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Sound Bites: A peek inside the first day of preseason training
2 Playsin 2 hours
The Sounders held their first official day of preseason training on Monday and while they didn’t do much, we did get a chance to get to know a bit more about Paul Arriola, who officially joined the team earlier in the day after a trade with FC Dallas. The veteran midfielder seemed thrilled to be here and excited to start competing for trophies. Jeremiah gives a quick overview of what happened and what we should expect this preseason.
Note: This episode of Sound Bites is being made available to everyone. Future episodes will only be available on the subscriber RSS feed.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Welcome to soundbites, a mini podcast on the sounder at heart podcast network. Today is Monday, January 13th, and I am Jeremiah Shan on today's show. I'll be talking about my quick impressions from the first official day of Sanders training and giving a bit of a primer on what to expect in preseason.
Will Bruin Joins Sounder at Heart Podcast
00:00:16
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the sounder at heart podcast network.
Sounders Training Day 1 Recap
00:00:25
Speaker
here we go on a
00:00:32
Speaker
Although players first started reporting on Saturday, they did physicals and all those kinds of things, Monday was actually the first real day of training where they got outside and sweat and they just basically ran around.
00:00:48
Speaker
worked up their heart rate and then did a little bit of short-sighted games. It was a good day.
Injury Updates and Training Plans
00:00:54
Speaker
Everyone seemed to be in a very good mood, but there wasn't a lot necessarily going on. I will note that Paul Rothrock and Reed Baker Whiting were not doing any ball work yet. They were training off to the side. They were still recovering from the injuries they suffered at the end of last season.
00:01:11
Speaker
Sounds like they will be worked back into training and probably should be all ready to go by the ten time the team takes off for Spain, which is going to be on Sunday.
Pre-Season Schedule and Plans
00:01:21
Speaker
And then they're going to be in Marbella, Spain for like 18 days, something like that. a Pretty long time. They'll play a handful of games or not a handful. They'll play a few games out there and then they'll come back sometime around early February and then get ready for The first game of the season, which is February 19th in Guatemala in CONCACAF Champions Cup. MLS home opener is February 22nd. That is
00:01:52
Speaker
like five weeks away. It's kind of crazy to think about six weeks away, I guess. ah But anyway, the first day of training, it was
Contract and National Team Updates
00:02:02
Speaker
a good time. Everyone seemed very happy. Just about everyone was there that you would expect. I will note there was no kim kihi. I don't know. I don't have any really ah any updates on what's going on there other than the centers are sort of trying to work something out with that. I did find out that Kim is not actually out of contract at Ulsan, so it it is a little bit more complicated than it may seem. Apparently, he does have a desire to come back to the United States. The Sanders have a desire to bring him in. I would imagine if they can all sort of come to an agreement on financial terms, maybe Ulsan will just let him go. I don't know if that's really how it works, but maybe. ah The other notable person that wasn't there is Jesus Ferreira. He is, of course, with the US national team.
00:02:45
Speaker
I don't know if he is going to return. I know he's not going to but return in time to be part of the long acres portion of training. I am not sure if he will stay with the US national team.
00:02:57
Speaker
for their whole camp, which would keep him in ah which would mean he'd have to go to Spain separately from the Sounders and he'd end up missing out on 10 days, two weeks worth of training with his new teammates. that Not ideal, but I assume the Sounders are going to sort of defer to him on what he wants to do.
Managing National Team Commitments
00:03:15
Speaker
ah they um My understanding is they basically blocked j Well, they didn't totally block Jackson Reagan from going to the US national team January camp. They told US soccer that they could have him, but they needed him back by the 18th so that he could go to Spain with the rest of the team. US soccer apparently was not interested in that compromise. And they said, look, if we can't have him for the whole time, we don't want him at all. The situation with Ferreira is a little different. He was technically with FC Dallas when that camp started.
00:03:45
Speaker
So the Sounders did not have the same sort of rights in that situation. And he had already, and Dallas had already approved of him to go to the US national team
Tacoma Defiance Players in Sounders Training
00:03:55
Speaker
camp. The Sounders could recall him, but i I don't think they're going to do that unless Ferreira is on board with it. You know, they don't want to get off to a bad start with their new player. So anyway, other than Ferreira, everyone else was out there.
