The Seattle Times: Sounders FC Blog

Roughly 14,000 tickets sold for March 7 CCL game against Santos Laguna

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:22:04 PST

Sounders FC officials said Thursday that approximately 14,000 tickets have been sold for the team's home leg in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Mexico's Santos Laguna.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m. on March 7 at CenturyLink Field.

Some might view that figure as a little low -- particularly with Toronto FC possibly on pace to sell out a 45,000 capacity set-up at the Roger Centre in a similar game -- but there's still a month to go.

Tickets are available starting at $15 and available by phone at 800-745-3000 or online at www.SoundersFC.com.

What do you think of the update? Do you have tickets?

Updated preseason schedule

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:59:04 PST

Here's a look at Sounders FC's preseason plans following today's announcement of the Community Shield (times are Pacific and subject to change):

* * *

Friday, Feb. 10 -- Training at Starfire
Saturday, Feb. 11 -- Travel to Bradenton, Florida
Monday, Feb. 13 -- Training game vs. Orlando City SC, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 15 -- Training game vs. Columbus Crew, 8 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16 -- Training game vs. U-17 U.S. National Team, 7 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19 -- Training game vs. Florida Gulf Coast University, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 20 -- Travel to Orlando
Tuesday, Feb. 21 -- Travel to Cancun, Mexico
Wednesday, Feb. 22 -- Training game vs. Atlante FC, Cancun, Mexico, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23 -- Travel to Seattle
Wednesday, Feb. 29 -- Community Shield vs. Jaguares, CenturyLink Field, 7 p.m. (free admission)

Community Shield match set for Feb. 29 against Mexico's Jaguares, admission is free

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:46:09 PST

Sounders FC announced its anticipated Feb. 29 Community Shield match Thursday morning.

The team's final preseason game will be at CenturyLink Field against Jaguares de Chiapas of the Mexican Primera Division, and admission for the 7 p.m. kickoff is free.

That's right, the game is free -- though fans are encouraged to give donations at the gate to benefit the team's five charitable partners (America SCORES Seattle, Boys & Girls Clubs of King County and Bellevue, Special Olympics Washington, Washington Global Health and Washington Youth Soccer).

Seating will be open in the lower east bowl.

From the news release: "The model for the event is based upon the 'Charity or Community Shield' matches in England, where they are a long standing tradition featuring the champions of the FA Premier League against the winners of the FA Cup with all proceeds going to charity."

I expect the Sounders to field a team of mostly starters, and I expect Jaguares will have some incentive to do the same.

Last year, Seattle hosted the Colorado Rapids to make it a true Shield game between the league and cup winners. In 2010, the Sounders hosted rival Portland.

Seattle kicks off its CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal at home against Mexico's Santos Laguna on March 7. That's followed by a CCL road leg on March 14 and then the MLS regular-season opener at home against Toronto FC on March 17.

What do you think of the game? Can't go wrong with free, right?

Aman going back to UW? (Thursday links)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:31:06 PST

Sounders FC draft pick Abdul Aman has been linked to a number of options after being released from training camp a couple weeks ago.

First, it was thought he might go back to the North Sound SeaWolves FC. Then, we heard he might be exploring options in Europe. Now, through a story on GoHuskies.com, we learn the Seattle native is seeking a sixth year of college eligibility from the NCAA.

"We certainly hope to have him back in a Husky uniform next year as he is an exciting attacking player with the ability to pull off the unexpected and surprise defenses with his mix of speed and tricks," said Washington men's soccer coach Jamie Clark to the university's athletic website. "Time will tell what happens with Abdul, but it speaks to his talent level that the Sounders drafted him."

Interesting stuff to follow. Here are some other links:

--- The Washington Crossfire PDL team has named Adam Rowland as head coach for the 2012 season. Rowland, who takes over for Bernie James, has played for clubs like Blackpool, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Preston North End.

--- Here's Roger Levesque going 1v1 with SoundersFC.com.

--- The Portland Timbers have some new billboards. I'm not sure if any have been put up in Seattle...

