SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. CF MONTREAL

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. After surfacing from our Water Po– I mean football match at Avalon Boulevard last week, Sounders FC prepare to host CF Montreal. It is the first time we have played Montreal Impac– I mean, Club Foot Montreal since 2022. Bon chance, mes amis. Bienvenue dans l'enfer vert. In an unrelated note: Poutine is delicious. Well done.

What: MLS league match, Seattle Sounders FC v. CF Montreal.

Where: Royal Brougham Park, Occidental Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

When: 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 6 April 2024 CE.

At Stake: Should we fail to defeat Montreal, and New England best Charlotte at Foxboro…we will be dead last in the league. Can we find the consistency we need in front of goal?

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV. Remember, you don’t have to listen to the audio commentary provided by Apple TV, as they provide the option of selecting the KJR simulcast for home fixtures.

Where to Listen: 950 KJR AM and El Rey 1360 AM.

Montreal are the opponent. I think they deserve a warm welcome from the Brougham End. And by a warm welcome I mean an utterly solid wall of unmitigated noise, chanting, singing, general carrying-on, shouting, drumming, and any other bloody thing we can come up with.

Why? Simple answer. Support is vital. Round up your mates, and get ye to the ground if ye have the means. Failing that, we link up at pubs, flats, houses, and sometimes even boats and ships. Be loud. Be kind. Look after one another.

It’s Sounders football, under the lights at Royal Brougham Park on a Saturday night. GO ON SOUNDERS!!!! GO ON SOUNDERS!!!! GO ON SOUNDERS!!!!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!

Injury has not yet struck Raul this season. He’s scored from penalties a couple times, and been unlucky

with finishing from the run of play. He’s due for a breakout match. Why not Saturday night?

The Good News

Let’s wipe last week’s result off the board. That waterlogged pitch was unplayable, and the match should never have gone forward. For me the entire side gets a pass on that one.

Some of our injured are returning to fitness. Joao Paulo and Obed Vargas are meant to be available for selection, and will likely play a role off the substitutes bench.

We have quality in the team. We need to put together a complete and consistent performance. That has been the struggle thus far. In part because of injuries, and in part because of other factors. We have the ability to sort this. Let’s see it.

Sounders are unbeaten at home. Granted it’s two draws, but I’ll have that over defeats.

The weather forecast calls for a bit of rain, but just a tiny amount. It will be nice to play football on a pitch that isn’t completely sodden and dangerous as it was in the Southland a week ago.

The Bad News

Montreal has yet to play a home match this season. This will be their sixth consecutive match on the road. Although their defence is conceding about the same as we are on average, they are the more statistically likely to score two goals.

Montreal have lost their last two matches, losing 4:3 at Chicago, and 1:0 at DC United. They’ll be keen to show their teeth on Sat. We had better be ready.

Sounders FC are averaging 0.80 goals/match. To be even competitive, this must improve.

This is a year of reckoning for the Sounders FC. We were built to compete for titles, but that structure, that was built so specifically, is showing stress and wear with Lodeiro gone, Joao Paulo limited by injuries, and the midfield’s inability to provide adequate service to Ruidiaz and Morris. Management and ownership did not adequately develop or purchase replacements for Nico and JP. We are witnessing the consequences of this now in real time. It is not possible to develop replacements from our Academy and Reserves if those players don’t actually play. Neither has an effort been made to provide cover through the transfer market. It is unclear what the path forward is for the club. Are we buyers in the transfer market, or are we producing players from within the club? Right now, we don’t seem to have chosen either approach, or even a hybrid of the two. As long as this is the case, we will struggle to get results on the pitch. Forget about winning titles for now. More realistic short-term goals are steady improvement in consistency, finishing, defending, support play, to achieve more competitive results.

Sounders FC Reserves suffered a setback from their, up to now, excellent form, in their 5:2 defeat at LA Galaxy Reserves. On the brighter side, redemption could be just ‘round the corner, against LAFC Reserves come Sunday. Sounders Reserves currently sit in 6th place in the MLS Next Pro table, three points adrift of LA Galaxy Reserves.

The Side I Would Select

With Vargas and Joao Paulo returned to fitness, I’d have them in the team for sure. Granted they will likely be on minutes restrictions, but I’d choose to have those minutes at the start of the match, rather than at the end of it. After JP and Obed hit their minutes ceilings, I’d bring in Atencio and Leyva in their places. The back to basics idea from last week was a good one, and I like our chances if we play in the 4-2-3-1 shape again, with everyone reverting to their old roles.

GK     Frei

LB       Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Gomez Andrade

RB     Baker

LDM   Joao Paulo

RDM   Vargas

LF     Morris

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Cristian

CF     Ruidiaz

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

I’d expect a very similar lineup to what we saw at Avalon Boulevard, with the exception of Cristian, who I imagine will be restored to his right-forward position. Expect Joao Paulo and Vargas to come on as substitutes for limited minutes as they regain their match sharpness after their time out due to injuries.

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Gomez Andrade

RB     Alex

LDM   Atencio

RDM   Leyva

LF     Morris

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Cristian

CF     Ruidiaz

Intangibles

The referee for Saturday night’s match will be Filip Dujic. Interesting note: Filip is a Canadian citizen. Dujic has presided over 23 MLS league matches. Sounders’ record in matches refereed by Dujic 1-0-0. CF Montreal’s record in matches refereed by Dujic 0-0-1.

The pressure on the lads, management, and ownership must be utterly suffocating. How will we react?

