Major League Soccer
Western Conf. Showdown: Seattle vs. Los Angeles
This is the game everybody wanted to see—the two best teams in Major League Soccer squaring off in a two-game series to decide who will host the 2014 MLS Cup. Here is Jon Arnold's take.
THIS FEELS LIKE THE ONE. The championship game. But it's not. Long ago the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders established themselves as the favorites for the MLS crown. Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane vs. Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. DeAndre Yedlin vs. Robbie Rogers. Bruce vs. Sigi. The potential end to Donovan’s illustrious career. The matchups are juicy—made for dramatic promos on ESPN.
But the winner of this scintillating showdown (5pm ET; ESPN) will face one more test—and a stern one at that—by hosting the winner of the Eastern Conference. In order to lift MLS Cup, one of these two teams will need to survive the two-game series with enough left in the tank to face either the New York Red Bulls or the New England Revolution.
The Galaxy aren’t fretting about losing that last match—nor the Supporters’ Shield—now that the playoffs have rolled around. Bruce Arena's men certainly looked more convincing in their conference semifinal, a 5-0 aggregate win over Real Salt Lake—than Seattle did in its semifinal against FC Dallas.
“There’s no fear. You can’t have fear going into game like this. These are the games that you want to be playing in,” Robbie Keane told the L.A. Galaxy’s official site. “We can’t change about what happened in the past, but we can change what will happen on Sunday. We have to make sure that we go into the game with the right mentality and not thinking that it's revenge.”
The architect of the only goal the Sounders were able to muster in the series was, to some extent, Marco Pappa. The Guatemalan playmaker hit an excellent free kick into the box for Alonso’s goal in Frisco, Texas, but also showed his defensive deficiencies. Schmid likes to use Pappa as an impact sub, someone who can inject energy into a torpid match while minimizing his defensive limitations.
That’s exactly what Pappa did in the regular season finale against the Galaxy: His late brace lifted the team to a title. How Schmid chooses to deploy Pappa will say a lot about how the Sounders attack the match and may also hinge a bit on Alonso’s status. Schmid also has Lamar Neagle, who tallied three times in September, if Martins and Dempsey aren’t firing on all cylinders.
THE HISTORY
Looking to the past for clues about who will take the two-legged series is futile. The Galaxy went into Century Link Field and rolled the Sounders 3-0 in late July with the home team’s best defender, Chad Marshall, missing because of injury. The teams played to a stalemate the next time around, with Dempsey and Lamar Neagle erasing Baggio Husidic and Marcelo Sarvas’ early goals. That set up a year-ending meeting between the two clubs on October 25, and the Sounders leveled the season series with a 2-0 home win.
The Galaxy aren’t fretting about losing that last match—nor the Supporters’ Shield—now that the playoffs have rolled around. Bruce Arena's men certainly looked more convincing in their conference semifinal, a 5-0 aggregate win over Real Salt Lake—than Seattle did in its semifinal against FC Dallas.
“There’s no fear. You can’t have fear going into game like this. These are the games that you want to be playing in,” Robbie Keane told the L.A. Galaxy’s official site. “We can’t change about what happened in the past, but we can change what will happen on Sunday. We have to make sure that we go into the game with the right mentality and not thinking that it's revenge.”
THE INJURY CONCERNS
The Sounders could again be missing a critical component to the team that already has lifted the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters’ Shield this season. Central midfielder Osvaldo Alonso made an early exit in the team’s scoreless draw with FC Dallas that saw the Sounders progress to the conference final. He left in the 56th minute with a hamstring injury, and his status is unknown. Publicly, the Galaxy’s leaders hope Alonso is fit, with center back Omar Gonzalez telling MLSSoccer.com, "I hope Alonso heals quickly. I think he's huge for them. I want them to be at full strength because it makes for a better game." Privately, team management might not be too broken up about it if the Cuban native doesn’t suit up. Alonso has long been one of the best players in the league and his ability to make quick transitions out of the back is one of the attributes that has made the Sounders so successful. The Galaxy have an injury concern of its own, with Leonardo coming out in the 37th minute of its 5-0 romp over Real Salt Lake on November 9. Bruce Arena told the Galaxy’s official site that the Brazilian, along with fellow defenders Todd Dunivant and James Riley, are “candidates to play” in Sunday’s first leg. If Leonardo can’t go, it’s Tommy Meyer time—which isn’t a horrible downgrade for the team.
THE MATCHUPS
The first leg will take place Sunday at the Stub Hub Center, where the Galaxy have gone undefeated in 18 consecutive official matches. To get to 19, Arena will of course rely on his legendary duo of Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, along with the consistent, and consistently underrated, midfield pairing of Marcelo Sarvas and Juninho. If Alonso misses out, Arena's Brazilian midfielders could tilt the field in favor of the home team. But the Sounders' defense isn’t easily broken down. The center backs, Marshall and Zach Scott, saved Seattle on a number of occasions throughout the year and held FC Dallas to just one goal over two legs in the last round of the playoffs. The Galaxy's best bet might just be to focus on left back Leonardo Gonzalez, who was beaten time and time again by Dallas’ speedy winger Fabian Castillo. Arena has converted midfielder Robbie Rogers playing left back for Los Angeles, and the Sounders may look to exploit him there—although he has turned in a remarkable season at the position and was recently signed to a contract extension. Martins and Dempsey were largely kept in check by Dallas despite the fact that the team’s defensive midfield depth took a hit when Victor Ulloa sustained an injury in defensive midfield. Dallas’ center-back pairing stood tall and goalkeepers Chris Seitz and Raul Fernandez made saves when needed.
The architect of the only goal the Sounders were able to muster in the series was, to some extent, Marco Pappa. The Guatemalan playmaker hit an excellent free kick into the box for Alonso’s goal in Frisco, Texas, but also showed his defensive deficiencies. Schmid likes to use Pappa as an impact sub, someone who can inject energy into a torpid match while minimizing his defensive limitations.
That’s exactly what Pappa did in the regular season finale against the Galaxy: His late brace lifted the team to a title. How Schmid chooses to deploy Pappa will say a lot about how the Sounders attack the match and may also hinge a bit on Alonso’s status. Schmid also has Lamar Neagle, who tallied three times in September, if Martins and Dempsey aren’t firing on all cylinders.