00:04:11
Speaker
ah There were also a bunch of Defiance guys, i and a few players who I couldn't identify. Among the players who were there who are not first team players that I was i able to identify, <unk>na Kalani Kosa-Rienzi, Osaze De Rosario, Lars Helleren, Snyder Brunel, and Mohammad Schauer. Those are all players who are under contract with Tacoma Defiance.
00:04:35
Speaker
they seem to fit right in. I would imagine we're going to see them all sort of periodically training with the first team this year. They are players who I would imagine will get first team minutes, even if they don't sign full first team contracts. And then there were Among the new faces that I was able to identify Leo Bernie, who is the new home grown player, Trevion Sousa. He was a Defiance player, obviously. And then there were a couple others who, I don't know, Damien Alvarez was ah a draft pick out of the, out of Seattle University. And then there were one or two other guys who I just, I thought I knew who they might be. I am not as sure now after kind of cross checking with photos that I found online.
Paul Arriola Trade Details
00:05:18
Speaker
So.
00:05:18
Speaker
You know, there might be a couple of mystery players that I would imagine they were probably more likely to sign with Defiance. I don't think there are any first team trialists. We've kind of moved beyond that. we We don't get a lot of first team trialists anymore. That's something that used to happen a lot, you know, up until, I don't know, 2017, 2018. And in the last few years, certainly post COVID,
00:05:41
Speaker
We don't get a lot of unnamed players who are just out training with the sounders who might make the team. and This is not really how it how it works these days. ah The sort of star of the first day of training, I guess you could say, was Paul Arriola. That trade was announced right before, earlier this morning, actually at 7am Pacific. Apparently, Dallas wanted to get that out as soon as possible.
00:06:06
Speaker
ah But in case you missed the news, the Sounders have picked up Paul Arriola. The Sounders gave up a 2026 first round draft pick and $300,000 in conditional general allocation money. My understanding on the general allocation money is that it's ah conditioned on a lot of playing time for Ariola. If he is mostly coming off the bench, I don't think the Sounders are in much danger of having to pay that out. ah But if he's starting a lot, then I guess that ends up being a worthwhile investment. $300,000 isn't a ton. It's not nothing.
00:06:39
Speaker
but it's it's not on this year's budget. Anyway, I also was able to confirm that Dallas is picking up a bunch of his salary. I don't know exactly how much, but ah combined with the new contract that he's signing with the Sounders, which is three years with ah an option for 2028, my understanding is his he's hitting the Sounders salary cap at right around $600,000 or $700,000 a year.
00:07:03
Speaker
So if if that's the case, you would imagine Dallas is picking up close to a million dollars on his salary this year. I guess the plan is they're just going to eat that.
Arriola's Role and Connections
00:07:13
Speaker
They're not even going to use a buyout because they have a rather embarrassment of riches when it comes to Gamm, especially if this ah transfer for Alan Velasco goes through. They're supposed to get like $10 million dollars in that. I would imagine they'll be able to clear some Gamm. Anyway,
00:07:31
Speaker
they are not super worried about Gamm and they're just kind of going through a full rebuild. And I guess that they made that clear to Ariola at the end of last year that they were planning on doing a full rebuild and that he wasn't really part of their plans. And they sort of gave him the ability to go and see who might be willing to take him and on the top of his list at least this is again this is according to him i have no reason to doubt it though uh he said the sounders were really pretty much the top team where he wanted to go to he has some friends here i i guess i should preface this i would imagine la fc la galaxy maybe even san diego were also on his list as teams that he was interested in in pursuing
00:08:13
Speaker
in part because he is a san diego he's ah San Diego guy. He's from Southern California. I believe he still lives down there. But the Sounders were very much at the top of the list. And part of that reason part of the reason is that he knows that there's is a winning team. He has gone out in the playoffs to them a couple of times.
00:08:31
Speaker
The Sounders and Dallas have had a bunch of good battles. And I'm sure he's sort of looked longingly at the Sounders and said, I want to be able to do this. I want to play in multiple competitions. I want to be able to go deep in multiple competitions. And that is, of course, something the Sounders have made a name for themselves doing. He also has a pretty good relationship with Christian Roldan and Jordan Morris. He knows both of them from rather extensive time with the US s national team. I would imagine that they have all trained together dozens of times.
