A slightly drunken Sounder fan reacts to the Nkufo news.

(Note: I severely lacked showing my blog enough attention last year, I hope to rectify that this season.)

Last year, I blogged about a prized Sounder item that I love to show off in social settings.




(read here: http://gulfcoastsounder.blogspot.com/2010/05/ultimate-sounder-accessory.html#comments)

As I said there, the first player that I'd customize said prized item with would be none other than Blaise Nkufo. Hell, when I ordered a new Sounder jersey last year, I got Nkufo's name long before he even made an appearance. He's exactly what I thought we needed, a big, physical striker capable of holding the ball and good in the air. After a decent showing we he finally made his way over, I expected him to put together a stellar season. I imagined he'd open up lanes for Fredy Montero and help lead us to MLS Cup glory.

Well, then last night happened.

Thirty minutes prior to kick off, ESPN's Max Bretos announced that Nkufo was no longer with the team.

Wait what? That sounds permanent.

I had already placed his jersey on eBay, in anticipation of ordering the new rave green shirt this weekend (with his name of course), so I got lucky there. After sitting through yet another loss to Los Angeles at the pub, I set off for home when it dawned on me I had unfinished business with Nkufo. My precious Sounders koozie sat in my room with his name and #9 still on the back. I pondered and even asked the Twitterverse on who the replacement should be. After debating, I settled on a man who had an impressive showing vs the Galaxy's vaunted attack, even after missing most of last season through injury. That man is none other than El Presidente:



Please notice the crooked application of the letters, and the slight tear on the "O", of which I attribute to a nice mix of Sam Adams and Strongbow. You see, this couldn't wait until today, this man who I put so much faith in just had to be removed from my most treasured of southern sportsfan gameday equipment right then and there.

Now the real question is who the hell goes on my new jersey?

Until next time....

GO SOUNDERS!

(and please for the love of God, beat New York.)

World Laziest Blogger reveals his love for the two newest Sounders.

Credit: Chris Coulter and GoSounders.com

I started this blog not so much as a typical Sounders blog, that gave game reviews and news/notes, but more of being a Sounders fan so far away from Seattle. Sure, sometimes game reviews sneak in, and since nobody reads this damn thing anyway, sometimes its the easiest story to write.

So today, I've broken my silence to discuss two very exciting moments in Sounder history: The debuts of Blaise Nkufo and Alvaro Fernandez, and the clubs Champions League debut.

Other signings may have caught more regional and even worldwide attention for MLS than Nkufo and Fernandez, but in my mind the Sounders have hit back to back home runs. Nkufo is a typical designated player signing for the league age-wise at 35, but there isn't another player in MLS that offers as much as the Senegalese-born Swiss international. The big man (6'2) is perhaps already the best in the league at hold up play and compliments Fredy Montero perfectly. He also has an eye for goal, with his 114 goals for FC Twente the most in club history. He's played for numerous clubs in Europe and even the Middle East at all different levels, but his best performance came at the Dutch club. Nkufo captained them to their first ever league title in his final season there (09-10).

Fernandez is the atypical MLS designated player signing when it comes to age at just 24. This signing represents a massive coup not just for Seattle but the league itself due to that very fact. Getting a young international player to come to MLS is hopefully the beginning of a trend for the league. The midfielder featured four times for Uruguay in this years World Cup, a team that reached the semifinals, and has already put himself in Sounders lore, scoring the goal that clinched Seattle's place in the Champions League group stage.

Since these two players have joined the rave green, and Freddie Ljungberg has departed for Chicago, we've seen another young international player set the league on fire in the Colombian Montero. Fredy had a lengthy points streak snapped in the Sounders last league match, a game he picked up a slight injury in.

All this good news leads me to a crowning achievement in the club's history, be it MLS, USL, or NASL. The CONCACAF Champions League since being revamped a couple of years ago, has gained more respect internationally that its predecessor the Champions Cup. The Sounders may have dropped there first group game, 2-1 away at Honduran champions Marathon, but playing in the event in just the second year of being in MLS is a big deal. Let's hope its the first of many appearances.

Until next time....

(whenever that may be)

Go Sounders!

(next match: vs Monterrey (MEX) in Champions League group play)

The Whirlwind MLS Career of Freddie Ljungberg

(Me and Freddie after the game @ FC Dallas this season)

The rumors have been going strong for over a week now, and while it seems a move/trade to be reunited with former Arsenal teammate Thierry Henry in New York appears unlikely, what is likely is Freddie Ljungberg's career as a Seattle Sounder is over.

The timeline began in October of 2008, when the Swedish midfielder was unveiled to Sounder fans as the franchise's first designated player signing. He spoke of being in America for the right reasons, to win games and help develop the game, hoping to avoid the tag other big name players had received in America of just playing for one last big payday.

Ljungberg's first season went well for the most part. Despite throwing a few tantrums, directly complaining on and off the field about the league's poor level of officiating, and suffering through a string of injuries, FL10 contributed 13 assists and 2 goals for the rave green. Seattle sold out every home game, made the playoffs, won the US Open Cup, and even qualified for the Champions League in its first season.

