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Sounders 2, Union 0: A Look Back

The Seattle Sounders got the 2010 MLS season off to a grand start on Thursday evening with a masterful performance in a 2-0 victory against the Philadelphia Union, and while the victory wasn't a surprising result, the match helped provide some early evidence of just what types of seasons each team may be in store for.

Here is my take on last night's match for Fox Soccer. Obviously, the Sounders victory needs to be put into some context considering the state of Philadelphia's team, but it was a comprehensive victory to build on, regardless of the opponent.

As for the Union? Philly fans shouldn't fret too much. No, the Union may not match Seattle's first-year success, but Peter Nowak has assembled a strong collection of young talent that could set up Philadelphia to be a league power for years once it matures. That maturity will come at the cost of some first-year pain.

What did you think of last night's match?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Of course it would be better for Seattle if Philly never saw the ball but I’m not sure how realistic that is.

    A lot of people have an obsession with time of possession, particularly fans in the US. I think it’s a holdover from the NFL. To me, when a team has the ball the priorities, in order,are to:

    -Score

    -Determine where the weaknesses are

    -Tire out the opposition

    If you don’t score then, to me, time of possession is pointless.

    I saw the game and it was clear to me that after the first 15- 20 minutes Seattle were never in any serious danger of losing or being tied. I don’t think it was an inability to retain possession so much as the Sounders didn’t seem to feel the

    need to retain possession.

    When you are the better team and you have the lead at home, while I don’t believe it letting up exactly, letting the other team have possession for periods of time is not exactly the end of the world. I think if it had gotten serious, Seattle could have taken the ball back and scored if necessary.

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  2. Hard to say. Everyone loves winners, and Philly fans are notorious for loving winners, but real Philly fans put more stock in effort. And I think this squad will provide that.

    There will be a drop in interest, but only from the “fans” who were only interested because it was new. Remember that the stadium in Chester only seats 18,000 which is half the size of the Seattle stadium. They’ll be able to fill that easily.

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  3. I don’t know that many teams in MLS would find a player like Jaqua “easily replaceable,” but based on the scouting and resources available to SSFC, I stand by the comment.

    I would agree that replacing him with another American player would not be easy.

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  4. I was frustrated by Jaqua’s lack of finishing on a lot of occasions. That being said, and aside from all of his goals and assists, Jaqua did tons of unsung work defending, holding up the ball to let the attack set up, and a lot of other things. I really think the FC Dallas game at the end of last season was Jaqua in a nutshell. He scored the first goal, had a few misses and miscues (but also played some beautiful passes to Montero, Zakuani, and others) and harried like crazy to win the ball in the attacking third to set up the second goal. Would I prefer a forward that can be more of a dominating physical presence? Sure. But to say he’s easily replaceable is completely laughable.

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  5. I wouldn’t read too much into this game. Philly had some decent possession for the first 10 minutes but it was wet and sloppy. It was not going to be a game where possession wins the match. Second, Seattle played a 4-5-1 and put 9 field players behind the ball. With the speed of Freddy M. and Steve Zackuani (sp?) and Freddy L’s ability to exploit space going forward I think Seattle will absorb attacks and counter. They are not going to possess and bread down another team’s defence.

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  6. I’m 50/50 on this one Stan. I like Jaqua’s production, but it really didn’t feel like he scored 9 goals last year. I feel like Jaqua’s style of play – a 6 foot 4 guy who isn’t a dominating physical presence – is frustrating and leads many fans to feel like he’s easily replaceable. To be completely honest, I’m one of those people.

    But right now, we don’t have the depth to survive without him for 6 weeks. I hope he gets healthy soon.

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  7. Not only is DomiNate more aggressive, he’s smarter, better looking, and more successful than you.

    Honestly Wilyboy, I am reading your comments on this mini-thread and I can’t make sense of them. The MLS version of the Sounders didn’t just build on the existing USL Sounders framework. It was a completely different group of owners, front office personnel, and coaches (save one or two assistants). The success came from owners who were willing to spend money, and institutional wisdom taken from the Seattle Seahawks front office and then adapted and improved upon for MLS.

    DomiNate is right about another thing. The guys on the SSFC roster who played for the USL Sounders are not starters. Those of you in Philly can watch Le Toux play this year, and you’ll realize very quickly that he isn’t an MLS-caliber player. The entirety of SSFC’s starting lineup last year was just as patchwork as that of Philly, Toronto, San Jose, and all the other expansion teams. SSFC just did a better job of finding talent (both young and experienced) to match their desired style of play.

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  8. Congrats. You’re a more aggressive commenter. Good luck, and enjoy the whatever it is that you feel like writing next.

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  9. philly had some nice runs and movement the first 10-15 minutes but really did fall apart after that. to say they controlled possession 60/40 is foolish.

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  10. Do you proof read the crap you write before you post it?

