By Toby Dunkelberg
Friday night’s matchup against DC United saw the return of Sounders DP Osvaldo Alonso to the starting eleven. Due to a combination of suspension and injury this was his first such appearance since the Sounders 2-1 win against the New York Red Bulls on May 31. When you tack on the five games to the three games he missed at the beginning of the year, you can start to really see how differently Seattle looks without him.
With Alonso in the lineup the Sounders have gone an astounding 8-2-1, but without him they are a dismal 2-5-1. Alonso’s absences so far have tended to overlap with those of Obafemi Martins and/or Clint Dempsey. So that form isn’t entirely due to his absence, but if you look a little closer there’s no denying how integral Alonso is to the Sounders, despite the three serviceable backups in Andy Rose, Micheal Azira, and rookie Cristian Roldan.
It’s been Azira who’s taken Alonso’s spot on the field, starting in his CDM role for all five games. And while he’s played well, looking just as dominating with dispossessions and long crosses, he’s also turned over the ball at the most inopportune moments. Those blunders while under pressure led to two goals against the Portland Timbers and highlight a key attribute that only Alonso possesses in the Sounders central mid stable, the ability to dribble out of a pressure.
Here’s a perfect example of Alonso dribbling around DeLeon who frustrated the rest of the Sounders midfield because of his ability to steal the ball.
Sigi Schmid alluded to that trait after the DC United game.
“Where he helps us the most is Ozzie’s got that quickness to get out of a difficult situation, so now all of a sudden, his decisions and his quickness get us out of something where sometimes we got stuck into.”
Alonso isn’t as well know for this ability. His highlight reel includes challenges, tackles, and long searching balls, but you could argue that it’s this ability that makes a center mid truly great. Like Alonso, Kyle Beckerman, Micheal Bradley, and even Mix Diskerud all use this ability to settle to their teams until they can safely push numbers forward. That one trait leads itself into an even larger marshaling ability that Alonso is more well know for and was put to use on counter attacks in Friday’s match.
Without Alonso on the field the Sounders were forced into playing a young lineup. It’s tough for youngsters to catch up to the physicality and speed of MLS, but its even harder when you don’t have a solid veteran presence to take some of the pressure off. Once again Sigi Schmid,
“Certainly [having Alonso] helps, it makes it easier. If I’m a young player like Cristian Roldan and I’m on the field with Pineda and Alonso its a little easier. When you’ve got more veteran guys it makes it easier for the young guy to be able to pick up the bits and pieces and perform.”
Alonso’s there to back up Roldan, Rose, and Thomàs so they can venture forward and try things that they otherwise wouldn’t be comfortable doing. He allows them to make mistakes in a safe way and when you have that ability you play better. Roldan, Rose, and Azira just aren’t at that ability level yet and as such without Alonso youngsters are just a little more jittery and error prone.
Roldan’s first shift as a CAM went well in part because Alonso took over his defensive responsibilities.
Alonso’s presence solidifies the midfield, and you could see it in the DC game. United was forced to play down the wings because they couldn’t generate possession and passes in the middle due to the presence of Alonso and Pineda. The difference was remarkable when you compared it to the Portland game from two weeks ago. Without Alonso on the field the Timbers ran right through Azira and Pineda in route to four goals. And the midfields inability to stop Timbers surges meant that Mears and Remick had to stay home and defend much more than they would’ve liked to when chasing a game.
That’s not me spitballing either, Sigi Schmid said the same thing after the DC United game.
“Mears and Remick could have a bigger impact on the game, [because] we could stick with just the two [center backs] and Ozzie back there.”
Without Alonso in the lineup Schmid has to keep another body back on defense and he would’ve been more cautious with Mears and Remick going forward, even with DC only having ten men. If Mears is more cautious who knows if he gets in a position to make that late goal.
But Alonso is a DP primarily because with him on the pitch Seattle’s defense is much stronger. With Alonso starting the Sounders have given up seven goals in ten games (0.7 per game), without him they’ve allowed eleven in nine (1.22 per game). That difference of 0.5 goals allowed per game is same as the difference between the Sounders defense and the New England’s defense. Alonso’s presence is that final key that really makes Seattle’s formidable, and it’s the main thing you get when you have him on the pitch. All the others are what combines to make Seattle play better but that defensive capability wins games the Sounders would otherwise lose.
Alonso went the entire 90 against DC even though it was his first game back from an injury. Usually the Sounders try to sub off returning center mids around the 60th minute mark, but due to the goal keeper substitution of Troy Perkins on for Stefan Frei, Alonso was forced to stay on. Fortunately for Sounders fans, Alonso said after the game that he feels great. So the Rave Green should be able to see his importance with their own eyes on in Chicago.
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