SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC v. COLUMBUS CREW SC

“Seeing how sorrow defeats you, I’d rather write about laughing than crying. For laughter makes men human and courageous.”

– Francois Rabelais

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. Columbus Crew leave the friendly confines of the Buckeye state to visit us in The Evergreen. We should take this moment to consider how best to welcome our guests from the midwest to Green Hell. Unfortunately for us, Columbus are likely to dress three healthy goalkeepers for this match, so it’s unlikely we’ll deliver another 0:4 thrashing. Pints and sandwiches then?

 

What: MLS league match, Seattle Sounders FC v. Columbus Crew SC.

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

When: 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Sunday 6 July 2025 CE.

At Stake: Points in the league. If results go the right way, specifically if New England defeat Portland, and San Jose beat the Red Donkeys, we could find ourselves in the top 10 of the league table. If any additional sauce for the goose is required, consider that Columbus was a founding club of MLS, whereas we had to wait 13 years to get into this league. Also, since 2023, Columbus has won a MLS Cup and a Leagues Cup whereas during the same period we have won…and now we send you back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV and Apple TV+. I still don’t ken the difference between those.

Where to Listen: KJR 99.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM.

I’m quite sick of Columbus at present. They’ve won trophies more recently than us (two by my accounting), they outspend us for transfers, and over the last few years have outperformed us in both results and seemingly most statistical metrics.

I don’t care for it. I don’t care for it one bit. It’s time to knock these down a peg, I’d say. I imagine the Brougham Faithful have some choice words they’d like to share. I encourage them to share these words whole-heartedly.

Gather your mates up and get ye to the ground on Sunday afternoon. If you lack the means or are just finding it difficult to get out of bed lately, you know what to do. It’s pubs and dwellings for stories and tellings, houses and flats for pints and cats, and sometimes it’s boats and ships for pie and chips. Mmmm. Pie and chips. Focus.

It’s gonna be a wooly one down at the RBP. It’ll be proper steamy outside so remember to hydrate and at least to alternate water and lager. The bigger they come, the harder they fall. It’s MLS league football under the utter brutality of the summer sun. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!

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

Word on the street (per BVM Sports) is that Sounders FC General Manager Craig Waibel is looking for a U-22 striker to sign. Three candidates are supposedly being considered from the UEFA U-21 European Championships and one from South America. However, what I and my close, personal friend the Northern Spotted Owl want to know is…who?

(Photo Credit: hakaimagazine.com)

The Good News

In the last 12 league matches, Sounders FC are 7-2-3 for 23 points out of a possible 36. Although recent defeats by Minnesota United and Vancouver were troubling, it’s very difficult to complain about our results in the league at present.

If we defeat Columbus we’ll have as many points in the league as Miami. That would be pretty sweet, to say the least.

Our Club World Cup opponents chipped into our home record a bit, but 7-2-5 is still decent enough. Conversely, Columbus haven’t had an easy time of it away from home and find themselves 3-3-3 on the road this season.

In the all-time accounting we have only been defeated four times by Columbus in the league, in 17 meetings.

According to the Gaffer in his Saturday press conference, Jordan Morris is eligible for selection with no restrictions. Will he be in the team come Sunday? If he is, will he score on his return?

The Bad News

Joao Paulo tore his ACL in training this week. He is likely out for the season. Mend soon, sir.

Our record against teams currently in the top 10 of the league table (as of 5 July at 7:00 p.m.) is 2-1-3. It’s not a horrible record, but it’s not great either.

Our all-time record in the league against Columbus at Royal Brougham Park is 2-4-2. That’s hardly ideal.

The visitors score slightly slightly more than we do (+0.21 goals/match), and defend slightly better (-0.10 goals conceded/match). Again, not ideal.

We got our first win since 28 May against Austin last week. Conversely: Not only have Columbus lost only three times in the league this season, they’re on a three-match winning streak, recently defeating Vancouver, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.

Still waiting on that U-22 striker, Craig.

The Side I Would Select

Danny hit a goal last week against the Austin, so he’s good by me. We’re down to our last two centre-halves though. An emergency call-up from the reserves wouldn’t be out of the question. I digress. I’d have this lot:

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Bell

RB     Kossa-Rienzi

LDM    Vargas

RDM   Rusnak

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Ferreira

RF     de la Vega

CF     Musovski

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

The composition of the team varies very little from match to match, barring injury or suspension. I’d expect the same lineup we saw against the Austin, but with Nouhou and Bell in the team as they’ve served their one-match bans. Morris is fully fit and ready to go, and is one of the Gaffer’s favourites.

