Seattle didn’t get to be North America’s soccer capital overnight nor by osmosis. Along the way there were countless contributors and some colorful town criers. And without a doubt, the smoothest orator, the most polished salesman the game has seen in these parts was John Best.
It’s a shame Best could not make it to last week’s Sounders alumni and anniversary activities. Hopefully he had a view from on high, having passed away October 5 at age 74.
Soon after returning to the Sounders as GM, John Best (left) sought to rekindle fond memories by organizing a reunion game (Frank MacDonald Collection)
Best loved celebrating history, celebrating the good times. In fact, it was one of the tenets of his management style. It was shortly after his return to the Sounders as general manager in 1982, that he organized the first reunion game.
Once Alan Hudson made himself at home in Seattle, he never foresaw leaving. This week marks his homecoming.
Hudson has returned to the Emerald City for the first time in 31 years and, among other activities, will join fellow Sounders and FC Seattle alumni at Friday’s match versus Vancouver.
Hudson assisted on club-record 51 goals in all competitions for the NASL Sounders (Frank MacDonald Collection)
While longtime Sounders fans will remember Hudson for being a smooth midfield operator and setting-up many, many goals from 1979-83, he’s traveled a very rough road for the past 17 years. His friends, former teammates and coaches have rallied to help make the trip not only possible but one to remember. Continue reading Hudson Comes Home→
He was an acquired taste, Alan Hudson. He was ahead of his time, for sure, and such savants often suffer as a consequence. However, by working tirelessly, showing his colors and winning matches, Huddy emphatically won Seattle over.
While some 450 professional players have proudly worn a Seattle crest during these past 40 years, head coaches comprise an exclusive club of 11 who have trained, molded and inspired them.
That only scratches the surface of a coach’s duties. They are the club’s face. It can be a lonely job and exhilarating, all at once. And whatever the case, they relish that responsibility. Ultimately, although each goes about their business with their own unique style, their mission is success.
John Best was a perfect first coach, not only building a team but a faithful following (Frank MacDonald Collection)
From John Best in ’74 to Sigi Schmid today, much has changed in the managing profession, and yet with all the science, knowledge and money now influencing world football, most of the same standards still apply: observation, imagination, communication and perseverance.
O, magic team sheet on the wall, who are the fairest XI of them all?
As the anniversary year winds up, Sounders FC has invited one and all to weigh in with their picks for an all-time XI. It’s not quite a dream team, since there are rules to follow. But that’s to be expected in these days of salary caps, financial fair play and transfers subject to the ubiquitous ‘upon medical exam, and receipt of P-1 visa and ITC.’
While intensive education and debate will make for a full experience, most people just want to have fun. So enjoy yourself. But there’s nothing more fun than beating Portland, so pledge to make your Sounders XI strong enough to beat the Timbers XI next year, when their 40th rolls around.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to put the best fantasy team on the fantasy pitch, which, of course, is thick, rich natural turf. Remember, it’s a fantasy theme and to replace all divots.
Gabriel is a must in Sounders All-Time XI. See his joy juxtaposed to Timbers’ dejection? Classic (Frank MacDonald Collection)
This week marks the arrival to Sounders FC training of late-season acquisition Onyekachi Apam. It remains to be seen whether Apam will get sufficiently fit for a debut this season, but the measure of such a roster move is rarely measured in the first few weeks.
Looking back over 40 years, Seattle has often added personnel past the halfway point of the season who have proven integral to success, both in the short and long run. Perhaps Apam will be such a player. Time will tell.
Tommy Ord arrived to little fanfare yet became an instant sensation in the drive to Soccer Bowl ’77 (Frank MacDonald Collection)
Signing strikers is sexy, midfielders not so much and defenders less so. Yet as you read on, some have helped save the day, if not win it.
It’s an unimaginable scene playing out at Chivas USA.
Here is MLS, seemingly at the height of its off-field success and soon heading into its 20th season, with franchise fees of $100 million, cities queuing up to join and a huge new TV contract.
Yet the franchise that signaled the start of spring growth following two failures in Florida–that club is bound for the scrap heap come season’s end. And that’s difficult to comprehend, let alone witness.
It’s not easy to watch, this writhing carcass of Chivas USA. Where more than 19,000 once watched the Goats at StubHub Center, only a scattering of diehards remain.
If you’ve followed American soccer beyond, say, 2002, the sight of failing franchises is all too familiar. One NASL offseason saw eight teams erased. And although MLS terms this two-year (minimum) hiatus a re-brand, it really looks and feels like the Goats are going to slaughter. Whatever form the so-called LA2 takes will bear little resemblance to CUSA. The crest and records will join those of the dusty Fusion and Mutiny archives. StubHub will once again become a single-family dwelling. Continue reading Sad, sad story and hopefully a silver lining→
While the captain’s armband is elastic, it’s far from being a one-size-fits-all.
Brad Evans earned the captain’s arm band beginning this season, succeeding Mauro Rosales (Courtesy Sounders FC)
Going back 40 years, the role of Sounders team captain has been filled by both noteworthy legends and relatively obscure players. Disparate as they may be, these Seattle skippers share two qualities: unquestioned respect and a contagious competitive spirit.
Nowadays the captaincy carries with it a certain amount of pomp and fanfare. He wears the armband, leads the squad onto the field, calls coin-flips and, if the season ends well, lifts some silver skyward.
Back in the day of the NASL or A-League, when armbands were largely absent, identifying the captain from afar was mostly guesswork for fans. But being a captain isn’t about fanfare, and it’s far from symbolic. And it starts with fanning the flame inside the belly of every teammate. Continue reading What’s in a Captain?→
When seen racing back to cover, or to be first to a loose ball, the lasting impression is of arms and legs furiously pumping, his chest bowed and practically a step in front–more than anything else. He’s giving everything he’s got. That epitomizes Zach Scott.
He appears to have broken through one brick wall and is prepared to lay waste to another. And another. Whatever it takes.
Believe it or not, the Timbers had the inside track to taking Scott via a 2002 tryout
To know Scott’s story is to know how unbridled determination and belief can undo all those laws of probability. It has taken belief in one’s self and the providential belief of others in him to reach this point, this moment, when he becomes the first Sounder to reach 300 appearances.
First, a word about 300. It’s not some random number; it defines a rarity. Only 23 players have surpassed 300 appearances in the first 19 seasons of MLS. Furthermore, of those 23 only Cobi Jones did so for one club. Going back 40 years, only Bob Lenarduzzi’s 312 matches for Vancouver are greater.
Then there’s the Zach Factor. Jones and Lenarduzzi were national teamers for the US and Canada, respectively. This guy, Scott, was a longshot to play the game at the college level, let alone the pros. He was a walk-on at Gonzaga, a trialist for the USL Sounders and further defied the odds in winning (and keeping) a place in MLS with Sounders FC.