--- The Houston Dynamo has been in the news for various reasons. First, a couple players were arrested after an incident at a bar. The lawyer of one player hints there were racial undertones behind the altercation. The team also acquired forward Macoumba Kandji from Colorado for a conditional draft pick. And here's a picture update on the grass installation at Houston's new stadium.

--- Philadelphia signed Colombian forward Lionard Pajoy to help bolster its new-look attack.

--- Here are a couple links from The Sporting News. First, a look at lightning rod player-turned-analyst Eric Wynalda and also some thoughts on the 2012 National Soccer Hall of Fame ballot.

--- Some notes regarding U.S. Soccer: The Soccer Insider has the scoop on a May 30 men's friendly against Brazil at FedEx Field, the U.S. U-23s will take on Mexico's U-23s in Dallas on Feb. 29 and the U.S. women's game against New Zealand on Saturday will be streamed on the federation website.

--- The final of the African Cup of Nations has been set: Ivory Coast will be a heavy favorite against Zambia.

--- Lastly, here's some mascot-on-mascot crime and also 45-year-old former goalkeeper Rene Higuita re-enacted his famous scorpion kick-save on Arabic television.

Former NASL Sounder Harry Redknapp in line for England coaching job?

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:31:05 PST

The soccer world was shaken up a bit Wednesday when Fabio Capello resigned as head coach of England's national team.

It was a shocking move, but one that had been building up for a couple days.

We'll pick up the story Friday, when the FA decided to strip John Terry of his national-team captaincy upon learning the defender's racism trial wouldn't be held until after the Euro '12 tournament this summer.

Capello, feeling undermined that the decision was made for him and against his wishes, then told Italian television Sunday night that he didn't agree with making such a move before the trial had run its course. That, in turn, was a breach of contract, according to FA chairman David Bernstein on Monday.

Safe to say it was all leading to an inevitable end that became official Wednesday.

So what's next? Well, many signs are pointing to Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp, who was a player and assistant coach for the NASL Sounders in the 1970s, assuming the job. It was here in Seattle, where Redknapp actually got his coaching start. He was a Sounder from 1976-79, most of which was under player/coach Jimmy Gabriel, who currently does broadcast work for Sounders FC.

More than 30 years later, the 64-year-old Redknapp is enjoying his best coaching run as the Spurs are currently third in the Premier League standings. Many felt he'd be favored to take the England job after Euro '12, even had Capello stayed on.

Top English forward Wayne Rooney has already backed Redknapp to be Capello's successor.

Not a bad day for the former Sounder, right? That wasn't the half of it. Redknapp was also acquitted of tax evasion charges Wednesday.

So what do you think? Are you anymore intrigued by the story with the decades-old local connection?

Sounders move RSL home game to Oct. 17 to accommodate summer friendly

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:33:15 PST

Sounders FC announced Wednesday that its July 18 home game against Real Salt Lake has been moved to Oct. 17. Kickoff time and broadcast information will be determined later.

The move will accommodate a summer friendly in Seattle, which was first alluded to by Michael C. Lewis of The Salt Lake Tribune in this tweet.

The details regarding the team's friendly haven't yet been announced.

The Sounders were on the opposite end of this scenario last year when Philadelphia had to reschedule a game due to its friendly against Real Madrid.

The move could benefit the Sounders to a minor degree from a scheduling perspective. The July 18 home game against RSL was on a Wednesday following a Saturday road game across the country in New York. The proposed Oct. 17 date would fall in between home games against Portland (Oct. 7) and FC Dallas (Oct. 21).

I haven't heard when an official announcement on Seattle's friendly this season will be coming. The last update I got in January was that it could be around this time.

The rich get richer (Wednesday links)

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:31:04 PST

The Los Angeles Galaxy was probably the MLS favorite before making some big moves Tuesday.

But the return of midfielder Juninho on loan from Sao Paulo -- apparently without a loan fee -- seems to cement that label. L.A. also secured the free transfer of defender Leonardo.

Many around the Twittersphere have been scratching their heads as to how the Galaxy will be able to get under the $2.81 million salary cap with three DPs (David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane) and other signings that already include forward Edson Buddle.

