When the Sounders lost 2-0 at home to Monterrey on August 25, we all figured they were done in the Champions League. At 0-2 there was no way they could advance to the Knockout Round.
When the Sounders lost 2-0 on the road to Saprissa on September 14, we once again figured they were done in the Champions League. At 0-3 there was no way they could advance to the Knockout Round.
When the Sounders lost 3-2 on the road to Monterrey on September 22, we knew they were done in the Champions League. At 0-4 there was NO way we could advance.
The funny thing about each of these statements is that somehow we kept the faith. The other group results continued to go our way. We were never officially eliminated, even after losing the second time to Monterrey.
The math was simple -if we won our last two games and Monterrey won their last two games, the Sounders, Saprissa and Marathon would all finish tied for second with identical 2-4 records. We would just need to win big to help our goal differential.
I know I bought into it. I mean, all we had to do was hope that a Monterrey side who already clinched first place in the group would beat two hungry teams battling for 2nd place and that a team with 0 wins out of 4 games would miraculously win their final two games. Every time I tried to walk away I got sucked back in.
Then finally last night, Saprissa tied Monterrey. The Sounders are 100% officially eliminated. There is NO way they advance. Now I know I value Champions League more than the average fan, but even I realize this is a blessing in disguise. We can now play our young guys against Marathon, Saprissa and Chivas Guadalajara and have our normal starters finish up MLS play. I know the front office wants to win every tournament we are in. I love it, but being eliminated in Champions League increases our chances of winning the MLS Cup and/or US Open Cup. It also helps us evaluate where we are at for the future as our young back-ups can get quality minutes against opponents who are not wearing the rave green. This represents another great opportunity for the likes of Michael Fucito, Miguel Montano and Michael Seamon, not to mention Brad Evans who may be able to get some time against Saprissa next month.
Getting pummeled in Champions League is not what the team had envisioned. But with championship aspirations in league play, it might not have been the worst thing.
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