The Seattle Sounders returned to practice on Tuesday after taking three days off for Labor Day weekend during their bye week and the FIFA international break.
Seattle currently has six players away on national team duty, but all are expected to return before its pivotal match in San Jose on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. PT; JOEtv, Univision-Seattle, KIRO Radio 96.3 FM, El Rey 1360AM). The Earthquakes sit directly above the Sounders in the Western Conference standings and each is vying for that sixth and final playoff spot.
The Sounders will need to regroup quickly after the players gone on international duty return, and it’s something that interim head coach Brian Schmetzer is determined to make as seamless as possible.
“Getting them back all in one piece, sound, ready to go, that’s the biggest challenge; incorporating them back into the team is the toughest part,” Schmetzer said. “The group tactics [are] for Thursday and Friday, those are the days. But for these first couple of days, they need to shake some of the rust off, they need to get back at it, get some touches. It’s not that difficult because the team was in a good rhythm before the break.”
For those players not competing in World Cup Qualifying, the break served as a nice way to relax and gear up for the next six weeks of a playoff push. Erik Friberg and Nelson Valdez, Schmetzer said, were carrying slight knocks and the weekend off allowed them a little extra time to recover.
“[The break] gives us much-needed rest,” Schmetzer said. “MLS is a long season, so for them to mentally recharge was just as good as the physical side of it.”
Despite Seattle’s off week, there were plenty of other league games this past weekend, something the coaching staff kept an eye on.
“Oh I saw some of the games, oh yeah," Schmetzer said. "It put a smile on all of our faces, some of the results for sure...We watch results, we certainly aren’t superstitious, but it’s not like we don’t pay attention.”
One of the more important results for the Sounders’ playoff hopes was the Timbers’ 3-1 loss to FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas, on Saturday. Portland currently sits four points ahead of Seattle for the final postseason spot. And with the league announcing the playoff schedule on Tuesday, the window to act is growing ever smaller. When asked if he had looked at the schedule, Schmetzer deflected.
“I haven’t done that yet,” he said. “We’re still one game at a time.”
There was no update given on the health of Clint Dempsey other than the star forward did not train with the team Tuesday, but midfielder/forward Aaron Kovar is inching closer to full training after suffering a broken clavicle this summer, and Schmetzer said he's hopeful Kovar will return to the field "very soon."