Even Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid chimed in.

"L.A. seems to figure out how to sign everybody," Schmid joked while talking about the reality of having to make training camp cuts.

Soccer America tries to take a closer look at the numbers, but due to the mystery of allocation money, we'll never really know how the Galaxy plans on getting salary compliant.

Any thoughts on the situation?

* * *

--- New midfielder Christian Sivebaek goes 1v1 with SoundersFC.com.

--- A U.S. Soccer legend Harry Keough died Tuesday at the age of 84. He was a defender for the team that upset England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup.

--- Portland beat the Galaxy 4-1 in a training game yesterday and forward Bright Dike is excited to be healthy again after missing most of 2011 injured.

--- Sounds like organizers are trying to set up a Real Madrid-Inter Milan friendly this summer in New York. If it happens, might one of those teams also make a trip west? Keep in mind, with the Olympics and the Euro '12 tournament this summer, any opponent is going to be very shorthanded when it comes to bringing over its stars.

--- Vancouver Whitecaps rookie defender Greg Klazura was interviewed after Monday's training game against the Sounders and kept his cool pretty well considering the circumstances. Take a look for yourself.

Jason Banton not going to Florida?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:16:04 PST

Sigi Schmid on training games, injuries, Santos Laguna, starters, roster cuts and more

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:31:06 PST

Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid held a teleconference with reporters Tuesday afternoon before the team boarded a flight for Seattle. He covered a variety of topics and here is the transcript from the call:

* * *

(Can you give us an overview on how Arizona went and what's coming up?) "I think Arizona went well for us. I think we got the work done that we wanted to get done in terms of establishing our fitness base, so I was pleased with that. Part of building fitness is you also have to give guys a little bit of time to recover and so forth, so we trained this morning. It wasn't a regeneration morning training; it was a regular training session. We worked on our tactics and our defending a little bit and then we'll be off on Wednesday and Thursday. We'll train again Friday and then we're off to Florida. So we wanted to get a little break, make sure everybody saw their families, got a couple days off, regenerate a little bit and then we'll get back to work in Florida."

(We heard about Mike Fucito having a puncture wound and the possibility of a staph infection after Monday's game. How's he doing?) "It really wasn't that deep. He didn't really have a puncture wound; it was more of a raking of the cleats. You can see the red marks on his knee and on his thigh and so forth, but there was no puncture wound, so there's no danger of a staph infection or anything like that. It's more just from the force of the blow. Obviously there was some bleeding that took place around the knee and the quad area, so we got to make sure that ... we get that bleeding kept at a minimum. He was wrapped up today and he was walking on it. Ultimately, it will get better each day."

Sounders to play Mexico's Atlante on Feb. 22, four training games in Florida

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:00:40 PST

Sounders FC released more of its preseason plans Tuesday, highlighted by a Feb. 22 closed-door training game at 4 p.m. against Mexican Primera Division club Atlante FC in Cancun.

Seattle midfielder Brad Evans tipped us off to those plans last week, but now it's official.

Atlante is currently second in the league standings and should provide the Sounders with a good warmup leading into a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against first-place Santos Laguna. With a road game on Feb. 17 and a home game on Feb. 25, you would think Atlante would be able to give its starters some time, however briefly. I'd think Sounders officials would insist that was the case.

The team also announced plans for four training games in Bradenton, Fla., as camp heads there on Saturday through Feb. 20 at the IMG Academy:

Sounders FC preseason schedule (times are Pacific & subject to change)

Monday, Feb. 13 -- Training game vs. Orlando City SC, 1 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 15 -- Training game vs. Columbus Crew, 8 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 16 -- Training game vs. U-17 U.S. National Team, 7 a.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19 -- Training game vs. Florida Gulf Coast University, 1 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 20 -- Travel to Orlando
Tuesday, Feb. 21 -- Travel to Cancun, Mexico
Wednesday, Feb. 22 -- Training game vs. Atlante FC, Cancun, Mexico, 4 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 23 -- Travel to Seattle

Another clue to a preseason friendly?

