SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. CLUB NECAXA - LEAGUES CUP GROUP STAGE - ROYAL BROUGHAM PARK, OCCIDENTAL AVENUE, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. I was just thinking today about the blood labs in my 10th Year Regents Biology class. You had to prick your finger with a lancet, or have a mate, or the instructor do it. I had this irrational fear of letting my instructor lance my finger, because I thought he was cross with me, because I was generally struggling at the time personally and academically, and I was also convinced, and depressed, that there was no kind of future waiting for me after graduation and being shunted into the corpo meat-grinder. Anyway, my lab partner, Altair, agreed to lance my finger. She was really gentle about it, and was generally a kind person and a top lab partner. Got an 89% on my State Board of Regents Exam in Biology…could’ve got a 100% with a bit more effort on my part………

Oh yeh, the football. Club Necaxa make the journey from St. Paul to face us in a Leagues Cup group stage match in The Evergreen.

What: Leagues Cup group stage, Seattle Sounders FC v. Club Necaxa.

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

When: 7:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Sunday 4 August 2024 CE.

At Stake: Basically everything I wrote about in the last article, to which I would add, seeding. If we defeat Necaxa, or even if we get a draw we would outright win the West Group 6, which sounds like it’s a telly programme about a resistance group in a future American dystopia that follows the current one.

There are penalty kick shoot-outs to break ties in Leagues Cup group stage matches, because stupid. Anyway, should the match be tied at Full-time with Necaxa, no matter what side of the penalty kicks we end up on, we would still win the group outright.

If we’re defeated by Necaxa at Full-time then there is a three-way tie for first place in the group, to be resolved by tie-breaking mechanics unique to a three-way tie for the group, because let’s make it as fucking complex as humanly possible to determine qualification. I digress.

So the tie-breakers for the three-way tie only are: 1. Better Goal Difference. 2. Most Goals Scored. 3. Least Goals Conceded. 4. Fair Play statistics with stupidly complicated rules that I will not dignify by listing them. 5. Random Draw.

After all that rot, it boils down tae this: West 6 position two team will play the winner of West 2 which will be either LA Galaxy or Guadalajara (a/k/a Chivas). The winner of West 6 will face the West 2 position two team Which could be any of the teams in West 2, namely LA Galaxy, Guadalajara, or San Jose Earthquakes.

If Guadalajara beat LA Galaxy, they win the group and Galaxy fall to second.

If Galaxy defeat Guadalajara, they win the group, which would see San Jose finish in position two.

If LA Galaxy v. Guadalajara match goes to penalties…I mean…Christ, it just gets stupider and stupider.

If Galaxy win the shootout they get two points in the standings, and the clubs finish 1. LAG, with SJ and GUA resorting to tie-breakers for who gets position two as they will be tied on two points each, because the penalty kicks loser gets a point.

Unless, of course, you hit the correct bank of drop-targets in a specific order, and lock your ball in play, which makes the ‘10x Score When Lit’ light activate. This is just a wind-up of course, it’s a hypothetical pinball machine I’m describing in this paragraph.

Saint Brigid fucking preserve us. I am not shitting you on this. Someone actually thought this shit up and thought it was a good idea. I mean, just consider all the match-fixy possibilities this massive array of tie-breakers opens up.

If Guadalajara win the penalty kicks, Galaxy win West 2 and Guadalajara would then be position two. And for the record, wot a fucking mess.

How much do I hate this tournament…let me but count the ways. MLS and Liga MX, enjoy your massive cash grab you fucking wankers.

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV, Fox Sports 1, and UniMas.

Where to Listen: El Rey 1360 AM. Sorry about last week. I had erroneously written that alternate commentary from KJR was possible for Leagues Cup. It was not, and we were all worse off because there was no choice. I assume there will be no choice for alternate audio on Sunday. It just gets better and better [sarcasm].

Late Stage Capitalism + Professional Sport = The Shittiest Imaginable Outcome For Fans And Supporters. The corpos know this, and they leverage the shit out of that loyalty and think up ridiculous-ass shite like Leagues Cup just to fuck with us.

End of the day, we support our Boys in Green. Because that’s what we do. We don’t cheer for that utter, bloated bag of pus Don Garber, or whoever runs Liga MX, or management and ownership. We cheer for the lads because they’re meant to represent us and The Evergreen…not them.

Buckle up and prepare for a wooly one, because even with zero goals scored, not a point to their name, and due to the weirdo vagaries of the Leagues Cup group stage format, Necaxa are still in this. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!

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

[singing] “Super / Super Jordan / Super / Super Jordan / Super / Super Jordan / Super Jordan Morris!”

The Good News

We handled Minnesota United quite nicely last Friday. We crushed them in pretty much every meaningful statistical category.

I haven’t heard anything about any injuries, although I assume Braudilio Rodrigues still suffers from his hamstring issue.

Win or draw against Los Reyos, Sounders win the West 6 group, penalties be damned.

Minnesota United were able to defeat Necaxa 1:0 despite having a man sent off on 20’. Perhaps there is some hope for us after all.