00:08:59
Speaker
Which is saying something. ah You don't have players who weren't teammates at the club level who trained together that much. But for a couple of years there, Ariola, Roldan and Morris were in a ton of camps together.
00:09:11
Speaker
and they got to know each other pretty well. I guess Jesus Ferreira is also ah in that same group, although i don't I don't know that anyone's not necessarily saying they're quite as close with Ferreira, but Ariola vouched for Ferreira and seems excited to be coming to see the Sounders with him. I found him to be really personable. He seems to be a player who I think fans will relate to and and sort of bond with. He is a sort of quintessential Brian Schmetzer
Arriola's Transition and Focus
00:09:43
Speaker
player, I'd say. He hustles. He likes to get under opponent's skin. He does have some skill. You know, this is a guy, he's now 29 at what, you know, he he said it himself. There was a time where he was a young up and comer. There was a time where he, and this is his word, he said, there was a time where I was a superstar. And now he's sort of in the phase of his career.
00:10:02
Speaker
where he just wants to win games and it makes a lot of sense for a player like that to want to come to the Sounders. Uh, he has been, you know, I, I think it will be interesting to see how he's used. Brian Schmetzer talked about him being mostly used as a wide player, you know, either as a wing back or as a winger. Uh, he talked about him potentially. I think we can probably see him imagining him play on either side of either of those positions. We might even see him at fullback. I suppose, you know, he doesn't have great defensive numbers. He is in some ways sort of a.
00:10:38
Speaker
a mere image in in terms of the opposite effects. and Maybe that's that's too strong. He is an interesting complimentary part, I'll say, to a Alex Roldan, who right now is much more of a defensive player than a he is an offensive player.
00:10:56
Speaker
You know, rolled on has had some good offensive years. Last year was not one of them, but he was a very good defender last year. I guess you could say the same thing about new who who's never really been an offensive player, but is much more of a defensive player. And so having an Ariola on the roster as someone that they can use gives them an interesting change that they can they can go to, you know, zooming out a little bit.
Team Formations and Player Fits
00:11:21
Speaker
Brian Schmetzer talked about the formation a little, but it sounded to me like he's still sort of defaulting to playing as a in a 4-2-3-1. But he also mentioned prominently you know going to a 3-5-2 at times. And one of the big battles, I think, during this
00:11:43
Speaker
preseason and probably the the maybe the thing to watch is how he solves the a couple different issues. The first one I think the most, you know, the biggest one is going to be who's playing the number nine. Jesus Ferreira has had a lot of success there. So has Jordan Morris. And so it'll be interesting to see who gets the nod there. Maybe they both do. Maybe we end up with a three, five, two, like I said, and we see both of them playing up top together.
00:12:09
Speaker
My impression, though, is Ferreira will probably play on the right at least to start with Jordan Morris as the number nine, and then we'll see you how it goes. And if if things have to change, they'll change. But. I think that's one big battle we're going to want to see. And then I think one of the other ones is Pedro de la Vega and how he fits in. Now, if they're playing in a four, two, three, one, I could see him playing either on the right or the left. I think he could, you know, I think it's hard to imagine a world where he and Paul Areola are on the field together. It feels like they are probably the most, it it would be the toughest to kind of fit a lineup where they're both together. Although I suppose there's no reason that they can both be on on the wings in a four, two, three, one.
00:12:58
Speaker
But that's going to be an interesting one. And I also think that one of the reasons that 352 is not really the default is because I don't know where Pedro de la Vega plays in that. Maybe they'll try him at Wingback. That would be an interesting choice. You know, I don't imagine that the sounders really see that as an ideal situation, but I could see them going, okay, well, we got to make the most out of this. But I think De La Vega is probably the biggest question mark. He's probably the player who offers the most up so untapped upside at this point.
