I was starving for more information about Club Santos Laguna, I have been reading Spanish and English articles on the topic the past few weeks. I learned Spanish in Guatemala a few years back so if my translation is a little soft in spots apologies in advance. My thoughts are bold and italicized. I have selected all of the interesting bits from the team website a link for the complete article can be found here.

via www.brandsoftheworld.com

La escuadra santista está consciente del potencial del rival en turno, en el que militan jugadores de la talla del argentino Mauro Rosales, con amplia experiencia internacional, el colombiano Freddy Montero, el uruguayo Álvaro Fernández y su más reciente contratación, el atacante Eddie Johnson, entre otros elementos.

The Santos club is aware of the potential rival, with the likes of Mauro Rosales, with extensive international experience, Colombian Freddy(sic) Montero, Uruguayan Alvaro Fernandez and the most recent addition, striker Eddie Johnson, among other pieces.

Quien no podrá ver acción en este choque será el lagunero Rafael Figueroa, ya que presenta un esguince medial grado uno de la rodilla derecha. De la misma forma el colombiano Darwin Quintero continúa su recuperación de la ruptura fibrilar sufrida en el aductor largo de la pierna izquierda.

Who may not see action in this match will be the harasser Rafael Figueroa, because of a degree one sprained medial in his right knee. Just as the Colombian Darwin Quintero continues his recovery from fibrillary break suffered in the large adductor of the left leg.

After training on Sunday, the team equivalent of Matt Gaschk interviewed Oswaldo Sanchez (38 year old goalie who had a long run with the Mexican national team including the World Cup in 2006 where the Mexican national team lost to Argentina in the Round of 16.) and Ivan Estrada (Estrada wears no 4, is 28 years old and is a starting CB for Santos Laguna).

Sanchez: Now we are focused on the commitment versus the Seattle Sounders. Yes, we have started preparing for the game against Seattle, with every intention of going to Seattle and taking an advantage.

Interviewer: How complex is this game to prepare for?

Sanchez: It is very complex because it is a synthetic pitch, it will be very cold and it is against a team that plays well. Last week they won two to zero over the Jaguars, I think they have prepared well, nothing will be easy (versus them).

I: What would be a good result for Santos?

S: Winning would be a good result, whoever scores first hits twice.

For his part, Ivan Estrada was excited about the Warriors participation in the next round of CONCACAF Champions League: This is a tournament that we long to win and go to the Club World Cup, we all have that in our minds, it is what we want and crave. Ahead of us we have a team that plays good football, we have to do our part, be very intelligent about managing both competitions (league play and Champions League) and proceed step by step.

Interviewer: Do you think a draw would be a positive result?

Estrada: A result, like a draw, would make the return match more in our control.

I: Is it important to overcome factors such as cold weather and the synthetic surface?

E: They are a bit more suited to those conditions, but it is a game 11 v 11 on the pitch, I think we can play as a team, united, seizing opportunities and we can overcome those obstacles.

Santos is a very strong team even without the use of one of their starting CBs, Figueroa, and the semi-frequent scorer, Quintero. Based on the interviews, the cold and turf may be a factor for the team that is used to sunny games on grass, but the team is playing in good form right now despite two losses in last four their Clausura record which began on 1/7/12 is 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses. The fact that the Santos players are respecting the Sounders and not taking them lightly is a sign to me that this is a dangerous team of warriors. They did spell Montero's name wrong but the players at least respect the Sounders.