Sounder at HeartA 4-1-4-1 variant that Seattle Sounder ended the season playing. It uses wingbacks for width, but is generally a short passing system that focuses on possession and countering.
06.01.2010
ZolaChelsea played a friendly against Sounder's last year. I believe it was Ancelotti's first game at helm.
There was a decent crowd in Seattle. It was not your typical American soccer fan base. Did Sounders do well this season? Are the fans happy with the team?
07.01.2010
SpaceGhostSpeaking of Chelsea, if Mourinho and Ancelotti had a baby it might look like this.
07.01.2010
Sounder at HeartSounders finished 4th on a single table (5th for purposes of playoffs) and won the US Open Cup (our version of FA Cup). They surprised us all finishing tied for 1st in Goals Against, and struggling at times on offense.
On the business side of things they were the 50th highest attended team in the world average ~32,000 fans. Next year they are opening up more seating for season tickets and will pass 35,000 for attendance. They sold more kits, etc than even the LA Galaxy with their supermodel.
For 2010 they will be in the CONCACAF Champions League, MLS regular season and the US Open Cup, so they are desperately in need of depth, particularly at the RM and CM.
09.01.2010
FeriAtsInteresting, I always thought "soccer" is the game of Latin immigrants in US. Seattle AFAIK does not have a huge latin population. What's the reason behind such a huge interest from the city?
11.01.2010
Sounder at HeartLatin fans of the game already have teams to root for back in their origin countries and cities. Even if 2nd, 3rd generation in the USA they have strong ties to teams in Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, etc.
They key to people attending an MLS game is to capture the tribal nature of sports, and market to those that care deeply. On the West Coast there are thousands of fans that wake up at 5 AM to get to a bar by 7AM on a Saturday to watch EPL matches.
While MLS does not have the quality of play of the EPL, I would much rather be inside a stadium watching a team that is from my own city.
11.01.2010
SpaceGhostAgreed - also "soccer" fans in the U.S. are predominately "soccer" players. While almost everyone here watches American Football, and everyone watches the Superbowl, very few people have actually played it at an organized level at any time in their lives.
But in the U.S. people who watch "soccer" are predominately those who play or have played the game (at least in my region of the country - deep south). And the increased interest in teams, both domestic and abroad, is a testament to the absolute explosion in soccer playing that has occurred here in the last 15 years.
I could go on for quite some time relating anecdotes and personal experience in the creation of teams, leagues, etc.
12.01.2010
FeriAtsInteresting... I remember reading a piece on how soccer is a communist game and should be avoided by Americans. That was about 10 years ago, though. Seems that times have changed.
I hate to hijack Sounder's, thread, so I'll start a topic about football in USA. I need to be educated appearently.
12.01.2010