The Bad News

Sounders FC weren’t able to score goals until the 87th minute. We weren’t able to secure the result until stoppage-time. We left it awfully late. My poor heart.

Media support for this tournament is absolutely woeful. Official stats and match day sheets still unavailable at 8:56 p.m. PDT on Friday. In addition, the media materials for Leagues Cup are routed through the Leagues Cup website, which is unnecessarily confusing. The last update of the ‘Player Availability Report’ at the MLS website was on 19 July.

The MLS Summer Transfer Window closes on 14 August. No word about any potential signings, and the Sounders FC sold an International Roster spot. Hopefully that is not a statement of intent that management has no plans to improve the team this summer.

I’ve looked at this lineup. This is going to be an extremely difficult match. Necaxa has assembled a number of players from some pretty big clubs, with several of those having won their fair share of trophies. Check the ‘Know Thine Enemy’ segment to see their C.V.s. This is just the players that lined up against Minnesota United on 30 July. It took a gritty performance by the Loons to get past this lot. They were a man down for 70 minutes, and MUFC and Canada goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair had an all-world performance making 16 saves to keep the clean sheet.

The Side I Would Select

Right. Leagues Cup. For me, this is a good, strong team to put out there.

Rationale: Thomas is more than capable, and Stefan Frei is not getting any younger, so it’s time to give minutes to sharpen Thomas up as he, sooner rather than later, will have massive boots to fill. Baker-Whiting is underrated. No longer the coltish lad, Reed has grown tall and strong. Yanks U-20s wanted him for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, he runs all day, add strength, a fair bit of technique, a chance to rest Nouhou, and it’s clear to make this choice. Ragen is young enough to absorb the miles from some extra matches and even putting aside his value contract, he’s one of the best centre-halves in the league. Bell is a Jamaican international who has proven himself to be an excellent defender and put in a banger of a header not that long ago. Baker has been nothing but steady and reliable when called upon, so let’s let Alex rest and recover as much as we can. Kitahara and Brunell could use some minutes, and I think they’re good enough to help hold, plus Joao Paulo and Vargas could use some rest, it’s been a slog. Also playing playing Kitahara and Brunell gives other clubs a chance to see them for loan opportunities. Depth players in the squad should generally be older players, not developing young talents that need playing time in meaningful matches. Pedro should play because we’re ramping up his minutes. He’s missed a tonne of time to injury, and we need his quality in the team.  This will require match sharpness. Leyva is underrated, has played for the Yanks at youth levels, and scored a bar-down banger of a free kick in a match playing for the Sounders FC Reserves recently. He’s an able creator, and is versatile enough to help hold as well. Rothrock has been an absolute lion for us. He would run through a wall if it meant we could win. It becomes tougher and tougher to leave him out of the team. Dylan Teves can score you a goal. I think he’s got what it takes to be a decent depth player at centre-forward. Let’s put it to the test.

GK     Thomas

LB     Baker-Whiting

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Bell

RB     Baker

LDM   Kitahara

RDM   Brunell

LF     De la Vega

CAM   Leyva

RF     Rothrock

CF     Teves

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

MLS is invested, ownership is invested, and thus the Gaffer is invested in Leagues Cup. If we win Leagues Cup, management will have collected nearly the entire set of available trophies! Schmetzer will run out his best selection, or something close to it. It’s already known that Thomas will be between the sticks.

GK     Thomas

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Gomez Andrade

RB     Alex

LDM    Joao Paulo

RDM    Vargas

LF     De la Vega

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Cristian

CF     Morris

Intangibles

At 8:56 p.m. PDT the Referee assignment for this match was not available.

General notes on personnel

Necaxa transfers IN:

Rosero (PAS Giannina) €200,000

Palavecino (River Plate) loan €280,000 loan fee

Sandoval (Queretaro) undisclosed fee

Necaxa transfers OUT:
Mendez (Bengaluru) free

Samudio (Toluca) loan ended

Rodriguez (Toluca) loan ended

Cortes (Atletico Morelia) undisclosed fee

Colorado (Atletico Junior) loan

Lopez (Juarez) loan

Comparison against common opponents

SEA 2:0 MIN

MIN 1:0 NCX

(against MIN: SEA 1-0-0 +2, NCX 0-0-1 -1) edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

Necaxa as they lined up in St. Paul in their 1:0 defeat at Minnesota United in the Leagues Cup group stage on 30 July.

GOALKEEPER

Ezequiel Unsain, 29

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Newell’s Old Boys (16/0), Defensa y Justicia (229/0), Necaxa (37/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3.5M

Notes: Full name: Luis Ezequiel Unsain. Developed by Union de Alcaraz and Newell’s Old Boys. Won a Copa Sudamericana and a Recopa Sudamericana with Defensa y Justicia.

