The match was supposed to be a tune up for the CONCACAF Champions League match against Santos Laguna, and if the Tuesday night Community Shield is any indication Seattle Sounders FC are as ready as they could be. Fredy Montero's brace highlighted an evening that saw a visiting Mexican team play a fairly strong side. Sounders fans were quickly reminded how great Montero, Mauro Rosales and Osvaldo Alonso can be.

Offensively Seattle was as good as expected. The ability of Rosales to control the ball while drifting wide or slashing in allowed interchanges between the other attacking players. Montero dropped back at times and at others cut into threatening spaces. If that second goal by Montero is any indication this year can be something special indeed. From the 18 with a little bit of space it was a lofted semi-chip of a keeper barely off his line. Alonso was more often in a goal dangerous positions than in previous seasons. Adam Johansson's sprints up the right flank in a couple different channels opened up new options for the Sounders attack.

Defending was generally strong, with the biggest issue again relating to preventing and reacting to the counter. They were particularly vulnerable on their right. This is due to Johansson getting even further forward than Riley and the lack of a shift to a three man line (per Sigi Schmid in a 2nd half interview on the broadcast). Hurtado looks to be the Best XI short lister from 2009 and Jeff Parke was willing to carry home as much in-fill as needed to stop shots.

Preseason results (5-0-2) don't matter - process does. Sigi and the brain trust set the team up to be on as close to a regular season rhythm as possible. Tonight's final win of 2012 preparations won't result in Challenge/Diamond/WhatNot Cup. What it does do is make as certain as can be made that the Seattle Sounders are ready to face Santos Laguna in the first match of 2012 that matters.

Tonight's Community Shield game isn't about beating Jaguares de Chiapas (3-5-0 in Clausura 2012, 12th in league). Instead it's sole purpose is preparing to beat Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League. It also has the advantage of being free for the thousands that will welcome Seattle Sounders FC back home to open their packed 2012.

For Sigi Schmid, and fans, this is an opportunity to see how the new additions to the line-up play in front of a crowd and against a different style than their past experience holds. Three expected regulars are from secondary (or lower) European leagues. For Michael Gspurning, Adam Johansson and Christian Sivebaek, tonight is their introduction to the Seattle faithful. Third year player David Estrada faces a different task. After the recent changes, he enters the year as Fredy Montero's probable partner. Judging Estrada's talent based off of last year would ignore that he is now being used as a forward, a position he dabbled in during Reserve play in 2012.

Seattle will likely play a little less direct, a bit more technical than 2012. Possessions will incorporate the defensive line to either reset the play on that side or swing the ball to the opposite side of the field. While later in the year target forward style play will emerge, the team starts with two more technical forwards paired up top. There should also be some interesting interchanges tonight.

The game is on KONG 6/16/106 with a hybrid of season preview and some play-by-play. SoundersFC.com will have an audio stream (not Fletcher/Keller) at 7PM.

Yes, those are twitter handles on the Jaguares players' kits

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UPDATE: Here's what we an confirm, Chelsea is visiting Seattle, but the opponent has not yet been finalized, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

It looks like Chelsea will be paying Seattle a visit this summer. The official U.S.-based Chelsea supporters group sent out a tweet announcing the plans and Sounder at Heart has independently confirmed the report, but there was no confirmation that the game would be against the Seattle Sounders.

CIA are please to confirm that Chelsea will be coming to the US this summer, playing in Seattle, DC and New York. More info soon! #CFCUSA

— Chelsea In America (@CFCInAmerica) February 29, 2012

Based solely on the fact that the Sounders recently moved their game against Real Salt Lake, it's probably fair to assume the game would be played on July 18. If the game was not against the Sounders, Liverpool would seem a likely opponent as they've already announced plans to visit the United States and there were reports that their logo was flashed on the Sounders scoreboard during a test.

Whether or not it's for a game against the Sounders, Seattle-area fans would get a chance to see one of the world's biggest clubs. Players like Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole, Juan Mata and John Terry are just some of the big-name players that occupy their roster. It would be the second time since 2009 that Chelsea has played in Seattle.

Continuing their preseason tradition of a Community Shield match to raise funds for charity partners, the Seattle Sounders today announced that their opponent in the Feb. 29 7 PM match will be Jaguares de Chiapas of the Mexican Primera. In a new twist, the match will be free and seating on a first-come, first-serve basis, but the club will be accepting donations at the door. This is a similar model as used in Reserve League matches at Starfire, but this match will be at CenturyLink Field against a team that finished fifth in the 2011 Apertura and lost to Santos Laguna (4-3 aggregate) in the quarterfinals.

Jaguares de Chiapas joins Atlante as a preseason Mexican opponent as the Sounders prepare to face Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. At eight days before the opening of the 2012 competitive year, Sigi Schmid will likely field mainly starters based on recent comments on a conference call:

Out of that group of 15-16 guys, we want to make sure they get into a rhythm of going full-out every week, making sure they push themselves to a game. Obviously the game against Columbus is going to be an important game for them. Then a little over a week later they’re going to get full run out again against Atlante. Then a week later we’re hoping to solidify another game and then a week later we play against Santos. We’re trying to get them into that rhythm, so they really get used to building up into a weekly rhythm earlier than they normally would.

While the basis of the Community Shield model is for two trophy winners to face off, the Sounders seem to be building this match on a game against an available team that could best prepare them for competitive matches.

Full release follows

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UPDATE: The Sounders confirmed the date change, but offered no other details as to why the change was made.

It would appear the Seattle Sounders may be getting close to announcing details of their summer friendly. A league source has confirmed to Sounder at Heart what Michael C. Lewis originally tweeted that the Sounders' home game against Real Salt Lake will be moved from July 18 to Oct. 17 in order to accomodate an international friendly.

Team official says #RSL game at Seattle on July 18 is going to be moved to Oct. 17 ... evidently to make room for int'l friendly.

— Michael C. Lewis (@MCLTribune) February 8, 2012

Among the European clubs that are believed to be making summer tours are Liverpool, Chelsea, AS Roma, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Celtic. The Sounders have previously played Celtic and Chelsea. Two years ago, they were largely believed to have been in negotiations with Real Madrid.

From a competitive perspective, this change would probably have a neutral effect on the schedule. As it stands now, the Sounders would have to play RSL just three days after a match in New York. Moving the July 18 game would create a 13-day gap between competitive matches. The Oct. 17 date would come a day after the fourth and final international break. It would also close a 14-day gap between competitive matches, 10 days after a home match against the Portland Timbers and four days before a home match against FC Dallas.

Who would you like to see the Sounders play?

The Cascadia Summit will be taking at least a one-year hiatus. The news about the preseason, round-robin tournament between the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps was officially broken by Timbers owner Merritt Paulson in this tweet:

piltdownman7Brett Graham

@MerrittPaulson Will there be another Cascadia summit this season? PDX for president's day weekend please? - signed Vancouver

Dec 01FavoriteRetweetReply

in reply to @piltdownman7↑

@MerrittPaulson
Merritt Paulson@piltdownman7 there will be no summit in 2012. SEA CONCACAF sched makes it near impossible plus we now have another reg season game anyway
Dec 01 via webFavoriteRetweetReply

That news was confirmed by Sounders general manager Adrian Hanauer, who said they are in the process of trying to schedule a friendly against a Latin-American team on Feb. 29 in preparation for their CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal match against Santos Laguna on March 7.

In a conversation earlier this year, Paulson had told me that the plan was to host this year's Cascadia Summit in Portland with next year's Summit potentially moving to Vancouver. It's unclear where this year's cancellation leaves future Summits.

Ah, the gnashing of teeth. The putting of words into the mouth. Many people over the past week or two have been putting forward the idea of #TrophiesNotFriendlies. Some have adopted the slogan as it is quick, easy and poignant, but they don't necessarily speak for myself. Considering how much chatter there has been concerning friendlies this year, and the latest statements from MLS Commissioner Don Garber, it is time to clarify. Let's look at the headline first, because it really shows the origins of the campaign.

Garber: Clubs should set their own summer priorities

That right there is the first significant issue. Who wants to be a fan of a team that decides that their priority is for a cash grab rather than winning games? Because due to fixture congestion prioritization is an issue. This year the Sounders had the advantage of a weekend game being canceled, but part of the reason that Seattle has emptied its bench in every friendly is because they do place a higher priority on the games that can result in a trophy. Garber goes on about this prioritization strongly suggesting that teams should be trying to win their friendlies, implying that losing League, Open Cup or CONCACAF Champions League matches due to a friendly would be OK.

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The Major League Soccer All-Stars will take the pitch against Manchester United for the second straight year. This year they do so at Red Bull Arena, which should be full. Kasey Keller will be there, but merely as the third keeper, and though he's the only Seattle Sounder that will be on the bench today, there is plenty of reason to pay attention to this event.

1. It's fun, casual soccer
2. Man United is really good
3. There may be some announcement

Like all All-Star Games, this is a celebration of the sport and the league. That's it. It isn't a competition. The result isn't important, though there is some part of me that wants that same Wayne Rooney show that we got here. ESPN2 will be showing the game starting at 5:30PM Pacific.

Several people you know will be at the George & Dragon for both the game and the following viewing of Rise and Shine: The Jay Demerit Story with GorillaFC this evening.

This is your gamethread