ROSALES RETURNS
Ex- Sounder makes Seattle debut with Caps
Mauro Rosales never really wanted to leave the Seattle Sounders.
He loved Seattle, its rabid fan base and the club. But after three seasons in the Emerald City and a club- record 34 assists over 86 games, salary cap issues ( the Argentine midfielder is making $ 450,000 this season) and his advancing age ( 33), led the Sounders to trade him last off- season to MLS bottomfeeder Chivas USA.
He went from a winner that drew crowds of 40,000 to a loser that was lucky to get 4,000.
To his overwhelming joy, the Vancouver Whitecaps repatriated him to the soccer- loving Pacific Northwest in August. And on Friday, the personable, thoughtful Rosales finally makes his first return visit to CenturyLink Field in a game with crucial implications for both clubs.
“Obviously, because I’m coming back for the first time ( it will be emotional),” Rosales, who had a pair of assists in the Caps’ 2- 0 win over FC Dallas on Saturday, said this week.
“Now with the Vancouver Whitecaps and the position we are in and knowing how important this game is for everybody, not just for me facing my exclub but for everybody to be ready for the last push of the competition, I’m just focusing to do my best and thinking about how good it’s going to be.”
With a raucous crowd of 50,000- plus expected, the atmosphere should be electric, particularly with so much at stake.
After Portland’s 3- 0 whitewashing of the undermanned and crashing San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday, the Timbers reclaimed the fifth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference from the Caps.
Vancouver is two points back, but with a game in hand that will be made up on Friday.
The Sounders, meantime, are locked in a battle with the Los Angeles Galaxy to claim the Supporters’ Shield as the top club in the MLS regular season. Both teams have 60 points — the Galaxy are at FC Dallas on Sunday — and play home- andaway on the final two weekends of the regular season.
Also at stake Friday is the Cascadia Cup, which goes to the top team in the three- club, in- season competition between Seattle, Vancouver and Portland for Pacific Northwest supremacy. Seattle can win the title for the first time since 2011 with a win or a tie. The Caps need to beat the Sounders to retain the cup they won last season.
“I think we’re a team that’s pretty good about coming out motivated to play, especially at home,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid told reporters in Seattle this week.
“It’s going to be a big crowd. It’s got Cascadia Cup implications. ( A win) allows us to stay in first place ( based on victories) and we can put pressure on the Galaxy.
“For all those reasons, I expect us to be motivated. But more so than anything, the team sees there are three regular season games left and they can smell the goal that we set for ourselves. When you get this close, you want to make sure you don’t let down.”
The 19- 9- 3 Sounders, however, have had trouble with the Caps of late. Vancouver stunned Seattle 4- 1 at CenturyLink a year ago and has a win and a tie this season, with both of those games at BC Place.
The 10- 8- 13 Caps also have some momentum, coming off back- to- back wins for the first time since May.
“We are in a good way,” Rosales said. “We want to finish as best as possible, obviously get into the playoffs and be in a position to face anyone at the high level that we want.”
As good as the Sounders are, they have had some wild upanddown moments this season. They win big, lose big and draw big. They drew 4- 4 with Portland in early April, lost 5- 0 in New England back on May 11 and were soundly beaten 3- 0 by Los Angeles at CenturyLink on July 28.
They’re 4- 2 over their last six, including back- to- back road losses — 4- 1 in New York and 3- 1 in Dallas. But they’ve outscored the opposition 15- 7 in the four wins.
“They’re scoring four goals past each team they seem to play, so we might have to score five to maybe beat them,” Caps head coach Carl Robinson said.
He said Rosales’s experience in big games and at CenturyLink will be critical.
“He’s brought a professionalism with him. You see him on the training field. He does things correctly. He’s a fantastic pro on the field as well as off the field. The communication he has with the young players in that locker- room is fantastic.”
Rosales, though, may be looking for some help from one of his young teammates if he can somehow slide a goal past his old team.
“I have to talk with Kekuta ( Manneh),” he said, “to show me something of his movements for dancing or something.”