Professional soccer has come to Seattle. It's been a beautiful experience to watch the team, management and fan base establish itself. I can't think of a better roll out to a professional sports team. There was a build up, a successful launch and an inaugural season that couldn't have been much better.

It all starts with the ownership group, management, staff, coaches and the alliance. From the beginning, a strong Sounders foundation was laid with the new business structure. Sounders FC is a Democracy in Sports, giving the teams supporters a voice. Each season ticket holder can vote on the direction of the franchise, including the fate of the general manager. That ownership by fans will be crucial to its' success and I think will become a new business model for professional sports. I could go in-depth into my understanding of their business model, but that's not what this post is about. I would however recommend that you do some investigating. To learn more about how Seattle Sounders FC's Official Members Association is structured, click HERE.

I was impressed that the Sounders built the brand without a head couch, team or star player in the first year. Instead they marketed a community built around a sport using a scarf. Would have been fun to be in the room for that pitch. Yep, we're going to launch your marketing and brand using a scarf! But the idea and execution was brilliant. It worked and now every MLS team is selling scarfs.

Loyal, passionate fans are one of the keys to continued success for a professional sports team, regardless of whether the team wins or loses. The Sounders have five official support groups: Emerald City Supporters, Immortal Fury, Gorilla FC, Legion of Xtreme Soccer Fans and the North End Supporters. These support groups have created sub-communities based around the team, making the Sounders about more than just a game. They need to continue to grow the support groups. It's also impressive to note that out of 36,000 available seats, 30,000 are season ticket holders. That's a lot of sales revenue up front at the beginning of a season and a good way to measure fan base/loyalty.

The Sounders understand that the sport and community comes first. That giving back to the surrounding Seattle area through soccer academies, regional training centers, clinics, and camps help grow the sport. For soccer to be successful in the United States, the number of people who play and understand the sport has to grow. We are lucky to have such a knowledgeable and smart management team who understand both sport and business in Joe Roth, Adrian Hanauer, Drew Carey and Chris Henderson. Theres more to the dream team, but thats the core. Then you have to look at the coaching staff, we're also lucky to have Sigi Schmid and Brain Schmetzer.

The Sounders have the potential to become the largest market for soccer in the United States and the flagship organization of the MLS. They got off to the perfect start last season by putting a very competitive team on the field, winning and reaching the playoffs in their first season. But for Sounders to become a premier team and organization they have to win consistently and be in the playoffs every year.

I have to mention that I love the style of soccer the Sounders play. They posses the ball, passing it around and work the entire field instead of playing "boom ball" or kick and run. The defense is our strength with Riley, Hurtado, Marshall, and Gonzalez. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado is a bull in the center, shutting strikers down. Tyrone Marshall has passion, emotional toughness and seems to be the more vocal leader. Then on the wings, you have to love James Riley and Leonardo Gonzalez, probably the two best outside defensive players in the MLS. Not only do they shut people down, they are great at bringing the ball up and playing offense. The Sounders also have good depth with Patrick Ianni coming off the bench. He could start on any other team. The defense is so good I think the rest of the team takes it for granted, slacking off in the midfield and forward positions.

Then there is Osvaldo Alonso holding it down as our defensive central midfielder. Without his effort in midfield stealing the ball, I doubt our mids would ever win the ball. He shuts people down and works extremely hard. Hopefully he can stay healthy and keep those quads loose. Next on my list of praise is Peter Vagenas. He has come out this season and been the best distributor of the ball. He settles play down, when the ball is at his feet you know he'll make the best decision and start an offensive attack. To me, the players I just listed are the best and most consistent on our team. The rest have an up side, but have elements of their game they must work on for the Sounders to be more successful.

Steve Zakuani has been a great attacking winger that opponents have to account for. His speed and ability to dribble the ball down the wing, into the penalty box is something every team yearns for. Zakuani is one of our few players who can take defenders on one-on-one and beat them. Unfortunately he doesn't play much defense. He'll jog back and play zone, but rarely wins the ball back. He leans too heavily on Leo and the rest of the defense and needs to help out more, both winning the ball back in the midfield and putting pressure on opposing defenses to force errors. He has so much skill and just needs to put forth better effort. He's a good passer but needs to become a more consistent finisher.

Let's talk about Brad Evans, you gotta love this guy, he is the definition of team player. Whatever Sigi asks of him, he does. He's played defense, midfield and lately forward. He gives great effort and has an impressive soccer intellect. He makes great runs off the ball, into space, as well as shows for the ball well from a forward position. I think he plays best as a midfielder, distributing the ball. He has great passing ability, good crosses and sees the field well. If utilized right I think he could be an assist leader for the team. He's also one of the few members of the team that wins 50/50 balls. Alas, he's not a natural goal scorer, as the coaches have been putting pressure on him to be. Evans will get goals off of his effort, cleaning up on deflections and crashing the goal. Brad needs to be in the game, the Sounders just need to find a more consistent role for him to play. He does lose the ball from time to time and isn't the most skilled, but his consistent effort inspires the rest of the team.

I'm also a fan of Sanna Nyassi, for similar reasons I'm a fan of Brad Evans, he puts in a good effort. He may lose the ball, but he'll win it back. He may be smaller than other players, but he'll sacrifice his body and he's fast. He could be as dangerous as Zakuani with a little better dribbling to beat defenders and ball handling skills to settle the ball. It's hard to find him playing time, but until other players with more skill start putting out more effort, I think he deserves a few starts and definitely should come off the bench consistently.