Life was good.

As all Sounder fans know, season two has been a bumpy road. Freddie still hates the officials and has dealt with injuries, but the results haven't come. While advancing to the semifinals in the Open Cup, Seattle is approaching the point of no return in regards to playoff qualification, and faces a tough tie vs Metapan of El Salvador in the Champions League qualification round. It seemed to me a few games ago that Freddie seemed less and less interested. He'd still put in a moment here and there, but it became obvious his mind was elsewhere. News came of an "ankle injury" that kept him from playing, and later on even traveling with the team on their trip to DC.

Then, the rumor mill kicked into high gear.

Word on the street was a trade to New York with Juan Pablo Angel coming the other way, then it was an outright release which would allow Ljungberg to sign with New York and give Seattle needed cap space to make improvements to salvage its season. This now all seems unlikely, and a trip back to Europe is more and more obvious. The reason for this, in my opinion, is the physical nature of MLS. While officials should protect the name players more, Ljungberg's constant whinging has eroded any chance he had of getting preferential treatment. His size and speed lead him to getting hacked more, and with that come injuries and a reputation of going down easy.

The bottom line is this: Freddie Ljungberg's time in MLS had its ups and downs, and can neither be deemed a boom or bust. The moments of brilliance are equal with the injuries, petulance, and late game fading. I am glad he was here for a season and a half, but am glad to have the cap space to help the team in the long run.

As a personal not, Freddie was kind enough to take the above picture with me after the FC Dallas game at Pizza Hut Park this year, and sign my jersey. The jersey will be framed and given a prominent place in my house one day, just as he should have a (albeit small) place in the early history of the MLS version of the Seattle Sounders.

Until next time...

GO SOUNDERS!

Back from my own World Cup break...

With the Sounders and the rest of MLS off for the group stage of the World Cup, I decided to also step back from Gulf Coast Sounder to enjoy the US Men's National Team and their ride to the knockout stage. Of course, my break also included the round of 16 and two Sounders games have happened, but that's beside the point.

First off, I have never been more proud of the heart and determination our boys showed in South Africa. It wasn't perfect, and we still have many strides to make as a nation both as fans and as players, but Landon Donovan's goal vs Algeria captured the nation for a few days.

As far as the Sounders go, I can think of several things more impressive than their return to action vs Philadelphia Union.

Root canals.

Hemorrhoids.

Vuvuzelas on a continuous loop.

Sure, the Union were opening their new stadium which put the rave green behind the 8-ball from the start, but it was the overall effort that made me physically ill.

Peter Vagenas gets paid six figures to play professional soccer. Allow that to sink in.

Pete wasn't alone in his bad play. Pat Noonan did score a goal in the 3-1 loss, but took the laziest penalty since Berbatov's miss vs Everton two seasons ago in the FA Cup. The defense, as it has been most of the season, was poor, and former Sounder Sebastien Le Toux put out more effort than every person in a Seattle uniform in leading Philadelphia to the win. Many of us were hoping the 2 week break for the World Cup would revitalize the squad, especially after the debacle on the eve of the Cup vs DC United. Sadly, as far as the league goes, it didn't happen.

Of course, there was a built in shot at redemption in the form of arch-rival Portland in the US Open Cup round of 16, and we wore ELECTRICITY again! For the second straight year the two rivals would meet at Portland's PGE Park, which on TV looks horrible by the way. The surface looks like it came from 1978 and soccer just never looks right being played in a baseball stadium. Moving along from trashing the rivals, the game itself was sloppy at best. The highlight was definitely the return to scoring form of big Nate Jaqua, who was on the end of the Sounders only goal after a great play by Sanna Nyassi to put the ball in the box after it appeared Miguel Montano had put it out for a goal kick. The defense again was suspect, although Sigi Schimd did make eight lineup changes from the Philadelphia game. Portland equalized the game on a sloppy job of defending which allowed Timbers forward Bright Dike (hehe) to capitalize and even the score at 1.

After 120 minutes of action, we went to penalty kicks. Kasey Keller came up huge saving two Portland penalties, and defender Zach Scott made up for his shaky outing by sealing the win on the Sounders last kick. Joy and elation rang out in the GCS bedroom, the place where I decided to watch the shootout portion.

Of course being a central time zone Sounder fan, it was nearly 1am. When I tell you I was useless at work today, believe it. I got NOTHING accomplished.

With the win, we are now rewarded with a quarterfinal home game (sort of) vs the league's best team, the LA Galaxy and their returning World Cup stars Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle. Oh by the way, we play them twice in a 4 day span, thanks to a scheduling quirk. They of course embarrassed Seattle 4-0 at Qwest that forced the front office to do the infamous refund to season ticket holders.

What are the chances an English team swoops in and grabs Donovan before Sunday?????

Until next time....

GO SOUNDERS!

Sounders add Michael Seamon to active roster and other notes.

Ok, bad joke. This is Michael Seamon, our newest full-time Seattle Sounder:


Credit: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The midfielder will wear #22 and head straight to the active roster. He was a 2nd round draft pick from Villanova, and after initially training with Seattle, he returned to Villanova get graduate. He celebrated his diploma with the final goal of the Sounders 3-0 friendly victory over Boca Juniors, the aftermath seen in the picture above.

