It’s not been an easy week for Zach Scott.
The veteran of Seattle Sounders USL has a multitude of fans who love his devotion to the club.
They admire even more his ever readiness to perform despite the physical pain he often plays through, and some of the more knowledgeable fans admire his unflinching club loyalty despite a level of compensation that frankly embarrasses the club and the millionaires who negotiate it.
Scott has played 6499 MLS minutes over the last five seasons, way in advance of players who have performed far less for more money, and youngsters with a fraction of his experience who have not earned the respect he has.
But Scott also has vociferous detractors, and they become emboldened with his every error.
Last week’s US Open Cup defeat in LA provided them with fodder after a careless crossfield pass handed LA Galaxy their go-ahead goal. To exacerbate that, there was a not dissimilar error in the following league match at Sporting Kansas City, although some also pointed a finger at Tyrone Mears for giving up the subsequent chase too easily.
Open Cup: La Galaxy 4 : 2 Sounders FC
The vehemence of the online abuse irked former teammate Steve Zakuani who, in noble tradition, embarked on a Facebook rant to destroy Scott’s critics.
It’s worth reading to get some idea of the high regard Scott is held in by his fellow professionals.
What is Scott himself saying?
Like many of the Sounders players, he was shepherded away in the immediate after match of the Cup exit, with Sigi Schmid perhaps feeling he himself should take the brunt of the media following the late collapse. The morning after though, Prost spoke to him at Sounders training.
The 36-year-old Hawaiian was phlegmatic:
“That’s the way soccer is. You can have a great game up until one mistake and that snowballs into something else.
“What can you do other than put your head down and keep putting in the work? … We’re all pissed off about poor results in league and in Open Cup.”
Asked though whether, the amount of responsibility to shepherd youngsters through the tie had affected his own focus, Scott was not ready to make any excuses:
“I’m all for more responsibility being heaped on myself. I’ll never be a guy that makes excuses whether it’s individual excuses or excuses from a team standpoint. I’ll take whatever (criticism) the coaches want to give me. Shit, I’ll take whatever the fans want to give me. I’ve never been one to shy away from criticism.”
The nub of the Zach Scott issue is not that he still plays but that Schmid is forced to select him because he is the best available on any given day. That is not Zach Scott’s (or indeed Sigi Schmid’s) fault.
Certainly, the long term injury to Roman Torres has meant more minutes at centre half for both Scott and Brad Evans. However, the question Sounders fans should be asking is ‘where is the pressure from S2 or a youngster on that position?’
Apart from the battle between Joevin Jones and Dylan Remick for left back, there are far too few spots in the starting XI where a regular starter is under pressure.
Zach Scott is selected because, even at 36 and through pain, he will do a better job there than anyone else on the roster; even if that job includes taking ‘shit’ from those fans who don’t know any better.
(full interview is in the video at the top of the page)
Sporting Kansas v SoundersFC Photo Gallery
