Sounders prepared to win ugly again, but they might not have to
TORONTO - For every competitive sportsperson, winning is everything.
The Seattle Sounders' procurement of the 2016 MLS Cup at Toronto FC's expense was the franchise's first Philip F. Anschutz trophy, and a huge relief for the league's best-supported club.
But for the Sounders' fan base, it handed supporters of other outfits a stick with which to beat them - they support the team that infamously couldn't muster a shot on target over 120 minutes of the final. They still won, but when this achievement is discussed, that statistic often accompanies it. Seattle is the boring champion.
Not that it bothers Brian Schmetzer's men. Another penalty-shootout triumph following two hours of goalless, tedious football would do them just fine.
"Not at all," Cristian Roldan replied to theScore when asked if the no-shots-on-target tag was something they were desperate to rectify. "If it happens again and we win, I'm okay with it. Honestly, it's not how you win championships, it's if you win it. At the end of the day, we win on penalties, we win 3-0, we barely get a shot on goal, we win 1-0 - I'm okay with it. We just need to win."
Although defensive football can win plaudits - Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid is a recent example - it isn't common. It's usually a caveat reeled off by the media and armchair pundits to denigrate the achievements of managers like Fabio Capello and Jose Mourinho. Fans and the press want entertainment. They want a high tempo, incisive and risky passing, and goals. Twelve months ago, Seattle dug in its heels and ground out something ugly.
"I'm a centre-back so I don't mind it. We got the job done," veteran defender Chad Marshall shared. "Like I said, we're coming in here, we're the away team. We've got to play a little defensive because every team is more comfortable at home. You look at records throughout the league, everyone has a better home record than away record, you know. You're going to have to be solid defensively on the road, and I don't care how we get another ring, just get another ring."
The latest Seattle roster is a different beast, though. Pragmatism is alive and well, but it no longer predominantly relies on a narrow back four and barrel-chested defensive midfielders to eke out a result. The reigning champion can also lean on the unpredictability and versatility of its attacking players - some of whom have been recruited in the past year - and Lamar Neagle suggests this is what the team is set up to do in Saturday's final.
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"At the end of the day, they won a cup last year. If they can do it again the same way, if we got zero shots and we still won the cup, I don't think anybody would be complaining," said Neagle, a Washington native in his fourth stint with the Sounders after rejoining in August. "But obviously that's not how we want to play, obviously we're an offensive team. From the last seven or eight games, everybody can see that; coming off the Houston (Dynamo) two legs we did well offensively and everything was clicking, so we're looking to do the same."
Marshall agreed: "We do feel like we're a better offensive team than we were coming here last year, so hopefully we can make a couple (chances) on the other end."
With the wealth of depth and talent going forward, Seattle - yet to concede in the postseason and the top scorer in the play-offs - should cause Toronto problems. Joevin Jones has been a huge success on the left wing, forward Will Bruin has revived his career as the hold-up man, and Nicolas Lodeiro possibly possesses the biggest engine in MLS. There are plenty more to be concerned about; this won't be another display of defensive resilience from Seattle.
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"I think they'll be more ambitious going forward this year," Toronto wing-back Justin Morrow predicted for theScore. "I think having Clint (Dempsey) back, having (Gustav) Svensson and (Victor) Rodriguez, it changes their attack a little bit. It changes their players on the field and I think they'll try and impose their style on us."
Alex Bono, who officially succeeded Clint Irwin as TFC's first-choice goalkeeper in 2017, could be in for a busy night.
"They've scored a ton of goals this playoffs so there's no reason they can't come out and really come after us," Bono said. "So we've been prepared for everything."
In 50 years' time, Seattle's name will still be etched on the base of the trophy and people won't hark back to the manner in which it clinched victory in 2016. However, not only can Schmetzer's side make history by becoming back-to-back winners on Saturday, it can go down as one of the greatest teams MLS has seen if it overcomes Toronto with the attacking panache it has in its arsenal.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)