That is the sport everyone wished to see—the 2 greatest groups in Main League Soccer squaring off in a two-game sequence to determine who will host the 2014 MLS Cup. Right here is Jon Arnold’s take.
BY
Jon Arnold
Posted
November 21, 2014
12:20 PM
SHARE THIS STORY
THIS FEELS LIKE THE ONE. The championship recreation. But it surely’s not. Way back the Los Angeles Galaxy and Seattle Sounders established themselves because the favorites for the MLS crown. Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane vs. Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins. DeAndre Yedlin vs. Robbie Rogers. Bruce vs. Sigi. The potential finish to Donovan’s illustrious profession. The matchups are juicy—made for dramatic promos on ESPN.
However the winner of this scintillating showdown (5pm ET; ESPN) will face yet another take a look at—and a stern one at that—by internet hosting the winner of the Jap Convention. So as to elevate MLS Cup, one in every of these two groups might want to survive the two-game sequence with sufficient left within the tank to face both the New York Purple Bulls or the New England Revolution.
THE HISTORY
Seeking to the previous for clues about who will take the two-legged sequence is futile. The Galaxy went into Century Hyperlink Subject and rolled the Sounders 3-0 in late July with the house staff’s greatest defender, Chad Marshall, lacking due to damage. The groups performed to a stalemate the subsequent time round, with Dempsey and Lamar Neagle erasing Baggio Husidic and Marcelo Sarvas’ early objectives. That arrange a year-ending assembly between the 2 golf equipment on October 25, and the Sounders leveled the season sequence with a 2-0 residence win.
The Galaxy aren’t fretting about dropping that final match—nor the Supporters’ Protect—now that the playoffs have rolled round. Bruce Area’s males definitely regarded extra convincing of their convention semifinal, a 5-0 mixture win over Actual Salt Lake—than Seattle did in its semifinal in opposition to FC Dallas.
“There’s no fear. You can’t have fear going into game like this. These are the games that you want to be playing in,” Robbie Keane instructed the L.A. Galaxy’s official web site. “We can’t change about what happened in the past, but we can change what will happen on Sunday. We have to make sure that we go into the game with the right mentality and not thinking that it’s revenge.”
THE INJURY CONCERNS
The Sounders may once more be lacking a important part to the staff that already has lifted the U.S. Open Cup and the Supporters’ Protect this season. Central midfielder Osvaldo Alonso made an early exit within the staff’s scoreless draw with FC Dallas that noticed the Sounders progress to the convention last. He left within the 56th minute with a hamstring damage, and his standing is unknown.
Publicly, the Galaxy’s leaders hope Alonso is match, with heart again Omar Gonzalez telling MLSSoccer.com, “I hope Alonso heals quickly. I think he’s huge for them. I want them to be at full strength because it makes for a better game.”
Privately, staff administration may not be too damaged up about it if the Cuban native doesn’t swimsuit up. Alonso has lengthy been among the best gamers within the league and his means to make fast transitions out of the again is without doubt one of the attributes that has made the Sounders so profitable.
The Galaxy have an damage concern of its personal, with Leonardo popping out within the thirty seventh minute of its 5-0 romp over Actual Salt Lake on November 9. Bruce Area instructed the Galaxy’s official web site that the Brazilian, together with fellow defenders Todd Dunivant and James Riley, are “candidates to play” in Sunday’s first leg. If Leonardo can’t go, it’s Tommy Meyer time—which isn’t a horrible downgrade for the staff.
THE MATCHUPS
The primary leg will happen Sunday on the Stub Hub Heart, the place the Galaxy have gone undefeated in 18 consecutive official matches. To get to 19, Area will after all depend on his legendary duo of Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, together with the constant, and constantly underrated, midfield pairing of Marcelo Sarvas and Juninho. If Alonso misses out, Area’s Brazilian midfielders may tilt the sector in favor of the house staff.
However the Sounders’ protection isn’t simply damaged down. The middle backs, Marshall and Zach Scott, saved Seattle on various events all year long and held FC Dallas to only one aim over two legs within the final spherical of the playoffs. The Galaxy’s greatest wager may simply be to concentrate on left again Leonardo Gonzalez, who was overwhelmed time and time once more by Dallas’ speedy winger Fabian Castillo.
Area has transformed midfielder Robbie Rogers taking part in left again for Los Angeles, and the Sounders might look to take advantage of him there—though he has turned in a exceptional season on the place and was lately signed to a contract extension. Martins and Dempsey had been largely saved in verify by Dallas even if the staff’s defensive midfield depth took a success when Victor Ulloa sustained an damage in defensive midfield. Dallas’ center-back pairing stood tall and goalkeepers Chris Seitz and Raul Fernandez made saves when wanted.
The architect of the one aim the Sounders had been capable of muster within the sequence was, to some extent, Marco Pappa. The Guatemalan playmaker hit a wonderful free kick into the field for Alonso’s aim in Frisco, Texas, but additionally confirmed his defensive deficiencies. Schmid likes to make use of Pappa as an affect sub, somebody who can inject power right into a lethargic match whereas minimizing his defensive limitations.
That’s precisely what Pappa did within the common season finale in opposition to the Galaxy: His late brace lifted the staff to a title. How Schmid chooses to deploy Pappa will say lots about how the Sounders assault the match and can also hinge a bit on Alonso’s standing. Schmid additionally has Lamar Neagle, who tallied thrice in September, if Martins and Dempsey aren’t firing on all cylinders.
THE COACHES
The managerial matchup is an intriguing one, as Area and Schmid are two of Main League Soccer’s greatest. Each know how you can get probably the most out of their stars. Each are guarded of their feedback to media. Each know the opposite effectively. They’re not, sadly, the sort of managers who’re going to toss barbs at one another, however how they match wits can be one of many secret joys in watching the sequence, even when it’s not the sexiest subplot.
THE PREDICTION
The Galaxy are practically unbeatable at residence, with Actual Salt Lake’s win on this season’s opener the one defeat the staff suffered. That may proceed within the first leg, because the Galaxy trip the house crowd to a 2-0 shutout victory.
Within the second leg, the Sounders use its crowd for the additional increase as effectively however cannot maintain the the Galaxy from getting the series-deciding away aim in a 3-1 Sounders victory. The Galaxy take the sequence, and the Sounders don’t get the treble.
Jon Arnold is an ASN contributing editor and host of the ASN Podcast. Observe him on Twitter.