Position Changes and Team Dynamics
00:13:27
Speaker
And again, that's going to be really interesting to watch. And then one of the other things that we talked about with Schmetzer today, and as something else worth watching is Josh Atencio, who
00:13:39
Speaker
Greg Weibel mentioned this a couple times in conversations this year was the possibility of moving a tensio to center back. And I wouldn't say that he made it sound like an afterthought, but I don't know that he really communicated the seriousness with which the sounders are approaching this. And I think we got a better sense of that in talking to Brian Schmetzer,
00:14:04
Speaker
where he basically said, look, we want to try it. We think this is ah ah potentially a really good position for him. We want to try it. And we're goingnna we're willing to have some growing pains because we believe this is a potentially good move for him. Now, I tend to think that Atencio, you know, Ryan Schmetzer has said this himself. This is a player who's a little too mobile to pigeonhole the center back.
00:14:27
Speaker
But I suppose with Obed Vargas and Christian Roldan probably locking down the starting spots there, and Ciao Paolo likely sucking up a lot of the the backup minutes, and then maybe a Snyder Brunel as well getting in there, that maybe Atencio just, you know, the the path to playing time is just maybe not as clear as it looked before. I would still think that Atencio would be a good third option.
00:14:57
Speaker
but, you know, and maybe even a direct backup to, I mean, I really like him. If you look at his numbers, they're almost off the charts in terms of per 90 defensive actions and those kinds of things. But I also understand the desire to move him to center back because A, he's not, he doesn't have a clear starting spot. And there's not, I think there's also a concern that there's maybe not a clear future. There's not a clear path to even if
00:15:21
Speaker
Even if Obed gets sold in the summer, that is not totally obvious that Josh Atencio is the first choice player there. And if you can craft a world where he can play next to Jackson Reagan and then that then allows you to maybe move Yemar before he, you know, this is a player who's getting a little older and it allows you to move Yemar while he still has some value. Maybe that's what it does. But in any case, Schmetzer seemed to indicate that they're going to at least give Atencio the whole preseason to try to figure out center back. And I think he probably becomes the third center back if that's what they end up doing. ah You know, I alluded to this situation earlier in the show, but ah Kim Ki-hee coming in might, if they ever get him, I don't know, maybe that changes the equation a little bit, but I think the bigger picture is long-term, they see Atencio potentially being a,
00:16:15
Speaker
you know, a high level center back. And if they can figure out a way for Jackson Reagan and him to sort of grow together, that could be your center back pairing for the next four or five years. So I can see why they would maybe want to do it. I will also add that attention to me. I don't know this for sure. But to me, it looked like he bulked up a little bit. And so I wonder if he spent the ah and he is a player who takes fitness very seriously, who understands how to shape your body and do all these kind of things. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he bulked up a little bit, especially in the upper body during the off season. And he looked like, you know, he just looked more like a center back than I'd seen him before. So that'll be interesting. That's another big thing that I think I'll be watching. And then outside of that, you know,
Roster Stability and Season Outlook
00:17:00
Speaker
who knows? ah I think this roster looks probably as set as it's maybe ever been this early in preseason.
00:17:09
Speaker
There aren't any huge question marks. I think you have a solid starting 10 that easily could be, you know, 12 or 13 players competing for starting minutes. It's going to be fascinating to see how Paul Rothrock fits in, how Georgi Minungu fits in.
00:17:27
Speaker
I'll be interesting. Heck, if Danny Misofsky can have some sort of bounce back year, you know, it was interesting. He was number 17 last year. Paul Areola ended up with number 17 this year. I don't know all went went into that, but, uh, Misofsky is wearing 19. So any of these are just some of the things that I think we'll be watching.
00:17:47
Speaker
ah as this team gets ready to go into preseason in a season where they are expected to play up to 50, you know, beyond 50 games, which if they're able to get to would be pretty remarkable, but also, uh, you know, we'll see, we'll see.
Future Podcast Content Teasers
00:18:05
Speaker
Uh, all that said, I should probably get out of here. I'm going to start, like I said, i' I'm going to try to do these soundbite episodes a little bit more often than I did last year.
00:18:15
Speaker
I don't know how often they'll be coming out, but we do have another nosad yet just coming out on Tuesday or recording it on Tuesday. I'm going to be going on lobbying squirters live later in the week. So lots of podcast content coming through the the pipes. Uh, but that said, I'm Jeremiah Shan. This is sound bites, part of the sounder at heart podcast network, and I'll catch you next time.
00:19:15
Speaker
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