3 Hopes for Seattle v Tijuana

By Steven Agen

It’s a friendly. What’s the point of trying to predict a score, or what the play will look like? No one even knows how serious Sounders manager Sigi Schmid will take the match or who he’ll start. He’s indicated that Oniel Fisher and Cristian Roldan will get minutes, but that leaves a similar ambiguity in whether they’ll start or not. So, instead of worrying about what we don’t know, let’s talk about what it’ll take for this early-season friendly to constitute a success for the Sounders.

1. Get a look at the Mexican style of play

Garth Lagerwey has hammered the point home since the friendly was announced: This is a tune-up for Champions League. It’s all a little early, to be honest. The soonest Seattle could possibly see a Mexican opponent is in the quarterfinal stage of the tournament next March. That’s a full year away.

However, the style they’ll see from Tijuana is certainly closer to what they can expect from their group stage endeavors than anything they might see in MLS play. Assume that CONCACAF sticks with this year’s format for the 2015-2016 version. A quick bit of calculus on the impending draw for the tournament reveals that the Sounders have a 1 in 2 chance of drawing a Costa Rican or Honduran opponent, arguably the two strongest Central American footballing countries outside of Mexico.

Why are Costa Rica dominating the US and Mexico?

Tijuana have stated that they’re likely to play a mix of starters and reserves against the Sounders. Here’s to hoping that, whoever they play, those eleven men play something like the two squads Seattle will face in the fall.

Should Seattle draw Vancouver and a Caribbean club, this friendly may seem like a poor use of time and resources. However, it’s a relatively cheap insurance policy for Hanauer and Lagerwey should they draw anyone from the stronger of the Central American countries. Provided Tijuana are indicative of the pervading style south of American borders, this friendly will prove a sound investment for the club.

2. Rest the right guys

Gonzalo Pineda, Leo Gonzalez, Chad Marshall and Obafemi Martins are all on the wrong side of thirty. Seattle, should they make the playoffs, will play a minimum of 40 matches across all competitions this season. Throw in a deep Open Cup run, and a foray beyond the play-in rounds come November, and that number will approach 50.

Any wear and tear for any of the aforementioned regular starters will constitute a giant mistake. Martins wore down towards the end of last season, as did Dempsey each of the past two years.

Pineda is a year removed from a lengthy sabbatical from the game due to injury. Marshall, already questionable in practice this week, has a history of concussion problems and back injuries. And Leo Gonzalez?

Well, the Costa Rican has been a rock in the Seattle back four since the summer of 2009. But he’s now 34 years old, and won’t be playing in every match this year anyways.

For all of these players, is it worth trading an hour-long shift in a March friendly for a start in a pivotal match in, say, October? It is decidedly not.

Furthermore, the Sounders face an away game at league-leading FC Dallas this weekend. Clint Dempsey and Marco Pappa will be away on national team duty, stretching the roster farther yet. Any player in Schmid’s plans for the Saturday encounter should see extremely limited time on Tuesday. This group includes Michael Azira, Chad Barrett, Brad Evans, Lamar Neagle, and maybe even Andy Rose. Certainly some of them will have the legs to stomach both matches, but it’s a big risk for the team regardless.

Sigi Schmid should use the match to give his younger players some minutes. Cristian Roldan should start, as should Andres Correa, Oniel Fisher, and Damion Lowe. Starters aren’t going to get all the minutes in the group stage of CCL for Seattle anyways- give the kids some time! Any youngster who hasn’t faced Central American opposition before will benefit from this opportunity more so than veterans like Evans, Neagle, and Marshall.

3. No TV? Try something new

The match won’t be broadcast on television, or live streamed on the web. It almost has a closed-door vibe to it, and the Sounders should make use of it. Schmid should trot out a new lineup, and see if he can stumble upon something that could work in either CCL or league play this season. The 3-5-2 experiment against Sporting Kansas City in the Desert Diamond Cup went poorly, but maybe it deserves another shot. What about a 4-3-3, utilizing the speed of Darwin Jones up top, and giving Rose more responsibilities in the midfield on Tuesday than he’ll have on Saturday?

Perhaps the surprise will be more subtle. Lamar Neagle, who may get minutes at forward on Saturday, would benefit from a half there against Tijuana. Can Correa play a left midfield role? There’s another idea. It could be as simple as trying someone out in a new spot, or as radical as a departure from Seattle’s standard 4-4-2. Regardless, the match isn’t particularly accessible to outsiders.

Sigi Schmid could use this opportunity to experiment and find something new. It’s a chance to discover a new tactical wrinkle for a club that’s starting to be passed over by five-man midfields. Wouldn’t a discovery that translates to league play be far more valuable than a positive result on the night? Here’s to hoping that Schmid is feeling adventurous, and willing to experiment.