RENTON – Coming off the field of their final training session before their first competitive match of the season, the Seattle Sounders were all smiles. The energy was clearly positive following a hard, but productive preseason in which they scored 19 goals in less than 600 total minutes of play against opposing teams.
One of those smiling faces, maybe a little unexpectedly, was Albert Rusnák, who even gave a little wink as he made his way into the locker room.
The Designated Player had just finished his first full training session in about two weeks after “tweaking” his quadricep after playing about 30 minutes against Hammarby. In combination with more limited training sessions over the weekend, the Sounders have decided to bring Rusnák to Guatemala for Wednesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup opener against Antigua GFC.
“He’s got a very good shot of being fully available for Wednesday,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said following Monday’s training session. “That’s why we’re taking him.”
Even if Rusnák doesn’t start against Antigua, his return is obviously significant. The Sounders will only have one partial day of training between Wednesday’s match and the MLS season opener on Saturday, and will almost certainly need to make some rotations in their lineups.
Schmetzer said he was particularly encouraged by what he felt was a good preseason schedule that was designed by Sounders Director of Performance Adam Centofanti and concluded with two full 90-minute games last week against USL Championship side Louisville City.
“I think that was vital,” Schmetzer said. “I think that’s going to help us for this first stretch of four games. It’s not just a starting group that we’re gonna put against Antigua. It’s going to be the guys that have to come in as substitutes, it’s going to have to be the guys that start against Charlotte, the home leg (against Antigua), another MLS match. Everybody’s gonna need to be ready to go. I loved it.”
The only other injury heading into the Antigua match is Reed Baker-Whiting, who has yet to even resume limited training and is likely still at least several weeks away from returning.
Not taking Antigua lightly
Perhaps no MLS team understands the challenges of playing road matches against Central American opponents better than the Sounders. Although it has been more than a decade since they played a team from Guatemala, this will be the 10th time they’ve played a Central American opponent and they’ve faced at least one in all eight of their Concacaf Champions appearances.
Historically, Antigua has not been one of Central America’s top teams, but they are in the midst of a very good season. They currently sit second in Guatemala’s top flight and are coming off a 6-0 win in their last league game on Wednesday.
“They’re a talented team and they’ll be motivated,” Schmetzer said. “We are preparing to be stout defensively, and to give nothing away.
“I think we’re good enough. I think we have some talented attacking players and we’re going to create chances. If we can put a few of those away and limit our mistakes, I think we can come up with a good result. But it is going to be a challenge and we’re actually excited about playing in CCC again.”
