Seattle Sounders Vs. San Francisco FC, Matchcard: Projected Lineups
by Jeremiah Oshan on Aug 3, 2011 4:02 PM PDT
in Sounders: CONCACAF Champions League
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Tonight's CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round game is about as big as they get in early August. Failure to win tonight's game -- likely by at least two goals -- would represent a rather massive failure on the part of the Seattle Sounders, a team that takes this tournament as seriously as anyone in MLS.
With that in mind, I fully expect a first-choice lineup. The biggest question mark, at least from my perspective, is who starts alongside Fredy Montero. Roger Levesque seems to be the first choice here, but he looked especially bad in the past two games. Maybe we're beating a dead horse, but it seems like now is as good a time as any to try the Mike Fucito pairing again. Even someone like Nate Jaqua might be a good matchup for a team like San Francisco FC.
The San Francisco lineup is, once again, more of a semi-educated guess. We're going with the same one that was provided to us last week, even though there were a few we got wrong.
Just a reminder, it looks like the CONCACAF website is not broadcasting these preliminary round games, so it's Fox Soccer or streaming if you are not going to the game. Expect a crowd of at least 20,000, but plenty of tickets should still be available.
Sounders injury report: OUT: MF Steve Zakuani (R leg fracture); GK Terry Boss (concussion); DOUBTFUL: MF Brad Evans (hamstring strain); QUESTIONABLE: DF Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (knee MCL sprain)
PDF: sounders-sf 0803
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Cunning plan, much like Larry Bernandez. We put 2 Fredys out there. Fredy Montero and his doppleganger Fredy Motnero. We win!
Boo! Tomorrow AM. I want all things now!
by Perrinbar on Aug 3, 2011 4:21 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
More seriously, I sincerely hope Sigi starts someone other than Levesque. He’s not a good starting forward option. I don’t necessarily mind him out wide, although I still think we have better options, but up top he just doesn’t do well. He routinely makes poor passes and poor runs causing breakdowns in promising attacks. All that being said, I’m not sanguine on Sigi starting someone else. He clearly doesn’t think we have a better option sitting around even when the tactics of the opponent might dictate otherwise. cough Houston cough. But if he does start Fucito, I’ll be ecstatic. Especially since Fucito will score at least 2 goals and make everyone happy. I DECLARE IT!
Boo! Tomorrow AM. I want all things now!
Hrm....
Fucito in MLS Regular season = 495 min with 0 goals 0 assists….Levesque = 3 goals 2 assists in 824 minutes….I think this counts as something besides bad passes, considering 3 have linked up for goals :). Levesque isn’t particularly my favorite player (great hussle, but just an average player), but his numbers really aren’t bad in the minutes he’s played this year.
So, I agree that those numbers don’t reflect well on Fucito. But I’m speaking purely from observation, which is obviously subject to a host of biases. I don’t happen to think those numbers reflect the true talent of either of them however and I think it is hard to argue that Levesque is a quality starting forward in MLS. In the end it’s not something I can back up with any numbers or complicated analysis. I just know when I see Levesque up top he is very rarely in dangerous positions or doing good things with the ball. More than anything else I feel like Fucito is due. He gets into dangerous positions regularly and he’s just missing the finish. I realize I’m out on a limb with this.
Boo! Tomorrow AM. I want all things now!
Not so much
out on a limb imo. I think Levesque has some of the qualities of an MLS target forward: he works hard and he does a very decent job of holding and passing as long as the ball coming to him is on target. He’s one of the better distributors off the post I’ve seen this season (certainly for the Sounders). But he mostly isn’t going to create his own shot, will have some difficulty being an in the area scorer (because he spends so much of his time running here, there and everywhere, instead of focusing on being a target, and just doesn’t seem to do well with leading passes or passes that are off-target to him. Still, when I take a look at our options, it just feels like a coin toss at the moment.
Btw, loved the 1-3-6 comment… it would be crazy…. but also crazy funny!
Roger is
a poacher. Plain and simple. He scores goals near the goal and cleans up the garbage. That’s not to say there isn’t a place for that b/c obviously he positions himself to do so. But as others have said, away from the goal he’s not really a threat.
Sounders FC & Gunner's Supporter
Hunker and Bunker coming at us
We have known that we are going to see the 6-3-1 from SF for a week now. We have had a lot of trouble cracking this before. Let’s hope Sigi has an answer this time.
by Brougham Hooligan on Aug 3, 2011 5:03 PM PDT reply actions
Have any of the SaH
staff had a chance to see OBW in practice? Wondering if he’s just having form issues at this point or if he’s still not really in shape? Just being uber cautious? It sounded like we might get to see him in the past week, but didn’t, so curious if there’s a problem or if it’s just a matter of trying to find the best possible scenario for his return?
I'm not a doctor, I just play one on TV
But: the issue with emergencies like blood clots, compartment syndrome, or even recovery after serious fractures (like Zakuani) is not the event itself but the associated muscle death. Rebuilding the kind of strength in large leg muscles that it takes to play soccer at an elite level is just grueling rehabilitation, and I would image even harder for a man of OBW size.
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