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:46:04 PST

* * *

Last week, Brad Evans said in a radio interview that the Sounders will play a preseason friendly in Cancun -- presumably against Atlante of the Mexican Primera Division -- later this month.

This morning, Ticketmaster posted event information for a Sounders FC Community Shield match on Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. at CenturyLink Field (with new FieldTurf). No opponent was listed, but previous indications suggest it will be another Mexican team. It would also be the last warmup game before hosting Santos Laguna in a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal.

It seems like those games are close to being finalized and I'm told we could be getting confirmation on the team's preseason plans later today.

Highlights from Monday's game and links

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:46:05 PST

Here are some video highlights of Monday's training game from MLSsoccer.com, as Seattle and Vancouver played to a physical 1-1 tie. The goals by Camilo and Servando Carrasco are included, as is Jason Banton's red card. Take a look.

And some other links:

--- Our good friend Jose Romero was an active one yesterday. He wrote a profile on Mauro Rosales for us and also a Sebastien Le Toux story for the league website.

--- Sounders FC draft pick Abdul Aman, a Seattle native that played last year at UW, is apparently going to try his hand in Europe.

--- Elsewhere around the league, veteran midfielder Marcelo Saragosa has signed with D.C. United, Edson Buddle talks about his European adventure and Portland's Jose Adolfo Valencia had successful surgery. A pair has joined Philadelphia Union camp, Danny Mwanga and Keon Daniel, and a pair has left, Thomas Brandt and Brandon Zimmerman (a Pasco native).

--- What's going on with Montreal defender Nelson Rivas?

--- Here's the latest edition of ExtraTime Radio.

--- The Wall Street Journal has a fascinating story on soccer players and third-party owners. Highly recommend this one. Also, here's an update on Diego Maradona, who's coaching in the United Arab Emirates, from SI.com.

--- Here's a pretty cool goal and a pretty cool assist.

--- Lastly, here's a poll that our paper has run online regarding an issue that could affect the whole Seattle sports scene.

Sigi Schmid on Monday's preseason game: "I thought it was a little chippy at times."

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:46:04 PST

Here's some more from Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid after Monday's 1-1 draw in a preseason training game against rival Vancouver, a match that featured 10 yellow cards and one red card. Quotes, minus the update on Mike Fucito's injury, which was covered in the previous post, are posted below as provided by the team.

A box score and other details are included after the jump:

* * *

(On the training game...) "It's good. It's always better when you play somebody else besides yourself. I thought it was a little chippy at times with some of the tackles on both sides. I think we went into some bad tackles. I think they went into some bad tackles. But that's the nature of the beast and I think it took us the first five to ten minutes to get into the tempo of the game and realize that it was going to be like that. After that I thought the first team did well in the first 45 minutes and they didn't produce a goal. I was pleased with the way the second group started off. They got the equalizer and then they sort of faded a little bit. Overall I was pleased with what we got out of it and we got a lot of good work, the effort was good from the guys."

Fucito suffers punctured leg in training game

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:01:04 PST

Sounders FC's Mike Fucito was forced to leave Monday's training game against Vancouver in the 29th minute after a tackle from Whitecaps defender Martin Bonjour left him with a punctured leg. After the game, coach Sigi Schmid said they hope it's not a serious injury because the forward has "stud marks on his knee and up his thigh."

Fucito told SoundersFC.com's Matt Gaschk, who was running a live blog, that it was the worst he's ever been fouled, and that includes a face-busting elbow he received from FC Dallas' Daniel Hernandez in last year's U.S. Open Cup.

"It was a little bit of a high challenge," Schmid said. "He's also got a puncture wound there so you've got to make sure there's no infection and stuff like that because that could lead to a staph infection. We've got to be careful. It just kept tightening up on him because the blood was flowing in there so we needed to get him off the field."

Not exactly what you expect in the first training game of the season. I'll try to get an update tomorrow on how Fucito's doing.

Sounders FC 1, Vancouver Whitecaps 1, training game updates

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:31:04 PST

SoundersFC.com's Matt Gaschk and the Whitecaps' twitter feed are the primary sources of this material. You can follow Gaschk's live blog here. I'll relay some highlights below:

* * *

Final: After nine yellow cards and one red card, the Sounders' 120-minute training game against rival Vancouver ends in a 1-1 tie.