General notes on personnel

Montreal transfers IN:

Edwards (LA Galaxy) €371,000

Ruan (DC United) undisclosed fee

Breza (Bologna) free

Sosa (Bologna) loan

Iankov (Ludogorets) €1.85M

Coccaro (Huracan) €1.75M

Martinez (Inter Miami) free

Doody - draft

Biello - reserves

Schiavoni (Bologna) undisclosed fee

Montreal transfers OUT:
Assi (Charlotte FC Reserves) free

Brault-Guillard - released

Hamdi (Zamalek) free

Kwizera (Rhode Island FC) free

Pantemis (Portland Timbers) free

Rea - (CD Castellon) free

Quioto (Tractor) free

Herrera (DC United) €464,000

Offor (Arda Kardzhali) loan

Schiavoni (Forge FC) loan

Thorkelsson (Kongsvinger IL) loan

Comparison against common opponents

n/a

Know Thine Enemy

Montreal as they lined up at Potomac Avenue in their 1:0 loss to DC United.

GOALKEEPER

Jonathan Sirois, 22

Canada

Notable Clubs: CF Montreal (38/0), Valour FC (43/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000

Notes: Developed by CS St-Hubert and Montreal Impact.

DEFENCE

Ariel Lassiter, 29

Costa Rica (17/1)

Notable Clubs: GAIS (12/1), Los Angeles Galaxy (25/1), Alajuelense (64/24), Houston Dynamo (19/0), Inter Miami CF (38/4), CF Montreal (30/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €600,000

Notes: Full name: Ariel Daniel Lassiter Acuna. Developed by Albion SC. Played his university football for Cal Poly (21/5).

Fernando Alvarez, 20

United States

Notable Clubs: CF Montreal (7/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €500,000

Notes: Full name: Fernando Antonio Alvarez Amador. Developed by Pachuca. Has played for Mexico (5/0) and Colombia (15/0) at youth levels.

Joel Waterman, 28

Canada (3/0)

Notable Clubs: Kitsap Pumas (11/0), Cavalry FC (21/1), CF Montreal (92/4)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by Aldergrove Youth SC, Langley United, and Surrey United SC. Played his university football at Trinity Western (56/9). Won two Canadian Premier League titles with Cavalry FC. Won a Canadian Championship with CF Montreal.

Gabriele Corbo, 24

Italy

Notable Clubs: Spezia (1/0), Bologna (3/0), Ascoli (14/0), CF Montreal (47/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €600,000

Notes: Developed by Spezia.

Ruan, 28

Brazil

Notable Clubs: Orlando City SC (101/4), DC United (24/0), CF Montreal (5/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Full name: Ruan Gregorio Teixeira. Developed by Barra da Tijuca. Won a US Open Cup with Orlando City.

MIDFIELD

Mathieu Choiniere, 25

Canada (2/0)

Notable Clubs: CF Montreal (107/9)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by Celtix du Haut-Richelieu, CS St-Hubert, and Montreal Impact. Won two Canadian Championships with Montreal Impact.

Samuel Piette, 29

Canada (68/0)

Notable Clubs: Fortuna Dusseldorf (2/0), CF Montreal (164/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by Lionceaux Le Gardeur, FC Boisbriand, Metz, and Fortuna Dusseldorf. Won two Canadian Championships with Montreal Impact.

Dominic Iankov, 23

Bulgaria (17/0)

Notable Clubs: Ludogorets (83/11), Botev Vratsa (24/3), CF Montreal (4/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Developed by Power FC, Sunderland, and Ludogorets. Won five Bulgarian league titles, three Bulgarian Supercups, and a Bulgarian Cup with Ludogorets. Named best progressing player in the Bulgarian First League 2020.

FORWARD

Matias Coccaro, 26

Uruguay

Notable Clubs: Rampla Juniors (19/4), Villa Teresa (8/5), Montevideo City Torque (51/13), Huracan (95/29), CF Montreal (5/3)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4M

Notes: Full name: Matias Fernando Coccaro Ferreira. Developed by Lavalleja, Cagliari,  and Atletico Tucuman.

Josef Martinez, 30

Venezuela (66/14)

Notable Clubs: Caracas (36/8), Young Boys (37/4), Thun (18/8), Torino (58/7), Atlanta United FC (134/98), Inter Miami CF (27/7), CF Montreal (5/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Developed by Caracas. Won the 2018 MLS Cup with Atlanta United. Won US Open Cup and Campeones Cup with Atlanta United in 2019. Won a Leagues Cup with Inter Miami. Named to Swiss Super League Team of the Year 2013-14. Three times named to MLS Best XI (2017, 2018, 2019). 2018 MLS Most Valuable Player. Won 2018 MLS Golden Boot (scored an MLS-record 31 league goals). 2018 MLS Cup MVP. On a Designated Player contract.

Familiar Faces

None.

Squads

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Arreaga, Baker, Bell, Gomez Andrade, Hawkins, Nathan, Nouhou, Ragen, Alex, Atencio, Joao Paulo, Kitahara, Leyva, Rusnak, Vargas, Morris, Musovski, Cristian, Rothrock, Ruidiaz, Teves.

Montreal from:

Breza, Sirois, Ketterer, Sosa, Alvarez, Waterman, Jabang, Ruan, Campbell, Corbo, Doody, Edwards, Wanyama, Iliadis, Piette, Iankov, Duke, Lassiter, Zouhir, Saliba, Lappalainen, Choiniere, Biello, Coccaro, Toye, Ibrahim, Martinez.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC -

OUT: Baker-Whiting (hamstring), Chu (knee), de la Vega (hamstring), Rodrigues (hamstring).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Joao Paulo (hip).

Montreal -

OUT: Opoku (ankle),  Vilsaint (knee).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Iankov (hamstring), Lappalainen (groin).

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

No players suspended for either club.

Fun Fact

Although a bit of rain is expected, there’s a very good chance that we don’t play on a waterlogged pitch Saturday night. If this is the case and the pitch is playable, saints be praised.