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Report: Sounders set to part ways with Johansson

Adam Johansson

Photo by ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

Adam Johansson is reportedly in the final hours of his time as a member of the Seattle Sounders.

Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said after Tuesday practice that Johansson is going to be waived in a move that could be made official as soon as Wednesday, according to the Seattle Times. Schmid said the main reasons for Johansson’s departure from Seattle are the Swedish defender’s desire for consistent playing time ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the club wanting to clear up cap space.

“Johansson’s is a situation where we’re going to part ways,” Schmid said. “It’s really a salary cap situation primarily. Also with the trade for Shalrie Joseph, and we know that Brad Evans has played some at right back, so that’s a consideration that we have moving forward — that Brad would go back there.

“It’s very important for Adam’s career for him to have regular first-team minutes, because he’s on the Swedish national team. And with Brad maybe dropping to right back, (DeAndre Yedlin‘s) development, that might not have made that an all regular basis for him. The main issue is just salary cap and to make things work at the end of the day.”

The 30-year-old Johansson, who joined the Sounders prior to the 2012 season, has yet to play a game for Seattle this year due to a knee injury. He started all of the 21 regular season matches he played in during the last campaign and had two assists.

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What do you think of the Sounders reportedly waiving Johansson? Should your MLS team pick him up? Which club would he fit in best with?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I dont want to be a hater or cock blocker but seattle needs a new coach aka manager. Seattle wont win mls cup, they will get back from santos torreon crying and open cup is getting tougher every year. Seattle needs new coach blood, joseph and rosales will be out for sure this year after this season. As for mls,their salary cap sucks and free agency as well and chivas usa new coach chelis said, mls teams suck, mls team doctors are too baby because they hold back players,every team plays the same wsy without tactics or skillful players and he said mls needs a higher salary cap and more team control because it feels like a second division, in which he said he knows how to win with low money budgets and heart. He said he study the league even before he came and galaxy is the only team that scares him due to being daddys team

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  2. Personally, I think this is a positive story for MLS. A guy who is in the mix to make Sweden’s World Cup team loses his spot to a 19 year-old American who was developed in his club’s academy. And it’s not all based on the injury. If Yedlin had not been good, Seattle would wait for Johanssen to get back. Plus, if Johannsen doesn’t think he’s going to get first team minutes when he returns, chances are good that the Sounders think Yedlin’s good enough to keep the spot.

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  3. I think the salary cap critcism is technically correct but somewhat unrealistic at this point. Yes, it would be better for Seattle to keep another quality right back to build depth in its squad. This is often a big issue in CONCACAF Champions League games, where Mexican teams have a few more options as far as resting players or covering for injuries than MLS teams. But at this point, MLS can’t drop cash for reserve right backs. It’s just reality. Here, you have a player who won’t be getting the first team minutes he wants. He makes what for MLS is a significant salary. So he’s surplus right now (and possibly disgruntled).

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    • +1. This was my point exactly and I know it is unrealistic. But until MLS recognizes this flaw, our league would have a difficult time competing with other leagues due to lack of depth. Perfect example was the 2nd leg of the Sounders-Tigres tie at CONCACAF CL. Yes, the Sounders won but this was against a B team, with Bornstein being their top player for that game no less!

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  4. Please don’t burn out Yedlin now, still only 19 playing him game in and game out will lead to injuries. Was never a huge Johannson fan but this is a odd move, dont have a ton of great RB options

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    • Brad Evans will be playing a lot of right back. Sigi even mentioned him in his comments about letting AJ go. The Sounders will be fine.

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  5. That’s a lot of salary considerations with reference to the Joseph situation it seems lately. He seems to be very costly to the Sounders salary cap…

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    • Yea and I can’t honestly see him making this team that much better. Alonso is better at winning the ball back and Rosales leads the attack. Seattle goes through foreign signings like Starbucks latte’s and that includes DP’s. O Martins has to see that history and know he’d better start putting in goals or he won’t last.

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      • I agree and this is what I mean. I am not saying that Johansson is great but look at Seattle’s track record of signings who come and go: Nkufo, Tiffert and Montero. I do hope that Martins succeed for MLS’ sake.

  6. How many times have we heard players being released for salary cap reasons? MLS would never be an elite league because it cannot keep players that give it credibility. Europeans who try their luck here are given such a short leash to produce. The league does not give them enough time to adjust to the playing style do it becomes a revolving door. Until the league keeps players who can elevate the status of the league because of salary cap issues, then its development would be stunted.

