MLS Season Preview: Seattle Sounders
With the MLS season set to begin on Friday, theScore runs down everything you need to know about each team heading into the league's 20th campaign. Here, we take a look at the Seattle Sounders.
The list of teams that have more combined accolades than the Seattle Sounders in recent years reads like a list of people whose voice is cooler than that of Morgan Freeman. Hint: None.
Six playoff appearances in as many years. Two appearances in the Western Conference finals in the last three seasons. A quartet of U.S. Open Cup trophies. A Supporters' Shield sitting in the trophy cabinet. They've won everything ... except for the big one.
The MLS Cup has, thus far, eluded the Sounders, who have quickly grown into one of the league's model franchises - and look set to stay among the best following the addition of former Real Salt Lake wizard Garth Lagerwey to be the club's general manager and president of soccer operations.
Last season was supposed to be the year, before Juninho and the LA Galaxy ended dreams of a historic treble. What needs to change to make that dream a reality this season? Not much, according to head coach Sigi Schmid.
"At the end of the day, MLS Cup is a cup," Schmid told Goal USA. "If you have a good series of games, if you get the rub of the green at the right time of the year, that allows you to win championships. When you look at past championships, they've been won by teams who finished fourth or fifth in the regular season and had a good run at the end.
"We're always looking to be very very consistent, we're always looking to be as healthy as possible at the end of the year so that we can put forth our best effort and put ourselves in a position to win MLS Cup."
2014 season: 1st in Western Conference, Supporters' Shield winners
| Record | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|
| 20-10-4 (64 points) | 65 | 50 |
Playoffs: Lost in Western Conference final (LA Galaxy)
Head coach: Sigi Schmid
Stadium: CenturyLink Field
Season Opener: Sunday, March 8: Seattle Sounders vs. New England Revolution (CenturyLink Field) - 9:30 PM EST
Key Arrivals
Tyrone Mears (free transfer), Troy Perkins (free transfer), Cristian Roldan (SuperDraft), Andres Correa (free transfer)
Key Departures
DeAndre Yedin (Tottenham), Eriq Zavaleta (Toronto FC), Djimi Traore (option declined) Jalil Anibaba (Orlando City)
Player to Watch: Obafemi Martins
As much as I'd love to go off the board and discuss how interesting it will be to see Tyrone Mears try and replicate DeAndre Yedlin's attacking exploits from right-back, I'm weak, and thus mesmerized by the backflips.
Martins is coming off an MVP-calibre season - he was beaten out for the honor by Robbie Keane - during which he scored 17 goals and added 12 assists, a combined total that topped the league.
There's no reason why the Nigerian, now 30, shouldn't have another impressive campaign leading the line for one of the league's best teams.
Keep an eye on: Clint Dempsey (This one isn't rocket science, guys)
Projected Starting XI
(4-4-2) Stefan Frei; Leonardo Gonzalez, Brad Evans, Chad Marshall, Tyrone Mears; Marco Pappa, Gonzalo Pineda, Osvaldo Alonso, Lamar Neagle; Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins
Season in a Sentence
There are some questions about the dynamic in defense following the loss of DeAndre Yedlin, but with the league's most lethal attacking duo from a season ago remaining intact, the Sounders will once again be a threat for top spot in the Western Conference - and for that elusive MLS Cup.