120': Yellow card to Harlinton Gutierres.

118': Red card to Seattle's Jason Banton. Gaschk said the midfielder slipped en route to a two-footed tackle, but called the ejection "understandable."

110': Vancouver's Cregg gets a yellow card. I have the count at eight bookings.

106': A couple subs for the Whitecaps: Bryce Alderson and Caleb Clarke in for Franks and Mattocks.

101': Now a yellow card to Vanzie.

94': Caskey is the latest to pick up a yellow card. I think that's six on the day.

91': From Gaschk: "Steve Zakuani, Christian Siveback and Patrick Ianni were all held out of the match today for precautionary reasons."

Start of the third period: Here's Sounders FC's new lineup (presumably most of them have some work to do to make the team) and also Vancouver's...

Seattle: GK Bryan Meredith, D Amadou Sanyang, D Tim Pontius, D Harlinton Gutierres, D Ever Alvarado, M Cordell Cato, M Andrew Vanzie, M Alex Caskey, M Jason Banton, F Roger Levesque, F Babayele Sodade.

Vancouver: GK Andrew Fontein, D Russell Teibert, D Bilal Duckett, D Carlyle Mitchell, D Chris Estridge, M Long Tan, M Floyd Franks, M Patrick Cregg, M Michael Nanchoff, F Matt Watson, F Darren Mattocks.

End of second period: Each team has scored a goal today. There will be one more 30-minute period.

Removal of old turf at CenturyLink Field has begun

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:46:06 PST

The removal of the existing FieldTurf at CenturyLink Field started today and everything regarding the installation of new turf appears to be on schedule. I'm told that the anticipated completion of the project is the final week of February.

That's important because while the Sounders' season opener is March 7 against Mexico's Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League, team officials have indicated they're trying to schedule a home friendly before then.

Some people have asked what's going to be done with the old turf and I'm told the plans are to recycle/re-use it.

Details of the installation, which feature a new Revolution system/fiber, were announced back in November. Here's the press release, which explains it better than I can.

Monday afternoon links

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:16:03 PST

For the first time in 2012, it's a Sounders FC game day.

Sure it's just a preseason training game -- vs. Vancouver at 3 p.m. in Arizona -- but it has meaning nonetheless. With one of the more important games of the year coming up in four weeks (the home leg of a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against top Mexican team Santos Laguna), preparation is in full force.

I'm not sure what the parameters of the training game will be -- e.g. the length of the match, number of periods -- but expect Seattle to field a strong lineup that should look a lot like the starting group on March 7.

UPDATE 2:02 p.m.: The Sounders say the training game will consist on two 45-minute periods and an addition 30-minute period.

There will be a live blog on SoundersFC.com with updates and I'll try to relay some important stuff on Twitter before posting a recap here.

Until then, here are some links:

--- Former camp trialist and academy alum Darwin Jones was announced as a member of UW's latest recruiting class. Four academy products -- also Michael Gallagher, Ian Lange and Dominique Dismuke -- are included in the class.

--- Portland announced a few minor moves today involving the exchange of international roster slots, allocation and draft picks with D.C. United and Montreal. Timbers owner Merritt Paulson explained on Twitter that part of the moves were made with assurances that the Impact wouldn't take a Portland player in the expansion draft.

--- Goalkeeper Ryan Meara has signed with New York and it looks like the Red Bulls will have another announcement soon with trialist Victor Palsson tweeting that he's signed.

--- While we're all atwitter with Twitter, L.A. Galaxy midfielder Chris Birchall used the social medium to announce he won't be back in 2012.

--- Sounds like D.C. United is close to a lease agreement with RFK Stadium. Here are some more notes on the team, including an update on DeRo contract negotiations.

--- The league website has an update on former Sounder Pat Noonan, who's currently in camp with the L.A. Galaxy.

--- It looks like No. 1 overall draft pick Andrew Wenger will be going back to school and rejoining Montreal full-time in May. Here's a good look at the Generation adidas program and ESPN.com has a profile on Sporting Kansas City forward CJ Sapong.

