The Seattle Sounders fell short of their objective at the FIFA Club World Cup, but the team’s three-week preseason in Spain and Morocco brought plenty of positives leading up to the 2023 MLS season.
“It was a great experience,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “I’m proud of the fact that we're the first MLS team to accomplish that and actually get a chance to play in that tournament.”
The Sounders’ historic campaign on the world stage is an achievement in itself, and the team’s progression over the last few weeks made it that much more fulfilling moving forward into the regular season.
“I thought there was a lot of good stuff,” said Schmetzer. “We didn't have that final little movement, that final pass, the final little bit of quality to score in that first half, but there were some really good moments.”
The team’s tactical improvements were shown through the many “good moments” of the match. Beginning at the backline, the Sounders focused on specifics such as goal kicks, when to play out of the back or kick it long, and the initial setup of the players.
“We talked about building with three instead of our normal four in years past, getting guys in the pockets in between lines,” added Schmetzer. “[We tried] keeping some structure within the group and then still allowing them their creative freedoms within their kind of areas of the field.”
But it was the team’s “different attitude” during the game that stood out to midfielder Cristian Roldan.
“There was a corner kick and then a counterattack, and I think all 11 guys got back by the time [Al Ahly] had five guys attacking, so that's the mentality that we need and the mentality that we want going into every game and I thought we saw that,” said Roldan.
Off-the-field interactions were also a noticeably beneficial component to the Sounders’ team development.
“It was really nice to be able to do dinners together and spend a lot of time with our team,” Roldan said. “I think that's the beauty of doing these trips, it builds us closer together and I think that's part of the camaraderie and the chemistry that we need going forward.”
The growth of the team has been apparent since arriving back to Seattle.
“Out of all the training sessions I've been a part of, this is the best it's ever been,” said Roldan. “It’s always great to see because that means that younger guys are going to get better and now, we're going to have to compete against each other at a higher level, which will make our team better.”
And Schmetzer has no doubt the team will continue growing.
“I would compliment the entire group top to bottom,” he said. “I'm very confident that this is a very talented team, and we will get better as the season progresses.”