The roster move brings the Sounders to 26 total players, one more than the 25 allowed. However, with three players on the IR, the Seamon signing actually only brings the active roster to 24, meaning there is one slot open. With injured players Nate Jaqua and Michael Fucito (possibly) expected back on the active roster after the World Cup break, as well as new signing Blaise Nkufo(heard of him?), expect some roster moves to take place. A trade or two would not be out of the question, but Coach Sigi will want the full 25 man roster utilized with US Open Cup and Concacaf Champions League games approaching.

Other Notes:
Speaking of the Champions League, the Sounders opponent is now known. FIFA lifted its ban of El Salvador, so CD Metapan will be the Sounders rival for the CCL qualifier. The first leg is in Seattle, and thankfully the front office has decided it will be played at Qwest Field and not Starfire, home of the Sounders during the US Open Cup.

Two massive games upcoming before the World Cup break, both at Qwest against struggling teams. Let's get 6 boys.

Until next time...

GO SOUNDERS!

Boca game is fools gold, as Sounders lose another league game

Yes, it was a meaningless friendly in the grand scheme of things, but the midweek win vs Boca Juniors offered the hope Sounders fans had wanted so desperately in recent weeks. The lack of goals and questions of how deep the team truly was were seemingly answered, with a 3-0 scoreline and 19 players seeing action. The match also saw solid debuts for CB Jeff Parke and CM Michael Seamon, the latter scoring a nice goal from distance to cap the scoring. The team looked sharp, and wore its new electricity jerseys for the first time. It was exactly what the followers of Sounder Nation needed.

Then came Saturday night at Colorado, and it was back to reality.

It was mostly the same song and dance, with the only difference being the Sounders didn't throw up a bunch of shots that didn't find their way in. The only save Rapids keeper Matt Pickens had to muster was on a long shot from Patrick Ianni. No offense to him, and I love his versatility, but when a team features as many offensive weapons as Seattle does, its bad news when Ianni has the only shot on target. Freddie Ljungberg did his usual routine of complaining about everything and missing every target in the box on set pieces, and Parke was beaten by Rapids forward Conor Casey who then chipped Kasey Keller for the game's only goal. It was the same old fruitless attack, although at least it wasn't 19 shots to 3 in a loss like the San Jose match.

So here we are again. Same old questions, same old non-answers. I've said it before, but Blaise Nkufo will have the weight of Seattle on his shoulders when he finally dons the rave green. At this point, is it enough? With consecutive home games against New England and DC United, teams that have struggled themselves this season, its not out of the question that six points is absolutely necessary before the World Cup break. Is it possible? Yes, but only if this team remembers what made last year so special, and rides the emotion of 40,000 fans at Qwest Field.

A couple of disturbing stats before I go:

Seattle is tied for the second fewest goals scored with 9. Only DC is worse with 7.

Seattle has taken the 4th most shots in the league, but is tied with Toronto for the fewest shots on goal.

At this rate, you'd have to expect some player movement that doesn't include Nkufo when the window re-opens.

Until next time....

Go Sounders!

The Ultimate Sounder Accessory

There's a local dive bar that Kate and I frequent with friends of ours. The beer is cold and cheap, and the karaoke is rocking every weekend. There's even a little plaque by the door with names listed of the regulars that have passed on to the next life. It truly is the bar where everybody knows your name, and is full of southern hospitality. It is known as the "Tiki Tavern". Just behind the bartender at Tiki, is an entire collection of a phenomenon known as the team beer koozy. The regulars leave them there and use them on their various bar nights. Some of them are the Dallas Cowboys, some the New Orleans Saints, and the majority are of the state school, LSU.

I don't know about the Pacific Northwest, but a staple of team loyalty in the Southeast is the team beer koozy. I didn't start using them until dating Kate and seeing her friends use them. I'll use any excuse to show off my team, especially in a social situation, so I ventured into the world of the koozy. Not only does it keep moisture and cold away from your hand, but showing off your team colors is a great conversation starter. I bought my first two that coincide with my two football teams, The University of Texas and the San Diego Chargers, but its my third koozy that I truly love the most:



This piece of art made its debut at the FC Dallas away game this year during the "pitch invasion":


(Unfortunately they don't give you bottles at Pizza Hut Park anymore, so there's a can in there.)

And finally made its Tiki Tavern debut two weekends ago:



(Seen here with Kate, it even comes with little stickers to adorn it with a players name and number. Think I'm ready for Blaise to be here?)

I think its safe to say I'm the only one in these parts that can boast such an item. It got some awkward stares on its Tiki debut, but it even got some comments of intrigue and a compliment or two. Our Houston friends who were there even offered letting us stay with them when the Sounders travel to Houston to close the regular season.

Nothing like the team beer koozy to start up a conversation about a soccer team in Seattle, all the way in Shreveport, Louisiana, and even get us a free place to stay.

Friendly vs Boca Wednesday....and I finally get to watch!!!

Until next time...

GO SOUNDERS!