--- Did you know David Beckham was red carded at a youth soccer match recently?

--- Here's a fascinating extract from the book: "Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World." It details the process of the club acquiring Leo Messi, and not all Barcelona officials were excited about the young prospect.

--- Lastly, the latest from Soccer AM's "Showboat" series is pretty good:

POLL: Which new signing are you most excited to see play next season?

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:31:04 PST

It's a pretty straightforward question and I'm eager to see what you think. Keep in mind there will likely be some more new faces on the 2012 roster (draft picks, trialists, etc.), so maybe we'll bring this back in a couple weeks.

Feel free, as always, to share your thoughts in the comments section:

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VIDEO: Man. United escapes with a 3-3 draw after wild comeback against Chelsea

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 16:16:04 PST

* * *

Here are some highlights from the other big game today, in case you didn't get up early to watch.

Super Bowl Sunday links

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:31:05 PST

Much of the sporting world will be focused on the other football today, but here's a healthy offering of links, starting with a game-winning goal in the last minute of stoppage time from your own half of the field...

* * *

--- The latest edition of MLSsoccer.com's ExtraTime Radio features former Sounder and current Whitecap Sebastien Le Toux. Also from the league website, a look at the growing trend of international players.

--- Around the league, second-year forward Blake Brettschneider was waived by D.C. United, the Colorado Rapids and forward Caleb Folan have mutually parted ways and the Portland Timbers got some bad news regarding new signing Jose Adolfo Valencia.

--- Philadelphia Union captain Danny Califf wants some leadership help, D.C.'s Chris Pontius (the older brother of Sounders draft pick Tim) is targeting an opening day comeback from his broken leg and Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins is up for cleaning house if they miss the playoffs again.

--- Former Vancouver coach Teitur Thordarson is off to India?

--- Might Thierry Henry's loan be extended by Arsenal?

--- One website has published some offseason grades for Western Conference teams and Seattle gets a B.

--- Sounder at Heart has a story on recently named U-23s coach Darren Sawatzky. As does SSFC-Rumors.

--- Here are some profiles on some Americans abroad: Mikkel Diskerud and Josh Gatt.

--- ESPN.com and Goal.com have more from former USMNT coach Bob Bradley in the wake of the awful scene in Egypt.

--- Lastly, Zambia and Ivory Coast are the first two semifinalists in the African Cup of Nations. Ghana-Tunisia and Gabon-Mali are up in Sunday quarterfinals.

Ochoa rejoins team, Zakuani impresses

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 03:46:03 PST

Photo credit: Seattle Sounders FC

The Sounders will take Super Bowl Sunday off, but I wanted to share a few notes from the past two days. Our friend Jose Romero was at training Saturday, so be sure to check out his report, as well. Here are some highlights from the team reports:

--- Forward Sammy Ochoa rejoined the team late Thursday night and participated in the past couple days of training. He had stayed behind in Seattle to be with his wife for the birth of their second child, Thiago.

--- Midfielder Steve Zakuani (above) showed some flashes of brilliance at the end of a scrimmage Saturday. Here's how the team report described one play:

Perhaps the best highlight came in the final minute as Steve Zakuani, who played the full 40 minutes, flew down the left side with blazing speed. Zakuani then did a series of step-overs and cut to the middle before striking the ball at goal. His shot sailed just over the crossbar as time ran out.

Coach Sigi Schmid seemed impressed.

"The plan we had was for him to play 20 minutes and after 20 he asked if he could keep playing," he said in a team-released quote sheet. "I think he ran out of gas at about the 30 minute mark, so the last 10 he sort of stood up front and was a forward who really didn't chase back much. He had the opportunity at the end and we saw the old Zakuani step-over and push it inside and he just hit it over the top. With each day he gets a little more confidence. There's still no timeline, but every day it gets a little better."

--- Brad Evans' family, which lives in Phoenix, hosted a team dinner and other activities Saturday night. Be sure to check out his Twitter feed for highlights.