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Bell

RB     Alex

LDM    Vargas

RDM   Cristian

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Rusnak

RF     Ferreira

CF     Morris

Intangibles

We have been outspent.

SEA 2025 disclosed transfer fees paid: €1.45M

CLB 2025 disclosed transfer fees paid: €5.42M

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PRO Referees (The company that provides match officials for MLS) website is still ‘down for maintenance’. Pretty sure it's been like this for at least two weeks. Would be nice to know what Ref is assigned to our match. Too much to ask I guess.

The big payback.

We embarrassed Columbus last season, when they were vulnerable. If I were them, I would be very interested in administering an old skool public school kicking to us. They’re welcome to try.

General notes on personnel

Columbus transfers IN:

Bush - re-signed

Lappalainen (CF Montreal) free

Lapkes - reserves

Sajdic (Nashville SC) free

Ruvalcaba - draft

Gazdag (Philadelphia Union) €3.55M

Ibrahim (Houston Dynamo) €395,000

Brown - reserves

Columbus transfers OUT:
Hughes (New England Revolution) free

Matan (Dibba Al-Hisn) free

Yeboah (Los Angeles FC) free

Hinestroza (Atletico Nacional) €1.4M

Hernandez (Real Betis) €13M

Ramirez (Los Angeles Galaxy) €240,000

Romero (Colorado Springs Switchbacks) loan

Jones (San Jose Earthquakes) €370,000

Comparison against common opponents

SEA 2:2 CLT

CLB 4:2 CLT

CLT 3:2 CLB

(against CLT: SEA 0-1-0 0, CLB 1-0-1 +1) edge CLB

SEA 5:2 LAFC
LAFC 4:0 SEA

LAFC 3:0 CLB CCC
CLB 2:1 LAFC CCC

(against LAFC: SEA 1-0-1 -1, CLB 1-0-1 -2) marginal edge SEA

STL 1:0 SEA

SEA 4:1 STL

STL 1:2 CLB

(against STL: SEA 1-0-1 +2, CLB 1-0-0 +1) marginal edge SEA

SEA 0:0 HOU

HOU 1:3 SEA

CLB 0:0 HOU

(against HOU: SEA 1-1-0 +2, CLB 0-1-0 0) decisive edge SEA

SJ 1:1 SEA

CLB 2:1 SJ

(against SJ: SEA 0-1-0 0, CLB 1-0-0 +1) edge CLB

SD 3:0 SEA

SEA 1:0 SD

SD 1:1 CLB

(against SD: SEA 1-0-1 -2, CLB 0-1-0 0) even

SEA 3:0 NSH

CLB 2:2 NSH

(against NSH: SEA 1-0-0 +3, CLB 0-1-0 0) decisive edge SEA

VAN 3:0 SEA

CLB 2:1 VAN

(against VAN: SEA 0-0-1 -3, CLB 1-0-0 +1) decisive edge CLB

Know Thine Enemy

Columbus as they lined up in their 1:0 victory over Philadelphia on 29 June at Nordecke Drive.

GOALKEEPER

Evan Bush, 39

United States

Notable Clubs: Cleveland City Stars (7/0), Crystal Palace Baltimore (25/0), Montreal Impact (194/0), Vancouver Whitecaps FC (8/0), Columbus Crew SC (10/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €75,000

Notes: Played his university football for Akron. Won 3x Canadian Championship with Montreal Impact. Won an MLS Cup, Campeones Cup, and Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Awarded the CONCACAF Champions League Golden Glove 2014-15.

DEFENCE

Lassi Lappalainen, 26

Finland (9/0)

Notable Clubs: HJK Helsinki (30/3), Rovaniemen Palloseura (39/12), CF Montreal (99/15), Columbus Crew SC (8/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €600,000

Notes: Developed by Espoon Palloseura and HJK Helsinki. Won 2x Canadian Championships with Montreal Impact, now known as CF Montreal. Won a Finnish League Cup with HJK Helsinki.

Yevhen Cheberko, 27

Ukraine (2/0)

Notable Clubs: Zorya Luhansk (53/0), LASK (5/0), Osijek (52/0), Columbus Crew SC (48/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.5M

Notes: Developed by UFK Dnipropetrovsk and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Won an MLS Cup and Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Named to CONCACAF Champions Cup Best XI 2024.

Steven Moreira, 30

Cape Verde (6/0)

Notable Clubs: Rennes (58/0), Lorient (63/1), Toulouse (58/1), Columbus Crew SC (116/4)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.8M

Notes: Developed by AS Champs-sur-Marne, US Torcy, and Rennes. Won an MLS Cup, Leagues Cup, and Campeones Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Named MLS Defender of the Year 2024. Named to MLS Best XI 2024.

