Have the Seattle Sounders improved? Steve Zakuani isn’t so sure | Extratime
Former Seattle Sounders winger Steve Zakuani believes his old team is a cause for concern as the 2021 MLS season approaches.
Of course, Seattle won the 2020 MLS Cup, but Zakuani pointed out that veteran departures and Jordan Morris’ ACL injury as composite factors raise the question of whether a drop in results is waiting for him.
“There are a lot of question marks, I think a lot more than you would like for a team of this caliber with such expectations,” said Zakuani on Extratime. “I don’t think the Sounders have gotten any better. I think they will be good. How well? It’s difficult to say. “
The Sounders have hired several MLS veterans, including striker Fredy Montero and midfielder Kelyn Rowe. They also brought Joao Paulo back to strengthen their midfield. But other than that, Seattle hasn’t made a marquee train that one might expect from a club of their stature.
A strong transfer could take place in the summer as Seattle usually opted for general manager and director of football Garth Lagerwey. Zakuani sees the need for someone to fill Morris’ role and replace the leadership that players like right-back Kelvin Leerdam and midfielder Gustav Svensson have provided.
“I can be as biased as I want, but I would be lying if I said they get better,” said Zakuani. “This is not a better team than last year. I think changes had to be made, but you lost experience. “
Seattle could rely more on young players, which head coach Brian Schmetzer did frugally as he led the club to the MLS Cups in 2016 and 2019. This approach can have its drawbacks, says Zakuani, given the learning curve and mounting pain that sometimes follows. Homegrowns like midfielder Danny Leyva and striker Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez are promising US youth internationals, but their chances for the first team have been limited.
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– Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) March 7, 2021
“The reason this club is held in this regard is because they win,” said Zakuani. “The Sounders win, the Sounders are always there, they get trophies. First it was Open Cups, then the playoffs were never missing and now it’s MLS Cups.
“So you can play a lot of youth players, it won’t change what we want as fans. We want the team to win, and that’s the tough thing in MLS. Can you do both I am not sure that this is consistently possible. “
For more information from Zakuani and the Extratime hosts, see the entire episode here.