How did Seattle Sounders FC lose their mojo the season they looked poised to finally seize the MLS Cup? Forget the injuries and attrition from national team callups. With an appalling 3-0 loss at home Saturday to the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Sounders looked as clueless and toothless as they’ve ever looked.
Clint Dempsey was back, and the stadium was opened to full capacity for a crucial game against a Northwest rival, but the rave green looked like, well, losers. They fought hard, and strung together some passes in the middle of CenturyLink Field, but they didn’t trouble Vancouver’s defense.
Was it Marco Pappa getting pulled over on suspicion of DWI last weekend, forcing him off the field for a key stretch of games? Was it Dempsey getting suspended in June for ripping up a referee’s playbook? Or was it Obafemi Martins pulling up lame with a hamstring injury from which he still hasn’t recovered?
A couple of months back I filed a piece about Seattle Sounders FC’s fearsome skill and how, with the wizardry of Martins and Dempsey, they would be bridesmaids no more in the hunt for the MLS Cup. But they’ve dropped seven of the last eight games, and just broke the team record Saturday for consecutive minutes without a goal (362).
Has it been lack of depth or were the Sounders paper lions somehow, without a steady, standout nucleus in midfield to maintain possession, threaten or feed Martins and Dempsey at the top?
The Sounders have had great success over the last couple of years despite lacking a dominant offensive halfback running the show. Future Hall of Fame coach Sigi Schmid has always seemed to know how to wring all the potential from his players.
Seattle’s offensive midfielders aren’t slouches – Lamar Neagle, Gonzalo Pineda, Erik Friberg, Christian Roldan and Thomas (Brazilian, so just one name) all have some skill, and Friberg, recently returning for his second stint as a Sounder, is a hard runner – but they’ve got to win and keep the ball. Pappa is a visionary, but he’s likely facing a suspension of a few games.
An individual commanding things in the middle seems missing. So does team defense. Vancouver’s speedy youngsters caught out the Sounders several times and could have scored more than three.
The big crowd was eerily silent as I watched on TV. I would have liked to convey more about the scene, but the Sounders wouldn’t issue press credentials to the East Portland Blog. It’s probably a good thing for soccer, if not for me, that the Sounders are so successful they can be picky about the media outlets they let into their press box.
Hopefully the product on the field will again start matching the revenue coming in.
