Pre-Game: Sounders FC vs. San Jose EarthQuakes
So there I was at Take ‘Em All Blog World HQ, feet up on the dark-red oak desk, ceiling fan turning slowly, curtains gently billowing in the warm tropical breeze, warm smell of calitas rising up through the air, pondering one of those deep mysteries of life: Will Smurf Blue ever become fashionable? Then I snapped back to reality and thought “Holy crap! The Sounders are playing the San Jose SmurfQuakes this weekend! I gotta write the pre-game!”.
Okay here we go… First off, where on earth is San Jose? I thought it was down near San Diego, but someone told me today that it was up towards San Francisco. I hope Waldo isn’t in San Jose because I have hard enough time finding that little dude as it is…
Here’s the Rundown:
Game Time:
Seattle Sounders FC vs. San Jose EarthQuakes. Saturday June 13, 7:30pm, Xbox Pitch. Game is sold out (again).
Broadcasting:
King 5, 97.3 FM KIRO radio, 1210 AM Que Bueno (Spanish, duh), and MLS Match Center (Internet feed pay-per-view)
Betting Line:
Big money on the Sounders for this one. The Earthquakes are +450 (ie a $100 bet gets you $450 if the Smurfmen win, but if you bet on SJ you will be banned for life from this blog).
Injured/Suspended:
Seattle is missing productive forward Nate Jaqua and easy-header-missing-but-otherwise-solid midfielder Jhon Kennedy Hurtado due to yellow card accumulations. San Jose is missing a fieldable team. Haha just kidding, they are pretty healthy but they are missing starting midfielder Bobby Convey.
San Jose Stars:
Watch for Alvarez (video clip here - that is a freaking Golaso if I ever saw one), Johnson (video clip here - not great but it shows his speed) or maybe Huckerby to test Keller.
Standings:
San Jose is currently dead-last in the standings and second-to-last the MLS power rankings. The Sounders have 56 points in the power rankings while the Smurfmen have 14. SJ has had an easy schedule the past two games so their recent win and tie probably make them look a little stronger than they are.
Free advice for Sigi:
SLOW DOWN! Your guys are killing themselves in the first half trying to get back on defense after launching massive 4 and 5 forward onslaughts early in the game. The whole onslaught thing worked at the beginning of the season but the other teams have adjusted with more defenders and a focus on quick breaks (as in the Lillingston goal of last week – video here). As much as I hate all things Italian Soccer, it may be time for a little soccer Al Italiano with a bigger focus on passing, pushing individual ball handling forwards like Montero up, with the bigger pushes coming later in the game.
Free advice for Ljungberg:
IF THE SOUNDERS NEED A GOAL LATE, DON”T START SCREAMING AT THE REF! Everyone in th league knows that if they hard-foul you late in a game you’ll run a couple minutes off the clock whining to the ref, so now you’re a target.
Predictions:
This whould be an easy 2-0 win for the Sounders playing at home. Hopefully Ljungberg gets his crossing/set-piece game in order and stops with the 10-yards-too-long crosses and corners. Seb Le Toux is due for a goal.