Mohamed Farsi, 24

Algeria (4/0)

Notable Clubs: Cavalry FC (35/2), Columbus Crew SC (82/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by CS Boucaniers, CS Notre-Dame-de Grace, and CS Panellinios. Played his university football for College Ahuntsic. Won an MLS Cup and a Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Named Canadian Premier League Under 21 Canadian Player of the Year 2020.

MIDFIELD

Amar Sejdic, 28

Germany

Notable Clubs: CF Montreal (22/2), Atlanta United (56/0), Nashville SC (17/0), Columbus Crew SC (8/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €400,000

Notes: Developed by United 1996 FC, Derby City Rovers, Vitesse, and Real Salt Lake. Played his university football at Maryland (78/23). Won a Canadian Championship with Montreal Impact.

Darlington Nagbe, 34

United States (25/1)

Notable Clubs: Portland Timbers (214/27), Atlanta United (56/2), Columbus Crew SC (164/9)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Developed by Internationals SC. Played his university football for Akron (73/19). Won the 2015 MLS Cup with Portland. Won the 2018 MLS Cup with Atlanta United. Won a 2019 Campeones Cup and US Open Cup double with Atlanta United. Won two MLS Cups, a Campeones Cup, and a Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Won the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup with United States. Won 2x MLS Goal of the Year. Won 3x MLS Fair Play Awards. Named to 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup Best XI.

Sean Zawadski, 25

United States (1/0)

Notable Clubs: Columbus Crew SC (79/7)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Developed by Team Challenger FC and Columbus Crew. Won an MLS Cup and a Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC.

Dylan Chambost, 27

France

Notable Clubs: Troyes (70/2), Saint-Etienne (61/9), Columbus Crew SC (30/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by ES Veauche and Saint-Etienne. Won a Ligue 2 title with Troyes. Won a Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC.

FORWARD

Daniel Gazdag, 29

Hungary (30/4)

Notable Clubs: Honved (175/21), Philadelphia Union (125/59), Columbus Crew SC (12/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €6M

Notes: Developed by Nyiregyhaza and Honved. Won a Hungarian league championship and a Hungarian Cup with Honved. Named to MLS Best XI 2022.

Diego Rossi, 27

Uruguay (7/1)

Notable Clubs: Penarol (46/13), Los Angeles FC (104/48), Fenerbahce (64/10), Columbus Crew SC (63/24)

Estimated Transfer Value: €8.5M

Notes: Developed by Uruguay Solymar and Penarol. Won two Uruguayan league titles with Penarol. Won an MLS league championship with LAFC in 2019. Won a Turkish Cup with Fenerbahce. Won an MLS Cup and a Leagues Cup with Columbus Crew SC. Won 2020 MLS Golden Boot, scoring 14 goals. Named MLS Young Player of the Year 2020. Named to MLS Best XI 2020. 2x named to CONCACAF Champions League Team of the Tournament.

Familiar Faces

Columbus midfielder Aziel Jackson played for Crossfire FC from 2019-2020.

Columbus goalkeeper, Evan Bush was a trialist with Sounders FC in 2009, but did not earn a contract.

Squads

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Baker, Bell, Burney, Kossa-Rienzi, Nouhou, Ragen, Alex, Sousa, Leyva, Cristian, Rusnak, Vargas, de la Vega, De Rosario, Ferreira, Kent, Morris, Minoungou, Musovski, Rothrock.

Columbus from:

Romero, Bush, Schulte, Lapkes, Cheberko, Farsi, Moreira, Ruvalcaba, Nagbe, Chambost, Gazdag, Jackson, Sejdic, Habroune, Jones, Zawadski, Lappalainen, Arfsten, Mrowka, Brown, Rossi, Aliyu, Russell-Rowe.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC -

OUT: Hawkins (quadriceps), Kim (calf), Gomez Andrade (hamstring/calf), Joao Paulo (knee), Arriola (knee).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Columbus -

OUT: Amundsen (knee), Camacho (thigh), Hagen (thigh).

MATCHDAY DECISION: Ruvalcaba (ankle), Schulte (torso).

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Sounders FC: Baker-Whiting will serve a one-match ban. Musovski out next match if booked.

Columbus: No players suspended.

Fun Fact

Sounders FC Academy midfielder Ronan Leeming, 16, has been selected to the West squad for the MLS Next all-star game. Congratulations, Ronan!!!