Round 7 vs Columbus Crew

The two-time defending Supporter Shield winners bring the best all around brand
of MLS soccer to Seattle. Holding the best record in the MLS the last two years
means something special is going on. His name, Guillermo Barros Schelotto. He
’s probably the best complete player in MLS as well as biggest difference maker.
Columbus Crew’s march to 2008 MLS Cup Champions was led by Seattle’s own Sigi
Schmid, who considers Schelotto the most complete player he has coached. So thi
s is Sigi old vs Sigi new.
You can’t stop Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The smart choice is containing him a
nd limiting how he attacks you. Seattle’s defense is capable of that. A fun ma
tch-up to watch is Frankie Hejduk vs Steve Zakuani. It’s defense vs offense. H
ejduk, a former US National Team player goes forward often. That could force Za
kuani to play a deeper more defensive role. If our midfield can control possess
ion and tempo, that will limit Hejduk’s forward involvement and allow Zakuani to
support Seattle offensive threats. This becomes more important because of Sche
lotto. If Schelotto has a full arsenal of weapons at his disposal he will hit y
ou with something. If you limit his artillery of surrounding teammates joining
in attacks, then Sounders give themselves a chance.
This should prove one of the more fun matches to watch. Both teams build attack
s and play to score. Both are capable of sitting back and defending, but neithe
r coach plays that style. Both keepers will have to show up for work tonight.
36,000 fans have proved to be one of the best ways to bring the best out of a te
am.
Tonight, forget records and enjoy two teams that bring the best brand of America
n style of soccer to the MLS. Which is because these are two of the best Americ
an teams developed by one of the best American coaches, Sigi Schmid.
Post Match
Sounders FC 1 – Columbus Crew 1
Steve Zakuani burst out of the gate with Sounders FC’s fastest goal in minute 4.
The entire Sounders team seemed poised to join Zakuani, as practically every p
layer set up or took a shot at Columbus goal. Somehow, not even the kitchen sin
k found Columbus net. So all it took Columbus was a momentary Sounders snooze d
uring first half stoppage time that allowed an unmanned Steve Lenhart to head in
a well placed cross from Danny O’Rourke off the left-wing. Nothing remarkable
and easily defendable. That brief lapse is all that is needed against the Soun
ders. Until, the 2nd and 3rd goals become more frequent, that will continue to
be all that other teams need. Just that one blinking mistake.
Sounders looked more like a top rated soccer team. Eventually they will act lik
e one on the score sheet. The results will come. Many more draws will become
wins than losses for this club. The result wasn’t there, but the game was more
enjoyable than most in the league. Bias? Yes and no. I am biased. I have als
o watched a lot of other MLS. There is a lot more midfield defense than there i
s midfield build up and attack. in MLS. Many teams have gone with the trendy 4-
5-1 formation this year. Which in American soccer translates to more guys in t
he middle available to transition to defense. Colorado is using that formation
well. The sounders employed a 4-3-3. What made this formation work for the Sou
nders was how it allowed them to switch between patiently building an attack wit
h controlled passing, and firing the ball forward to chase down or create breaka
ways. It kept Columbus on their heels. You could tell they didn’t like it. Th
ey aren’t used to playing that much defense. But Columbus hung on. The really
good news for Sounders, if they play like that the rest of the season, they will
only find 3 or 4 teams who will hang on like Columbus. The Sounders test now i
s committing to that style. It seems to me they found an attacking formation, t
hat allowed them to keep their strong defensive shape and yet get forward quickl
y. Sometimes even using the fullbacks to bring them forward.
Committing to the 4-3-3 may be a good way to assert a unique style compared to
most American teams. It breaks down to a 4-2-1-3. It shows from the start, how
confident the Sounders are with their back 4. It also means when the Sounders
main attacking 3 or 4 get uncorked, they will be taking turns assisting and scor
ing 3 goals per game.
With LA Galaxy on the immediate horizon, I feel a sense of confidence working it
s way onto the club. Just in time to give the MLS top undefeated club a knock b
ack to reality.