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Sounders gears up to face Manchester United

Macheda - Reuters

By CALEB SONNELAND

An expected sell-out crowd of around 65,000 will watch on intently as the Seattle Sounders play host to the current English Premier League champions, Manchester United, on Wednesday night.

Riding a good run of form, Seattle is eager to make the most of the marquee match-up.

"Every player in the back of the minds, whether they want to say it or not, hopes that this is their breakthrough game," said head coach Sigi Schmid.

Rookie midfielder Servando Carrasco was quick to echo his coach's words. 

"If we get a chance to step onto the field, we're going to play our hearts out," Carrasco said. "To be able to compare yourself with the best players in the world is a great opportunity for us all."

Whether or not Carrasco makes an appearance in tomorrow's friendly is yet to be known, however, Schmid could welcome back a familiar face to his team on Wednesday.

With striker O'Brian White nearing match fitness, there remains a good chance that the Jamaican could play a part in the match. 

"They've been monitoring everything I do.  It's not like I'm coming back in rushed time," White said. "The doctor says everything is good. I think it's time and I feel good."

White has been out with a blood clot injury since April but has been training fully with the squad, waiting for Schmid to slip him into action.

With Seattle on an undefeated run since late May (0-1 loss to Dallas), the hosts face one of the toughest oppositions on the planet in Manchester United. 

Sir Alex Ferguson held little back in selecting his squad to bring on his preseason tour of the United States. Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs, Dimitar Berbatov and new boy Ashley Young are just a few of the faces headlining the roster for the Red Devils.

Having topped the New England Revolution 4-1 last Wednesday, United will provide the Sounders with a great chance to showcase the sport in the national spotlight.

The ball gets rolling tomorrow night at 10pm ET, and both teams will be looking to making a statement in this big friendly match-up.

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What will the outcome of the match be?  Think White will get any playing time?  Who will be the player to watch tomorrow?

Comments

  1. Wow, I may be naive, but at least I didn’t completely misunderstand someone else’s post with my smug reply. I didn’t ask about how to get more European teams to come here. I asked about whether doing so in situations where we’re not putting our best players up against them is damaging the league’s reputation outside the U.S.?

    I think last night’s 7-0 victory by Man U makes it a reasonable question.

    Reply
  2. You are naive 🙂

    I think if a team is looking to recruit a player out of MLS they aren’t going to base it on the performance of the MLS in pre-season friendlies against the giants of football. The best also-rans in La Liga cannot compete against Real Madrid. The vast majority of the the EPL cannot compete against Manu. Why would a team from a league with maybe 1/10th of the salaries of a Manu be able to complete?

    There is some prestige in being a feeder to league to the larger leagues in Europe. But IMO because of the geographic disadvantage of being located in the U.S. the MLS is primarily concerned with putting a product on the field that will attract fans of it’s own league. Devoloping a fan base if far more important than attracting teams from Europe to come and take its best players.

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  3. Call me naive, but I really think these friendlies are a missed opportunity for MLS. I think that the lopsided score lines such as were seen in the Revs game hurt the league’s reputation abroad. It would be great if MLS developed (earned) a reputation for being a place where big European clubs faced a very stiff challenge in their pre-season friendlies.

    I can see where the incentive for an MLS coach would be to rest certain players, and get playing time for certain others, with the priority being getting points in the league, so it doesn’t necessarily make sense for them to field their strongest squad. Is there anything the league could or should do, though, to create incentives, or at least remove disincentives, from MLS teams fielding B teams in these matches?

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  4. Who is making that argument other than you? The Sounders trail the Galaxy – a team they haven’t beaten this year – and have played one more game. The Sounders are NOT arguably the best team in MLS. Be serious.

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  5. Fantastic that your kid is into football and you’re driving 5 hours to watch but please drive him away from proverbial Man United bandwagon.

    It’s what responsible fathers are supposed to do for their children. He’s better than that. =P

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  6. Well said, “no.” Not too concerned with what White did before he got to the Sounders, he was playing well for us before his injury.

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  7. I’m driving 5 hours to Seattle with my kids tomorrow to watch the game. Manchester is my son’s favorite team so it should be a good time.

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  8. its on FSC. I am not a sounders fan, but looking forward to seeing a partisan crowd in a full stadium that is actually rooting for the hope team. Go Seattle.

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  9. he is better than roger. he was just starting to find his form when he got the injury. he can play a good hold up role, distribute to fredy, alvaro and rosales and be on the receiving end of balls into the box. levesque is not an mls starter, even though he is playing out of his mind at the moment.

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  10. I have no idea why there’s so much talk about White playing. Before the operation he was quite ordinary. Sounders have at least four better attackers than him.
    Perhaps he is a feel good story, but don’t expect much quality, there never was much to start with.

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  11. yes I get it, and from reading previous comments i doubt he’s going to score once but to say he’s going to score 3 times against Man-U is ridiculous.

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  12. He wasn’t with the team when the tour started, but reports regarding their roster indicate that he will join the team somewhere along the tour – though not sure where.

    Reply

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