buyer will say no and walk away or voice acceptance.  Often the narrowest of circumstances make the difference. The Seattle Sounders can relate to the “close the deal” slogan with so many MLS contests this season. Following solid efforts, Sigi Schmid’s team has endured many ties when victories were at hand, or have seen a win or draw dissipate and defeat result. The 2010 Sounders season got off on a positive note with an opening 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Union before the home patrons.  Seattle had been favored and secured a shutout for good measure. One week later, on April 3, a game with negative future repercussions saw the Sounders fall to the New York Red Bulls 1-0.  A decided underdog, the Red Bulls registered the match’s only score in the 21st minute via a Macoumba Kandji kick. The nagging factor, and something that would plague the Sounders in matches to come, lay in missed opportunities.  For instance, ask any ...