Instant (Over)Reaction: Chivas/Columbia

I caught only the first halves of both the USA and Sounders games last night, so I don't have a long list of comments on each. However, a few things did stick out:

• Michael Fucito is quickly becoming an important player for the Sounders. I doubt he will be getting any first team starts in the near future, but I think he definitely deserves to be one of Sigi's three subs off the bench. You can't say enough about his workrate and the kid just can't stop scoring. I know most of his goals were in fairly meaningless games, but you can't hold that against him. If he is not picked by Vancouver or Portland in the Expansion Draft I think he has a bright future with the team.
• I quietly am becoming a fan of the Sounders second team. When they trotted out the second team against Celtic FC I was less than pleased because the quality instantly went down. But now, after having many opportunities to play together in meaningful games, I think this second team is really fun to watch. I love the energy that Fucito, Estrada and Seamon bring to the team and I love seeing Terry Boss flying for every ball that comes near the frame. He may not be polished, but he is definitely a better athlete than Keller.
• I would love to have a look inside Fredy's head right now. He can't score and Sanna can't stop. I have questioned his mental toughness in the past and can only hope that he is still mentally sharp even though he has not put the ball in the net.
• I know it's only a friendly, but it felt nice to get the win over Chivas. I don't know what it is, but the whole organization just rubs me the wrong way.
  

• As for the Nats, I was very impressed by Jermaine Jones and Stuart Holden. The 2014 WC is a long ways away, but I feel very confident with the parts we have in the midfield. Bradley and Jones will be cementing the middle, with Donovan and I'm hoping Holden on the flanks. With Benny Feilhaber and Jose Torres coming off the bench, I think we are going to be deep for years to come.
• I know that the new guys (Omar Gonzalez, Tim Ream, Ike Opara, Gale Agbossoumonde) have not been called into camp yet, so I am still holding out hope that we can find a few new starters on the defensive side of the ball. We better pray we do because the current situation is very unsettling to say the least
• Last night I told J-Will that Altidore needs to pick up his game or risk becoming the next Adu. After sleeping on it, I realize that was an unfair label to give Jozy. He may not be seeing any time in La Liga for Villareal but I think he is becoming a more professional player in terms of his play. It doesn't help that we have no other options at forward (not counting Dempsey who is still and will continue to be the man), meaning all the pressure falls on his shoulders. Hopefully Charlie Davies can recover by 2014, as he would make a wonderful partner for Jozy.
  

The US is now off until November when they travel to Cape Town, South Africa for the Nelson Mandel Cup. The Sounders are back in action this Friday against Chivas LA.