So far it sounds as if I like the whole team, which I mostly do, but the next two players frustrate the hell out of me. Yep, Fredy and Freddie are probably the two most skilled and gifted players on the Sounders team, but are also the issue keeping the Sounders from being a great team. Let's start with our Euro star, Freddie Ljungberg.

At first Ljungberg was my favorite player on the Sounders. This lasted 3/4's of last season, until I noticed a negative trend in his mind set. The press and attention started to make him feel like he should get more "star" calls. He began playing with less effort, passion and energy and started just putting effort in when the ball is passed to his feet. He no longer seems to make runs, play defense or stay on his feet. At the slightest bit of contact he takes a dive, then complains most of the game about not getting calls. Rarely does he win a 50/50 ball, doesn't win the ball in midfield nor puts adequate pressure on opposing defenses to force errors. It's frustrating to see a player with so much talent, waste it due to poor mental focus. I'd like to see more effort, him stay on his feet fighting through contact and more leadership through his actions. Mostly, I'd like to see him shut and play the game.

Freddie is not a great goal scorer, he's a good attacking midfielder, similar to Zakuani. He can press and create quick counter attacks. He is a good passer and takes free kicks well. He too should be one of the teams assist leaders. He needs to come back to the ball better, becoming a one-two punch with Peter Vagenas. Ljunberg has found good chemistry with Zakuani but in his second year needs to get on the same page with other midfielders and forwards. For being the third highest paid player in the MLS, he needs to do more.

The same affliction seems to have found Fredy Montero. Another skilled player who stopped playing the game, except for when the ball is played to his feet on offense. He's lazy. Once again, the early attention seemed to get to him. Fredy needs to find his motivation again. I think it would be wise for Sigi to keep him coming in off the bench, like he did in the game against the Red Bulls, until Montero plays hard consistently, where it becomes habit. We need him to get back to his scoring ways. We need the offense to start closing the deal, connecting the dots.

The biggest difference I see from the play last year to this year is the pressure and effort our midfielders and forwards put on opposing teams. Last year the Sounders swarmed opposing players, not giving them room to breath and forced a ton of turnovers. They might not always get the ball, but they forced errant kicks, traps and passes. They forced mistakes up higher on the field. This year the team seems to sit back and wait for our defense to win the ball back before pushing forward again.

I love the Sounders and look forward to every game more than any other team I've ever cheered for. They are extremely close to being a great team, they just need to fix a few things. A few more suggestions or things that I notice when I watch are: they never win the ball on goal kicks, free kicks and set plays. Next time you watch a game, look at how many times the midfield or forwards win the ball off a goal kick or drop kick from Keller. If any? They might get a couple headers or flick-on's but hardly ever win the ball and take possession. Then how about our set plays? How often do we connect on corner kicks? Practically never. Not even make contact to get the ball on goal. Same goes for defensive set plays, the only players that win the ball are our defenders.

The biggest problem for the Sounders has been scoring goals. They seem to dominate time of possession and have a lot of opportunities, they just don't close the deal. So many wasted chances. Hopefully the addition of Blaise Nkufo will be the answer to this problem. He is tall and physically what the Sounders need in what is a rather small offense. We just need to win enough games to get us into the playoffs or stay towards the top of the Western Conference until he arrives after the World Cup.

If I don't make it to the game, my next favorite spot to watch the match is at The George & Dragon in Fremont. That place is packed with rave green on game day. Plus if you want to go to the match, they have a bus that will take you there and bring you back. It's awesome.

I wish the Seattle Sounders FC all the success in the world. I think they are great for the city and have the best opportunity to bring home our first championship. Go Sounders!!!

Posted by Gary at 2:43 PM | Permalink

Went over to Gareth and Ann's house to surprise one of our teammates, Jess, on her 21st birthday. Wow, just turning 21 makes me feel old. The good news is that Jess only sprained her ankle in our second to last game. She has a boot on her foot but didn't pull or damage and ligaments. She should be playing again in a month or so.

Ann made some great food and it was fun to hang out with the soccer team outside of playing games.

Posted by Gary at 10:29 AM | Permalink

This is my first soccer entry. I play soccer every Thursday night on a co-ed team and sometimes on Tuesday nights for an all mens league team. Since I blew out my back I mostly play on the boys and girls team, it's more fun and easier on the body.

Our team, called Little Billie Dynamite (LBD), has won the championship the last couple seasons. This year is no different and we are in 1st place going into the championship game. We played tonight to get to the championship game and killed the other team. We dominated and I think the end score was 4-1.

In the first half I was playing sweeper and got scored on during a break away. It was a collision near the goal and I got flipped forward and landed on my back. I knocked the wind out of myself and my back is still slightly swollen on the lower right side. Luckily I don't think it has anything to do with my previous injury.

Our star female player named Jess hurt herself in the last minute of play. She was just running across the field and twisted her ankle. There was a pop sound and she went down with a horrible cry. She's going to be out for at least 6 weeks and I hope her recovery to be speedy. She is really fun to play with.

Next Thursday will be our championship game. Yeah, I think we will win it. Just got to bring our 'A' game. I'll let you know.

Cheers!

Posted by Gary at 12:02 AM | Permalink