DEFENCE

Alejandro Mayorga, 27

Mexico

Notable Clubs: Guadalajara (68/7), Necaxa (23/0), UNAM (31/2), Cruz Azul (23/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Full name: Manuel Alejandro Mayorga Almaraz. Developed by Guadalajara. Won a CONCACAF Champions League with Guadalajara. Won a Supercopa MX with Necaxa. Won a Supercopa de la Liga MX with Cruz Azul. Named to CONCACAF Champions League Best XI 2018.

Alan Montes, 23

Mexico

Notable Clubs: Necaxa (38/2), Monterrey (4/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Full name: Alan Isidro Montes Castro. Won a CONCACAF Champions Cup with Monterrey.

Agustin Oliveros, 25

Uruguay (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Racing Montevideo (22/1), Nacional (37/1), Necaxa (86/3)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3.5M

Notes: Full name: Agustin Oliveros Cano. Developed by Racing Montevideo. Won a Uruguayan league title with Nacional.

Emilio Martinez, 21

Mexico

Notable Clubs: Puebla (22/0), Necaxa (28/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Full name: Emilio Martinez Gonzalez. Developed by BUAP, Universidad del Golfo, and Puebla. Has played at youth levels for Mexico (7/0). Won a Revelations Cup with Mexico U-20s.

MIDFIELD

Fernando Arce, 27

United States

Notable Clubs: Tijuana (7/0), Dorados (79/6), Necaxa (64/4), Juarez (26/4), Puebla (7/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Full name: Fernando David Arce Juarez. Developed by Morelia, Santos Laguna, and Tijuana.

Jose Paradela, 25

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Gimnasia La Plata (27/0), River Plate (86/7), Tigre (14/1), Necaxa (21/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4.5M

Notes: Full name: Jose Antonio Paradela. Developed by Club Atletico Quiroga. Won two Argentinian league titles, a Campeon Trofeo de Campeones, and a Argentinian Supercopa.

Agustin Palavecino, 27

Argentina

Notable Clubs: Platense (101/8), Deportivo Cali (60/16), River Plate (102/10), Necaxa (4/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Full name: Agustin Palavecino Lamela. Won two Argentinian league titles, two Argentinan Supercopas, and two Trofeo de Campeones with River Plate.

FORWARD

Ricardo Monreal, 23

Mexico (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Alebrijes de Oaxaca (40/6), Necaxa (59/6)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Full name: Ricardo Saul Monreal Morales. Developed by Alebrijes de Oaxaca and Atlas. Won a Central American and Caribbean Games Football Tournament Gold Medal with Mexico U-23s.

Diber Cambindo, 28

Colombia (2/0)

Notable Clubs: Union San Felipe (3/3), Deportes Quindio (29/14), America de Cali (13/1), Independiente Medellin (102/29), Cruz Azul (18/4), Necaxa (19/11)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4M

Notes: Full name: Diber Armando Cambindo Abonia. Developed by Fundacion Habilidosos. Shared the Liga MX Golden Boot with three other players who all scored 8 goals in the Torneo Clausura 2024. Won a Golden Boot in the Torneo Dimayor for Deportes Quindio scoring 12 goals.

Brayan Garnica, 28

Mexico

Notable Clubs: Atlas (111/4), Santos Laguna (30/1), Necaxa (73/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Full name: Brayan Eduardo Garnica Cortez. Developed by Atlas. Won two Liga MX titles and a Campeon de Campeones with Atlas.

Familiar Faces

None.

Squads

(No recent information on player availability was accessible at 8:56 p.m. PDT. Thus these squad lists are based on information 11 days old, and the Necaxa squad list from their website.)

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Castro, Baker, Bell, Gomez Andrade, Nathan, Nouhou, Ragen, Sousa, Alex, Baker-Whiting, Brunell, de la Vega, Joao Paulo, Kitahara, Leyva, Rusnak, Vargas, Morris, Cristian, Leo Chu, Musovski, Rothrock, Ruidiaz, Teves.

Necaxa from:

Unsain, Gudino, Gutierrez, Sandoval, Martinez, Montes, Oliveros, Pena, Mayorga, Alcantar, Jurado, Andrade, Garnica, Cortez, Diego Gomez, Alvarez, Arce, Paradela, Cambindo, Monreal, Rosero, Palavecino.

Injury List

(Last updated 19 July on the MLS website. At 8:56 p.m. PDT no newer information was available)

Sounders FC -

OUT: Rodrigues (hamstring).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Necaxa -

OUT: No information available.

MATCHDAY DECISION: No information available.

Discipline

Sounders FC: No players suspended. Nouhou out next match if booked

Necaxa: No players suspended. Cambindo and Arce out next match if booked.

Fun Fact

Josh Atencio, selected as an alternate to the Yanks U-23s at the Olympic Games Football Tournament, got to play in two matches. In the group stage against Guinea, Josh came on for Djordje Mihailovic in the 52nd minute. The Yanks defeated Guinea 3:0 assuring qualification for the Knockout Stage which was also the Quarter-Finals of the tournament. Although the Yanks would later succumb to Morocco 4:0, Atencio again came on as a substitute for Jack McGlynn on 71 minutes. Well done being selected, Josh. A well-deserved honour. We’re proud of ye.