The Rave Green Commentary: Rounding the bend towards the playoffs…
By Rod Nicholls
Welcome back to soccer Saturday Sounders Fans!
It was a gloriously gray Saturday morning in Seattle and it is time to get back to futbol for the Rave Green. During the Sounders bye week it has been anything but a very quiet time in the soccer community and the various world cup qualification fixtures have played out with other MLS action. There has been lots of drama in the soccer world including:
1) The US Men’s National Team expelling the ghost of 2006 and qualifying for South Africa.
2) The very sad and unfortunate car accident of Charlie Davies, (God speed for a speedy recovery, and prayers for the victims and their families of this unfortunate accident)
3) Argentina – in the face of tremendous odds, qualifies for South Africa
4) After securing Argentina’s 2010 spot, Diego Maradona, returning to the form of his Coca Jr. days and letting loose an amazingly descriptive blue streak with the media that has him facing a potential 5 game ban and fine for violating the FIFA rule concerning, “Anyone who offends the dignity of a person or group of persons through contemptuous, discriminatory or denigratory words or actions concerning race, color, language, or religion.”
After the drama filled bye week the Sounders position to claim what is appearing to be tantamount to their MLS birth right, a playoff spot in their inaugural season, has only strengthened. Through hard work, dedication and a little help from some of the other sides in the MLS our lads are back in the position that they started the season in, in total control of their own destiny. It is simple, win today and we are in. Winning should be the singular focus of our team. Let the rest of the different scenarios unfold on their own, they do not matter. The Sounders have the luxury of being able to have a singular focus in this match, and by the way, the lads are most likely are going to need it.
Teams in survival mode or with nothing to play for are the most dangerous…
Today, our boys face the Harry Potter Wizards in Kansas City, and depending on the results of the Fake Lake v Toronto match or the Chicago v New England match earlier in the day, the Harry Potter boys may be eliminated from playoff contention just before today’s first kick. Either way, the Wizards are poised to be a challenging opponent. If at kickoff they are still in contention for a playoff spot, they have no choice but to win, they are a side filled with desperation, backed into a corner with only one way out, they must win. If they are not in a position to secure a playoff spot, they are playing for the maintenance of some sort of scrap of dignity and hope that their 2009 campaign was anything but an epic failure. No matter what, the Sounders should expect that Harry Potter will be bringing his wand and looking for a tough fight.
A couple of things to look for in today’s match…
Over the last few matches the Sounders have been dialing in their form and playing tactics and the structure of today’s match should be another great chance to tighten up even more as they approach the playoffs. There are a couple of key things to watch for in today’s match, as they will go a long way to showing the mental readiness of our boys for the playoffs.
The first one is the tactical style of play used in today’s match. The pitch in Kansas City at CommunityAmerica Ballpark is one of the smallest in the MLS. It is so small that if the Sounders attempting to throw the ball forward and turn the match into a Zakuani track meet, the game is going to devolve into a veritable ping-pong match between defenses. If this happens, Kansas City has a chance to cause the Sounders to drop points and no longer be the masters of our playoff destiny.
However, if we play with discipline and don’t fall into old nasty playing habits, this small pitch should have the benefit of reinforcing the habit of playing the “Beautiful Game” style soccer that leads to Sounders victories. It should require the Rave Green to continue to shorten up their style play, use crisp on target one and two touch passing with lots of movement off the ball. By doing this they will create space to be exploited in Kansas City’s structure to score goals and secure our playoff spot.
The second item to watch for is how Nate Jacqua is deployed on the field, this will go a long way to signaling the Sounders commitment to doing the things it needs to do as a tribe to win more silverware in 2009. There has been a lot of public discussion by Sigi about moving him to the wing. By doing this the Sounders remove him from being the central, and often illusory, focus of the offensive attack that has been structurally unproductive when he has played as a posting target. Moving him to the wing is a mutually beneficial move for both the Sounders as a whole, and Jaqua, individually. In the past, by placing Nate upfront as a target to throw the ball at, the Sounders have defaulted to playing a very direct, and in the end, a very frustrating style of soccer. The overall structure of the Sounders tribe is not well suited for hammer and tongs long ball, and by trying to play this way the Sounders were setting themselves up for failure. They byproducts of this include multiple draws and several losses along with the unfair blaming of Nate for offensive unproductiveness within the fan base.
The good news is that the Sounder appear to have learned this lesson and are making adjustments. He started on the wing in Boston against the Revolution and both he and the team made the adjustment well. It would be a good omen if Nate gets the call to start on the wing tonight. Nate has been an absolute hero to this team. He has shown a tremendous amount of heart, work effort and determination. His performance against Houston in the US Open Cup match at Starfire is one of the most memorable performances I have ever seen. As Sigi dials in their structure and form leading towards the playoffs, it is imperative that Nate’s considerable talents are deployed in a way that accentuates his considerable strengths, while minimizing any unconscious attempt by his teammates to over extend his many attributes in a way that leads to team failure.
It is going be a great futbol Saturday!
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October 17, 2009
Posted in: Seattle Sounders FC
