Page 12 – Seattle Football

Seattle Sounders Witness the Exit of Waylon Francis

Seattle Sounders boss Brian Schmetzer came back to training for a short session before jetting off. The manager has been active behind the scenes in order to strengthen Seattle Sounders ahead of the new 2019 MLS campaign. Seattle have been able to send Waylon Francis back to Columbus Crew in a manner that is expected to benefit all parties. Seattle already have a lot of strength in the left back positions and Waylon Francis has not been getting regular gametime at the club.

Schmetzer claims that the presence of Nouhou and Brad Smith makes Seattle Sounders extremely strong in this position and that they wanted to recoup some of their investment by letting Francis leave the club. Continue reading “Seattle Sounders Witness the Exit of Waylon Francis” →

Super Bowl And MLS

Super Bowl LIII is one of the events that were held recently and the match held between Los Angeles Ram and New England Patriots saw scoreless action on the field for 120 minutes. The final results were the Patriots winning the game on the basis of penalty kicks. Jared Goff of Rams team could have brought his team to a level from the spot position but he was unable to do so whereas Rex Burkhead was able to step up and put the game away with the penalty kick.

This is probably the lowest game score achieved in the history of the Super Bowl. It seems that punters like Johnny Hekker and Ryan Allen need to be inserted as Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. That is what brings in showmanship, glamor, glitz, and hype in the game and takes it to world championship levels. This also reflects in the attendance of the fans. For instance, the MLS Cup that was held in December was 73019 whereas attendance at the Super Bowl was 70081. However, fans will remember the rollicking ride that the games provided in MLS Cup 2010 which was held between FC Dallas and Colorado Rapids in Toronto.
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Seattle Sounders Lose Alonso to Minnesota United

Seattle Sounders have lost a major part of the squad after Osvaldo Alonso has decided to quit the club for Minnesota United. Alonso is the all-time leader in the Seattle Sounders history when it comes to the number of starts, appearances, and minutes spent on the pitch. He has been part of the Seattle set up since 2009 and he was also the last member of the original team that debuted in that season. Brian Schmetzer has been able to see Alonso from close up for almost a decade and he says that the player remains an icon in various aspects.

Alonso has had an immense impact at Seattle Sounders due to his drive and determination, which was apparent even in training, according to the manager. After having been able to claim the MLS Cup title by beating Toronto FC, Alonso has now been able to leave on a high. The Cuban has been able to win the team MVP on five occasions and he was also named in the MLS All-Star team on four occasions. He is only 13 appearances behind Zach Scott for the most number of appearances for Seattle Sounders across all competitions and this record goes back to 1974.
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Schmetzer Agrees New Contract with Seattle Sounders

Brian Schmetzer has been able to silently agree a new contract with Seattle Sounders. The confirmed that the manager is now under contract for a few more years. The formal announcement has not come about due to a personal request by the manager, who has often been reluctant to get credit for the successes achieved by the team. His policy of staying under the radar is once again evident from this move.Schmetzer claims that he is delighted to be part of an organisation that has been able to give him a lot of freedom to work in the best possible manner.

Schmetzer came to Seattle Sounders on an interim basis in 2016. He came to the club when Seattle were going to aim tough period of time, but he has been able to get a 47-25-23 record with the club. This translates into a return of 1.73 points per match. He has also been able to achieve a 7-3-3 record in the play-offs. This translates into one of the best career record for an MLS coach aside from Gerardo Martino, who has been able to achieve 1.82 points per match. Crucially, Schmetzer has an excellent record when it comes to the MLS Cup since he has been able to take his teams to the competition more often than not. The 2018 campaign is the first year in which Schmetzer has been able to achieve this feat.
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Seattle Keep 10

The Seattle Sounders have named 10 players from their current 2018 squad that they are going to be retaining for the next season. Whilst most of the names in the list are to be expected, there are a couple of key players who have missed out which has raised a few eyebrows.

The most prominent name which has missed out is Osvaldo Alonso, who has provided his services to the club for a very long time, and will be missed by the fans.

After making the move to Seattle in 2009, Alonso has remained associated with the club ever since and has played a major role in club’s success over the years. Alonso’s physical game in the holding role in the midfield earned him a famous nickname “Honey Badger” at Seattle. Continue reading “Seattle Keep 10” →

Seattle Sounders boss responds after playoff disappointment

Seattle Sounders boss Brian Schmetzer has literally no complaints following the team’s playoff exit to Western Conference rivals Portland Timbers. The Sounders suffered a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of the playoffs on the road but they managed to level the aggregate in the reverse leg where five goals were scored in just 29 second half minutes.

With the scores level, progression had to be decided on a penalty shootout and Timbers eventually prevailed to reach the Western Conference finals, where they are scheduled to face Sporting Kansas City. Speaking after the game, Schmetzer said that he has no words to describe the result and believes his side gave everything they could to turn the result in their favour.
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