Major Link Soccer - Things I Love Edition

At the end of a stressful work week spent on the road I like to take a moment to go over the things that I love about Seattle. I love living in city where the people are friendly and even the view from the C-Link parking lot can take your breath away. I love that no matter where I am in the city I'm about five minutes away from a good local coffee shop. I love that I finally have a sports team where winning is what I expect from a third string line-up.

Yes the Seattle Sounders lost a close 1-0 game against CS Herediano on Tuesday while fielding a squad heavy on reserve players. Yet I find it hard to summon up much angst considering the absolutely amazing job the team has done across three very difficult competitions. The usual wailing and gnashing of teeth that I usual experience following a Sounders loss was strangely absent. Perhaps it was because I was only able to catch the highlights and some of the last part of the second half.

In any case I feel confident that the Sounders will find a way to advance out of the group stage of the competition despite the home loss. The win might even encourage CS Herediano to field a better line-up for their remaining group games and steal a point or two from our rivals. For those of you like me who missed most of the match you can see the match recap and photos on the Sounders webpage.

More after the jump:

Marquez Worst Teammate in MLS: Idle Mexican superstar Rafael Marquez earns the Dizzo Dizzman 2011 award for worse teammate in MLS for calling out his own teammates after months of playing like crap. Our own Jeremiah Oshan breaks out some numbers to show that Marquez has basically no impact on the field despite earning more than the entire Real Salt Lake team that abused him on Wednesday. It just goes to show what many old fans of MLS already knew. You can give them a new name, a new stadium, a new ownership group, plenty of cash to splash on players and a series of new coaches, but the MetroStars will always find a way to suck.

Koevermans Earns His Check: Meanwhile Danny Koevermans is earning his DP check for Toronto FC. The veteran striker is averaging 1.06 goals per 90 minutes in his 511 minutes of playing time in the league. The new additions by Aron Winter are starting to come together and Toronto looks more dangerous in the last few games than they have all year. The better play by Koevermans and company is very unlikely to help Toronto secure a spot in the playoffs, but they look poised to have a good comeback next season.

USWNT Wins 3-0: The US Women's National Team capped off a series of friendly games this week with a 3-0 win over Canada down in Portland. Abby Wambach and the rest of the ladies were absolutely dominant throughout the game and were rewarded with a 2-0 lead. Late in stoppage time Alex Morgan put the cherry on the top with a goal poacher's tap-in. Tobin Heath helped set-up the goal. Lots of props to Portland for filling Jeld-Wen with plenty of loud soccer supporters. Oh, and how awesome is this, Hope Solo drives the pace car at the Brickyard 400. 

MLS Cups at Home: There's nothing quite as exciting as playing a cup final in a city poised on the brink of winning it all. I speak from experience as I attended the Open Cup final last year at the C-Link and I'm going again this year hoping to experience it again. There's a good chance we'll see something similar this year in L.A. for the MLS Cup. Why not do it every year instead of it being a cynical ploy by the league office to help the Galaxy get a Cup for Beckham in his last year? I think its about time that the MLS takes this step.

Rosales Live Chat: ESPN Deportes held a live chat yesterday with the Mauro Rosales. The dynamic midfielder discussed his future plans and a possible return to Newell's Old Boys in Argentina after a couple more years here in Seattle. Both Rosales and the Sounders sound pretty confident that a deal will be finalized soon. Joshua Mayers has some highlights in English up on his blog. 

Hahnemann to Sign with Everton: Marcus Hahnemann looks like he'll sign a short-term contract with Everton. The USMNT keeper will be with the club until January leaving his options open for a potential move back to the U.S. during the off-season. The Seattle Sounders will be looking for a veteran keeper to replace the retiring Kasey Keller at roughly the same time although they would likely need to trade up the allocation order to have a shot at signing Hahnemann.

In Remembrance: Over 2,000 came out yesterday to remember local Puyallup soccer player Clara Vallone. Vallone, who died in a tragic car crash earlier this week was heavily involved in the local high school and community soccer scene in Puyallup. Fellow team-mate Maryssa Beare was also seriously injured in the crash. Best wishes from SAH to the friends and family of Clara Vallone.   

Fewer International Dates: UEFA, European clubs and leagues have come to an agreement to eliminate single date friendlies from the calendar. It is also likely that they would get rid of the August date in its entirity. This shouldn't change much, but would slightly reduce overall games played in the national shirt. The next international single is in Feburary.

Iraq No Longer To Play At Home: FIFA has forbidden Iraq from playing home matches in Arbil, Iraq. Like many who follow sports, soccer has been an escape for the people of the nation. Now they will have to travel for home matches as they attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympics and 2014 World Cup.