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    • Really? MLS needs players like Johansson in order to be credible? If he were performing well he’d have regular playing time and the Sounders would feel that he was worth the salary cap hit. Obviously that is not the case.

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      • He is not playing because he got injured. He is currently a mainstay for the Swedish National Team so he must be at least competent. Fiinally, let’s be realistic here; other than an occasional big name signing like Henry or Beckham, players who the MLS caters to everyday players who can hack it in Europe but would not command a multimillion contract like Messi or Ronaldo.

      • You are talking like somebody who didn’t watch the Sounders last year. This guy wasn’t very good. And that nobody wants to buy him at the moment seems to confirm that he has little value.

      • I am not saying that he is great. What I am saying is that he was at the very least a serviceable defender and could have added depth to the roster. And he was praised by the Sounders coaching staff for his play so I don’t know what you mean by he is not very good.

      • Serviceable and depth – yes, yes indeed…but at what price? MLS has a salary cap which makes its dollars that much more expensive. How much of those very expensive dollars do you want your team to burn on a serviceable guy for depth? Trust me, coming from a DC fan…you don’t want that for your team.

        Or are you suggesting that the league spend more money on guys like this? I am all for increasing the cap but for value – and yes this guy is a Nat and is quite possibly a very good player but there is no perceived value for his services in the league right now. Seems like a prudent business decision to me.

      • And there is the point “serviceable defender”, why would you pay more for a over 30 player for that type of role when you can fill it with a young American or someone from Central America for less. We should be trying to put more home grown players in those spots then players on the down side of their careers.

    • Nonsense. This is a club that just paid millions for Martins.

      This wouldn’t be a salary issue if he was a quality starter. He is a bench/squad player now because he got beat out by Yedlin.

      MLS doesn’t pay bit players $183k and that is why he is gone.

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      • He is a quality started but lost his starting position due to injury. I don’t agree with you that he is a bench player. He became “expendable” because of Yedlin’s strong play. My point is that he was let go because he is earning a “big salary” of 183K. This is why MLS teams do not have depth in their squads. And yes, they would be paying Martins millions but look what happened to Tiffert and Nkufo, not to mention Montero.

      • Johansson is a 30 year old defender who never played outside Sweden before he came to Seattle. Totally expendable and not worth all this discussion.

    • Nonsense. Teams like Barcelona or ManU sell players b/c of their overall budget and desire to free up cash.

      As for the argument that Euro players are on a short leash–hardly. In a top league in Europe, a coach that loses 3 or 4 matches is getting death threats and is likely fired (unless they’re a bottom-feeder expected for relegation when the season starts). Players with pedigree or big transfer fees are expected to do great things and quickly have the fans turn on them if they aren’t immense in their impact.

      I actually think MLS has a very long leash. And that’s one of the things holding it back from being “elite.” There isn’t more pressure to win every possession, finish every chance, win every game, grab every point.

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      • “Nonsense. Teams like Barcelona or ManU sell players b/c of their overall budget and desire to free up cash.”

        So, why wasn’t he sold?

      • Probably because no one was buying. I am quite sure that teams would rather sell than take a hit with cutting a player (not sure a hit is involved in this particular transaction) but if there are no buyers and you need cap relief – you gotta do what you gotta do.

      • Foreigners who recently played in MLS but who I feel were not given enough time to adapt to the league: Tifferrt, Wilhelmsson, Nkufo, Robson, Songo’o, Boskovic, Geovanni, Solli, to name a few. Again, let me be clear: these are not the who’ s who of the beautiful game but we should be realistic that the MLS would not be able to attract the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Falcao or Neymar. At least, we should try to hold on to some talented players who end up being let go because of salary cap issues.

      • You are right. I should have mentioned that but before he left, his opportunities were limited until DeRo got hurt.

      • Most of those guys are on the wrong side of 30. No point in investing in guys that old. Either they adapt or they don’t.

    • Am I on earth?

      How can someone be a ‘serviceable starter’ or ‘quality starter’ if they are on a team where they do not start? and the person who picks the lineup has stated they will not start?

      How does it make MLS more credible to be able to over pay foreign players to sit on the bench?

      If anything its a sign of a healthy league . . . a young american is doing his job with more potential going forward for a fraction of the cap hit

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