Seattle Sounders FC creating a buzz in Northwest

SEATTLE (AP)—If this happened in London or Stockholm, maybe Freddie Ljungberg wouldn’t remember the exchange. It would be just another part of his day as one of the most recognizable soccer players in the world not named “Beckham.”
But in America? In Seattle?
“I just went to buy some groceries and people came up to shake hands,” Ljungberg recalled.
Simply suggesting there is mere “interest” around these parts for the return of professional soccer is grossly understating the amount of fascination for the Seattle Sounders FC, the newest franchise in Major League Soccer.
Season-ticket sales have surpassed that of the Seattle Mariners across the street—more than 20,000 have been sold, higher than the league’s average attendance last season—and were capped at 22,000 to give fans a chance to buy single-game tickets. Seats at QWest Field normally covered with tarps will be used for the home opener, where more than 32,000 are expected.Before the first official shot, save or goal in franchise history, Seattle has already been awarded the 2009 MLS Cup.
The franchise appears to hold all the pieces needed to establish a stronghold not only in the local market but league-wide: strong ownership led by Hollywood producer Joe Roth; a marketing partnership with the Seattle Seahawks; an established home in Qwest Field; and recognizable name players like Ljungberg and former U.S. national team goalkeeper Kasey Keller—a Pacific Northwest native.
There will even be a band at every home game and a fan support group with the power to vote out general manager Adrian Hanauer—part of the conditions placed by minority owner Drew Carey before the comedian agreed to invest with Roth, Hanauer and Paul Allen’s Vulcan corporation, to bring the MLS to Seattle.
Put simply, Seattle is like no other expansion team the MLS has welcomed within its ranks.
“I’m just trying to get the best people in. Trying to get the best general manager and the best coaching staff, the best head coach, the best partners. I think if you just keep with the same standard, it will filter down,” Roth said. “It doesn’t look like an expansion team. In this first season, I would expect us to be a competitive team and have a program for the fans that is at least entertaining as any in the league.”
Added new midfielder Brad Evans as he gazed around his home field after practice recently, “It certainly doesn’t look like an expansion franchise.”
Fielding a competitive and entertaining team is the responsibility of Sigi Schmid, the highly successful coach lured to Seattle after he led Columbus to its first MLS Cup title last season. Schmid is implementing an aggressive, attacking system at the behest of Roth, Carey and Hanauer, who all admire European and South American club teams with such styles. Schmid’s additional challenge was melding a group of players that never stepped on a field together before training camp opened.
“If there is ever a coach to bring guys together it’s him,” said Evans, who was with Schmid a year ago in Columbus.
Schmid pulled in players he knew. Midfielder Peter Vagenas and defender Tyrone Marshall played for him in Los Angeles. Then there’s Keller, who might be the squad’s lynchpin.
“From our most seasoned player, if I can use that term with Kasey, all the way down to our youngest player, has an immense amount of respect for him,” Vagenas said of Schmid. “I cannot stress that enough. That’s very important.”
The respect for Schmid may help the Sounders meld together away from the pitch, but there are significant questions once the squad takes the field:
— Can Ljungberg, recovering from left hip surgery in December, regain the form that made him one of the top offensive midfielders in the English Premier League a few years ago with Arsenal? Seattle is paying Ljungberg $1.3 million per season to control the midfield and create opportunities for forwards Nate Jaqua and rising young Colombian international Fredy Montero.
— Will Seattle be able to stop anyone on defense? Having Marshall, acquired in a trade with Toronto, along the back line provides a veteran presence, but the majority of Seattle’s defenders are either young or lack MLS experience.
— Does the 39-year-old Keller still have the speed and quickness in net to handle what will likely be a heavy load in his return home?
“I’m feeling great where I’m at physically, but I also know I’m near the end of my career,” Keller said. “I’m at a great time to be able to come home and to give back. … I feel like I can still compete and if I couldn’t I wouldn’t be out on the field.”
Roth’s expectation is that Seattle will be a winning organization from the start and contend for the playoffs in its first season. Schmid doesn’t run from those expectations.
“To me it’s not pressure, it’s exciting, it’s an opportunity,” Schmid said. “It’s why you coach, it’s why you play this game. Inside we all want to perform and to know there is going to be a lot of people here to watch us perform that just makes the whole thing great.”
AP Sports Writer Gregg Bell contributed to this story.