    Yes, I am arguing that Philly had the same chance to start well. They could have hired a better coach, they could have signed more foreign players, they could have signed a DP, and they could have signed MLS players that would make an immediate impact rather than focusing on further development.

    Are you really arguing that Philly didn’t have those options?

    Yes I am a Sounders fan, that’s not a secret. What does “your roots could use some discovering” mean?

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  11. It blows my mind how much people bag on Jaqua. Are you kidding, the guy did put in what 9 goals and 7 assists? The guy’s productivity speaks for itself. Tell you what, he might not be a best xi or anything like that, but he sure is missed by Seattle when he’s not on the pitch.

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  12. Question for Ives and Union fans.

    If the Philly team is built for the future, do you think they run the risk of losing support (or rather, not gaining any momentum) for soccer in that town. I mean if they finish in the bottom three, will people stay excited for soccer or will it end up being another struggle, with half the people turning out for games than they want?

    I just think in Seattle, they did such a great job putting together an exciting team that really helped bring the fans into the fold.

    I guess time will tell but Philly could use a good DP.

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  13. The Sounders success was indeed remarkable, and not many people saw it coming (I didn’t). And, indeed, the former Columbus coach did well bringing in Llundberg and Montero. But they alone would not have made the team a success.

    If you’re really arguing that Philly had the same starting circumstances as your (obvious) home team, your roots could use some discovering.

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  14. Seattle may have won the game but they have some issues to work out for sure. even a player up they never took control of the game and if Philly pulled a goal back the game was on. Philly was missing Fred and another player that could have solidified midfield moving forward and added some depth for sure. Seattle was missing Jaqua which probably helped them by having him off the pitch.

    Oh and the i feel the ref was bias towards Seattle….

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  15. With the exception of two or three minutes early on when Philly was banging the ball around pretty nicely, we dominated the first half before obviously letting our foot off the gas in the second 45, content to protect the lead. That’s fine with me. Was there a little sloppiness in the second half? Sure, but I rack that up to the saturated plastic, the unfamiliar opponent, the missing starters, and the fact that it was the first game of the season.

    In the first half the passing and ball movement looked light-years ahead of last season’s, and Montero and Zakuani both appeared to have made serious strides since autumn. I’m elated with the win.

    My main concern about the Sounders is the ridiculous burden of expectations. Here in Seattle there has been SO much talk about how the Sounders “have to” get to the Cup or the season will be considered a failure. We’re officially one game removed from being an expansion side, and all anyone can do is pick apart a 2-0 win in crap conditions. I’m worried about the atmosphere around the team should they hit a dry spell.

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  16. Philly was given the same shake as every other MLS expansion team. The people with “heads in their butts” are those who think Seattle got some kind of special treatment.

    Sounders took one player from each team, just like Philly.

    The Sounders healthy starting 11 has 0 USL players.

    It wasn’t easy for Seattle, but we had a great year anyway. You could have gone out and found foreign talent, but you didn’t. Don’t try to diminish our year because Philly decided to build for 2020 instead of 2010.

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  17. The sloppiness was largely displayed by the Sounders and yet both teams played in the wet conditions. It’s our turf, you’d think we would have the advantage.

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  18. I agree, philly had better possession to that point. Had the goalie provided a littel better effort on the first first goal, might have been a different game.

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  19. I wouldn’t put too much in the sloppiness of the play. It was a downpour on turf. That’s what happens. Toronto got the message. Take note Portland and Vancouver.

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  20. “Montero and Ljungberg wasted our time diving.”

    —-Sounders 2 PHI Union 0

    I Can’t wait to see Columbus waste your time

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  21. Geez, this is a one dimensional argument.

    Philly has had to put together a cohesive organization and an entire roster together from scratch. Same thing Toronto did, same thing San Jose did, same thing RSL did back when they were dreadful.

    It helps to have an organization that knows about success and a strong player pool who knows how to be competitive game in and game out. These are two completely separate objectives (hence the front office vs. the coach).

    Anyone who thinks this should be easy for Philly need to take their heads out of their butts.

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  22. Califf basically admitted as much in his postgame comments. Unlike some of the antisoccer fans on SBI today, he didn’t sound particularly surprised or upset that he got caught and carded.

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  23. I noticed that two and they were fluent enough to even get Orozco, the defensive midfielder, in on an early shot that stretched Keller a bit. As far as Seattle goes, I think this will be a good lineup to use:

    ——————–Fucito—Montero——————

    Zakuani——————Evans—————Ljungberg

    ————————-Alonso———————–

    Gonzalez——-Hurtado—Marshall——-Riley

    ———————Keller——————

    I did some research and I found that Fucito and Charlie Davies played alongside eachother as a forward pairing in High School and were one of the most deadly tandems in the country. He, like Charlie, did wrestling, and even did some hockey. Levesque was poor last night and I’d have to think that was about the only blunder on Seattle’s game apart from their inability to keep the ball all that well.