--- Saturday's session, highlighted by an 11v11 scrimmage, involved those fighting for roster spots, according to Schmid. The coach said the first-team guys focused more on conditioning and getting game fit. The plan is to keep that starting group together in preseason more than previous years and they'll presumably feature in Monday's training game against Vancouver.

Here are the lineups from Saturday's intersquad scrimmage, which didn't include the first-teamers:

Team 1: Bryan Meredith, Wes Feighner, Andrew Duran, Andy Rose, Leo Gonzalez, Roger Levesque, Servando Carrasco, Mike Seamon, Steve Zakuani, Babayele Sodade, David Estrada.

Team 2: Andrew Weber, Zach Scott, Tim Pontius, Harlinton Gutierres, Ever Alvarado, Andrew Vanzie, Cordell Cato, Amadou Sanyang, Alex Caskey, Jason Banton, Sammy Ochoa.

--- MLS SuperDraft pick forward Babayele Sodade scored the lone goal Saturday, set up by supplemental draft pick Wes Feighner.

--- A couple notes indicate that Feighner played at right back (he was a left back last year in college). David Estrada, who turned 24 on Saturday, was up at forward. The lineups appear to suggest some other versatility, notably rookie Andy Rose possibly at center back (he's been mostly a center mid).

--- The team will training Monday morning before its aforementioned training game at 3 p.m., which is open to the public at the Grande Sports World soccer complex in Casa Grande, Ariz.

--- Here's the latest video report:

Friday links: USMNT sets up Canada friendly

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:31:05 PST

The U.S. men's national team will play a June 3 friendly against Canada at Toronto's BMO Field. It's being billed as the final warm-up before 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

The 4 p.m. kickoff marks the first U.S. game in Canada since 1997. The NBC Sports Network will carry the broadcast.

The U.S. begins qualifying on June 8 at home against Antigua and Barbuda. Guatemala and Jamaica are also in Group A.

Here are some other links:

* * *

--- Former USMNT coach Bob Bradley held an interview with an Egyptian television station and also Steven Goff of The Washington Post the other day in the aftermath of the horrible scene after a recent soccer match that has killed at least 74 and injured over 1,000.

--- USWNT coach Pia Sundhage named her team heading into a Feb. 11 friendly against New Zealand in Dallas. Twenty-eight were called in and 18 will be on the squad. More than 14,000 tickets have already been sold for the 1 p.m. kickoff.

--- San Jose signed Colombian midfielder Tressor Moreno on Thursday. The 33-year-old has played all over the world. The league website wonders who the big signing of 2012 will be.

--- Sounder at Heart is co-hosting a viewing party of Seattle's March 14 road leg in its CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Mexico's Santos Laguna. It will be held at Golazo headquarters downtown. The event is for all ages and open to the public. There is a cover charge that includes beer and proceeds go to charity. Doors open at 4 p.m. and you can RSVP on Facebook.

Training report: Thursday scrimmages

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:31:04 PST

Photo credit: Seattle Sounders FC

The Sounders did some scrimmage work Thursday with three 11-man teams and three 20-minute games. The lineups and details aren't known in full, but there are a few interesting notes to glean from the official team report and Matt Gaschk's blog post, especially if coach Sigi Schmid is looking to play a potential starting group together as much as possible:

--- It sounds like Fredy Montero was partnered up top with Mike Fucito. Does Fucito have the early edge to be the second starting forward? Each had a goal Thursday.

--- It appears Mauro Rosales, Lamar Neagle, Adam Johansson and Osvaldo Alonso were also on that team.

--- Roger Levesque, Christian Sivebaek, Mike Seamon, Babayele Sodade and Servando Carrasco were apparently on the same team. The third team appeared to consist of Jason Banton, Andy Rose and Amadou Sanyang, among others. Levesque and Sanyang had goals.

--- Steve Zakuani was able to play all 40 minutes. Newcomers Ever Alvarado and Harlinton Gutierres did as well.

--- Goalkeeper Josh Ford has returned to Seattle to undergo medical evaluations, presumably on his knee that has been given him issues since last season.

--- After the jump are some team-provided quotes from Schmid and a video report from SoundersFC.com: