Although players have been informally training together since last week and most were expected to report for preseason fitness tests over the weekend, the meat of preseason begins today when the Seattle Sounders will officially take the training pitch at Longacres.
They’ll train there for the week before departing for Quinta do Lago, Portugal on Sunday, and then head to Marbella, Spain about a week later where they will play several matches (the exact schedule is still being finalized). The Sounders will close out preseason with another two weeks of training locally that will likely include a match against another domestic team – historically, it's been a USL Championship opponent – ahead of their MLS season opener against the Colorado Rapids on Feb. 22.
Here are some of the storylines we’ll be watching until then:
What will be the Sounders’ primary formation?
I know, I know, formations are just numbers on a sheet of paper. And, yes, that’s especially true with the Sounders, who are going to attack in something like a 3-4-3 and defend in more of a 4-4-2 no matter what personnel they have. But I do think there are some subtle differences that depend on the players. When Paul Rothrock or Paul Arriola is on the left, it’s going to look a lot more like a 3-4-2-1. If it’s Georgi Minoungou or, say, Jordan Morris, it will be much more of a 4-2-3-1. It's also worth wondering if there's a formation that has Morris, Danny Musovski, Jesús Ferreira and Albert Rusnák all on the pitch together.
Who’s the starting goalkeeper?
I know the assumption is that Andrew Thomas’ time has come and I think that’s valid. When he replaced Stefan Frei in Game 3 shootout against Minnesota United, it felt like an almost literal passing of the baton. But I don’t think Frei came back just to quietly take a spot on the bench. Thomas is going to have to keep showing he’s ready for the job, and I suspect we’ll get a sense of that during preseason.
How does the defensive depth shake out?
Jon Bell's departure has seemingly opened the competition for the No. 3 centerback. Kim Kee-hee, at times, was a steady force there last year but also struggled to stay fit. Ryan Sailor was brought in this offseason with the idea he'll compete for that spot. But I also think there's an opening for Stuart Hawkins, who is now 19 and seemingly poised for a real role on the first team.
Can Hassani Dotson compete for starting minutes?
Obed Vargas is arguably the best young player in MLS right now, but he's pretty obviously not part of the Sounders' long-term plan. Whether that means he leaves on a transfer this window or walks on a free at the end of the year, the Sounders know they need to replace him. At his best, Dotson was a top 5 central midfielder in MLS. If he's able to return to that form, it doesn't seem at all far-fetched that he'd force himself into the lineup.
Which youngsters will grab bigger roles?
Last year, Kalani Kossa-Rienzi started the season on a Tacoma Defiance contract and ended up logging more than 1,700 minutes with the first team across all competitions. I'm not sure anyone will quite make that kind of leap this year, but I think Hawkins, Snyder Brunell and Osaze De Rosario are all capable of securing much bigger roles than they had a year ago.