    As for Philadelphia, there were some positives. Le Toux and Torres looked pretty good out there, and Orozco wasn’t bad in a defensive midfield position, even forcing a stretch out of Keller in the early going. Other than that, not much going on to write home about. I’d say this lineup would do well for the Union:

    ———————Mwanga—-Moreno—————–

    Fred———————Le Toux—————-Torres

    ————————-Orozco———————–

    Harvey—————Stahl—-Califf————-Myrie

    ————————–Seitz———————–

    Philadelphia moved the ball pretty well last night, and I think that they’re just missing the movement and penetration in the final third. While they had plenty of build ups in the midfield, they ended by either meeting the Sounders’ defense, or in a shot from distance that hardly ever troubled the keeper.

    Something else I could see is Orozco being moved to right or left back with Miglioranzi coming off the bench into his place in midfield. Myrie and Harvey both had tough nights. They’re not the only ones though, and Orozco did have a bit of a tough time at outside back in Beijing, although that was against Olympics-worthy competition, not too many of which are in the MLS

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  24. How many goals did the Sounders score against an expansion team which was playing with 10 men after the red card in the 35th minute of play?

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  25. You gotta be kidding me. I have heard of lame excuses for sucking but that takes the cake. Do some research dude.

    Sounders had a great expansion year because we went out and found talent instead of relying on what MLS provided.

    Ljungberg, Keller, Hurtado, Montero, Leo Gonzalez. Any of them play for the USL Sounders?

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  26. Put me in the camp that says Philly looked good. A work in progress for sure, but that was a tough first game – in Seattle, but the acquitted themselves well. They had the majority of the possession in the first half and remained competitive after going down a man. I think they are going to have a decent season… maybe not Seattle good, but better than the average expansion team.

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  27. Ricardo Alonso? Try Osvaldo. And any other team could have had him. Seattle got choice of it’s USL guys but not all USL gusy. The rest of the league missed on Alonso.

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  28. My concern about the Sounders remains from last year – their inability to maintain possession. Despite the score line I thought the Union did a much better job stringing together passes.

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  29. If you don’t like players reacting to hard fouls you should never watch the sport of soccer…ever. And certainly don’t watch the World Cup this summer.

    Are you new to the sport?

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  30. Yeah, I can’t believe they went down when a Union player goes studs up into them from behind!!

    Good lord, Philly was lucky they didn’t get carded more. Pure thugs on the pitch, nothing more.

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  31. Who cares about the fouls.

    Philly played an attractive style of play, moving the ball through the middle; they were fun to watch till they got into seattle’s third of the pitch. That will come with time and when they get a marquee striker/midfielder (te ruego Santa DP, que nos salve).

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  32. True, Wilyboy. Also, I believe they got first rights to any player from USL whether they played on Seattle or any other team – hence the Alonso pickup. So, what they were given and what Toronto, Philadelphia, and San Jose were given were two completely different things. That being said, it seems like somebody from MLS would have recognized Ricardo Alonso’s talent a little sooner don’t you think? I’m not sure why the different expansion rules but Seattle were really gifted a great situation.

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  33. what game were you watching? philly had no possession. in fact, philly couldnt even trap the ball or pass. Philly looked as bad as the 99 metros

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  34. we actually have a few players in the MF with that type of composure on the US squad, Torres, Holden, fielhaber, …the unfortunate situation with the US team is that our build-up is not through the middle as is the Union’s. Its up and down our flanks during the counter and long ball. Torres was on the flank but he would opt not to go up the flank but combine with orozco or switch the point of the attack. Thats not BOb’s bag. (shrug)

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  35. In truth, Seattle Sounders wasn’t a made from scratch team. They had been USL champions for two straight seasons, and had generous fan support.

    San Jose, Toronto, and Philly have a long way to go, but RSL at least gives them hope for future seasons.

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  36. Is Sigi shooting for the title of world’s biggest gut? It’s like his doctor recommended 50 daily jumping jacks and he interpreted that advice as 50 daily Jumbo Jacks.

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  37. That knee into the back was more than blatant. No doubt about it that it deserved a yellow. Can’t be helped that Stahl already had a yellow, and so he rightfully gets kicked off the pitch. Philly came out of the gates with an obvious intent to “intimidate.” Unfortunately for them, the ref was paying attention, and they had no idea how to intimidate without obvious thuggery.

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  38. Yes, it only deserves a foul. We see plenty of questionable challenges in the EPL and SPL and I wouldn’t consider their brand as ugly soccer. The ugly soccer comes in when players try to fool the referee with diving and embellishment.

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  39. It’s also completely ridiculous that you don’t get automatically forwarded to the new site when trying to hit MLSnet.com. That’s bound to confuse a lot of people. It’s a simple thing to remedy, but apparently no one over there even thought of it.

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