by Toby Dunkelberg, Seattle
The Seattle Sounders wrapped up their penultimate day of training before they head down to Tucson, Arizona and the Desert Diamond Cup.
There were two main things of note, one was the absence of Osvaldo Alonso from training due to his recent surgery. When asked about Alonso’s timeline, coach Sigi Schmid had this to say;
“He will be with us [in Arizona] but it’s a question of when he’ll join us. Right now he’s making good progress but as of right now it makes more sense to keep him here.”
The other was the powerful presence of designated player Clint Dempsey who was back in camp for his first full training session with the Sounders this year. Up until now Dempsey had been at the USMNT January camp and featured in their games against Chile and Panama. When asked about the value of a January camp the captain for the stars and stripes had this to say,
“January camp is always a place for people to get looks, especially in the domestic league, ‘cause its not during a FIFA fixture date. So it’s kinda helped me when I was a young guy, to break into the team… It’s also a chance for players who are a little more experienced to fight for a place on the team.”
During the tail end of the Sounders 2014 season Dempsey himself admitted the he was getting tired and his legs were feeling heavy. When asked about how he felt as a result of having a full preseason Dempsey said that he actually felt really good heading into Sounders preseason after his loan to Fulham. The issue was that;
“… as the season went on, especially after the World Cup, there was a little bit of lull there a little bit of tiredness, in the legs… I don’t think I’m gonna experience that this year.. knock on wood.”
That optimism is no doubt shared by all of the fans who are counting on a full season of Clint Dempsey to finally carry them to their first MLS Cup. The Sounders head down to start their Tucson training on February 15th in order to prepare for the Desert Diamond Cup which runs from the 18th to 28th and features Sporting Kansas City, Seattle Sounders FC, Real Salt Lake, New England Revolution, Colorado Rapids and FC Tucson.
Also See:
Sounders U23’s announce first player commitments for 2015
Op-Ed: Sorry MLS but the logic of “Bosman” is irrefutable, especially in a free country
Radio Cascadia Ep. 30 ft. Taylor Graham
