The Seattle Sounders and LA Galaxy meet Sunday in California for the first of two games in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference Finals.
KPLU sports commentator Art Thiel says this series is not the MLS Championship, but it might as well be.Different Goals
Art says it's an even matchup, but the teams have slightly different goals.
"The LA Galaxy wants to win this for Landon Donovan," Art said. "Donovan is the best U.S. player in history by most accounts, and he’s retiring at the end of this season."
Art says Donovan has been playing "stellar soccer" lately.
"He scored three goals in the Galaxy’s 5-0 win over Real Salt Lake that advanced them to this Western Conference final. The team really wants to send him out as a champion. And they’ve been MLS champions before.
"The Sounders have never made an MLS Cup, much less won one. And getting past the Galaxy has been difficult for the Sounders. They’ve met them twice in post-seasons, and the Galaxy has prevailed both times," he said.
Coaches' Rivalry
Art says it's not just the teams that have been rivals for years, but the two coaches as well.
"Bruce Arena of the Galaxy and Sigi Schmid of the Sounders used to play soccer against each other in the '80s in college," he said. "Now they are at the top of the heap once again. Arena has been MLS Coach of the Year three times, Sigi twice, and this looks like it might be his year again."
Series Promises Drama
According to Art, the teams are also evenly matched in star players and in their regular season results: one win, one tie and one loss. The series is expected to generate a lot of excitement for fans on both sides.
"It’s really got a lot of tension, a lot of drama and MLS is loving how this matchup is working out," he said.
Dempsey Rested And Ready
Art talked with Sounders star player Clint Dempsey this week about his extraordinary year, which included being captain of the U.S. Men's National Team in the World Cup and helping lead the Sounders to the best record in the regular season.
Art says Dempsey was happy for the rest between the Western Conference semifinals against FC Dallas and this series.
"He said that this has been the most taxing — physically and emotionally — of his professional career. And he was very grateful that there was a two-week window between the previous series and the pending one here with the Galaxy because he just needed to rest. I think he may have regained the edge he might have lost just because of fatigue in the post-World Cup MLS regular season. So I think he is ready to go.
"And his partner up front, Obafemi Martins, is a candidate for Most Valuable Player in the MLS, and I think he’s probably going to win it, so that’s a big edge for the Sounders," Art said.
'This Is The Real Championship'
Art says the Western Conference Finals are likely to be a better matchup than the two teams who meet in the MLS Cup.
"I think everybody who cares about American soccer is focused on the Galaxy and the Sounders," he said. "These are the teams with the two best regular season records, with a history with each other and probably a lot of contempt for each other. So it should be a spectacle from the standpoint of elevating American-only soccer in the mind of the national audience — at least that’s what MLS is hoping for.
“I think the drama next Sunday (Nov. 30) at CenturyLink Field when the teams meet for the second and final of these games is going to be pretty close to equivalent to what we’ve seen with the Seahawks and their (Super Bowl) run in 2013," Art said.
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You can find Art Thiel's work at Sportspress Northwestand Crosscut.com.
