RENTON — The Sounders regained a coach and two players when they returned to training Wednesday.
Brian Schmetzer was back at the helm after missing Saturday’s road loss to St. Louis City because of COVID. And mixed into drills and short-sided games were defender Yeimar and midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting.
Yeimar missed last week’s match because of a personal matter. Baker-Whiting has been out since February because of a right hamstring injury suffered during preseason camp.
“I watched a lot of soccer,” Schmetzer said of the little he could do while battling the virus. “It was interesting. When we do the panoramic feed [game film], you’re lost because you see everything.
“The TV feed, they narrow it so I can see players’ emotions a little bit more and their frustrations sometimes if things don’t go right. That was different. And the commentators, sometimes you get skewed by what the commentators say. … There’s a lot of things I took from watching from the couch.”
One view Schmetzer didn’t share with onlookers to Seattle’s 1-0 loss to St. Louis was criticism of trade acquisition Jesús Ferreira. The match was his first at the forward position in place of Jordan Morris, who’s out because of a hamstring injury.
Ferreira appeared to grow frustrated as he continued to make runs and didn’t receive passes in the final third of the field. He also made questionable plays, one that called for VAR review and another earning him a yellow card in first-half stoppage time.
Sounders assistant Freddy Juarez coached the match and subbed Ferreira off in the 64th minute. The U.S. international finished with one shot at goal.
St. Louis City (2-0-2) leads MLS in not conceding a goal in its opening four matches.
“Nobody was happy in the middle of that game, because we were out-possessing them without any end product,” Schmetzer said. “We watched the film, and there were two or three moments where we could’ve played him the ball that we didn’t. There were some things that he could’ve done a little bit better. But that’s all going to come in time, because he’s a smart soccer player.
“Some of the off-the-ball stuff, I’ll talk to him, but it’s emotion. That shows me he was in the game, and he wants to win.”
Hit the reset
The team had two off days after a stretch of eight matches in four weeks. Last week was particularly tough because of injuries — Morris and Paul Arriola (torn ACL) joined Pedro de la Vega (quad) on the injury list — and being eliminated from the CONCACAF Champions Cup.
“I’ve spent more time at the hotels than at home this season so far since we’ve started,” said Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák, whose team’s international travel included stops in Spain, Guatemala and Mexico. “The days off were needed more mentally than physically. … I hope that it helped everyone.”
The team didn’t have time to train before the St. Louis match, which could explain some of the difficulties adjusting to Ferreira’s skill set up top in comparison with Morris.
The team held a meeting at its facility here before work on the field. Seattle isn’t slated for another two-match week until May. The next tournament is the FIFA men’s Club World Cup in June.
“We talked about reality checks,” said Schmetzer in comparing this year’s 1-2-1 start in MLS competitions to last season’s 0-2-2 record at the same point.
To open both seasons there were injuries to key players and bloopers by the back line that cost the Sounders outright wins. Last year the team was able to overcome the worst start in franchise history to advance to the Western Conference playoff final.
“There’s similarities,” Schmetzer said. “With this group they all know the system we’re going to play, and I think we can plug and play. The first test is going to be on Saturday against a good Houston team.”
Schmetzer said offensive tactical work will be a focus this week. The Dynamo (0-3-1) are tied in allowing a conference-high eight goals to open the season.
“The chemistry will come,” Rusnák said. “The attack was out of sync by all of us, not just Jesús. There’s many ways we can improve and get back to the winning ways.”
Almost ready
Defender Kim Kee-hee and Baker-Whiting could be available to play next week when the Sounders travel for a match against San Jose.
Kim rejoined the club last month after starring in 2018-19, helping Seattle win an MLS Cup title. He arrived late to preseason camp due to delays in obtaining his work visa.
“They were in full training,” Schmetzer said. “Against San Jose I expect both of them to be available.”
March madness
Rusnák spent some time off filling out his bracket for the men’s NCAA tournament. He’s in a pool with his 7-year-old daughter Ariana.
Both have No. 1 seed Florida winning the championship, although that was determined by different methods.
“She did colors and seedings,” Rusnák said. “She’s 2 for 2 on the play-in games [Tuesday], so I guess you don’t need to know much to pick it, right? It’ll be a fun next couple of weeks.”
