Seattle Sounders Look To Shift Lineups After Zakuani Injury
Injuries to big stars are never easy to deal with and in the case of Steve Zakuani, it will be really tough for the Seattle Sounders to replace him. SBNation.com's Sounders blog, Sounder at Heart, took a deep look into how the club could go about shifting their lineup to replace Zakuani.
Sounders at Heart view a few different choices for replacing Zakuani. There is the speed option (Mike Fucito), the technical option (Alvaro Fernandez), and the shifting Mauro Rosales around option. Naturally the Sounders blog has their own preference to what Sigi Schmid should do.
It should come as no surprise that my preference is clear for Fucito to get the start against Toronto. His speed, nose for goal and ability to serve the ball in a set-play improve three areas where Seattle would be lacking without him. The advantage of his play being both at a high level, and similar in ways to Zakuani make it easier on the rest of the team to adapt. Now healthy, this would be the opportunity for Sigi to show why a fringe player in 2010 was protected in the expansion draft and take those shots and convert them to goals.
If Seattle wants to keep some continuity with how the team already plays with Zakuani going forward here this season then going with this speed route with Fucito could be their best option. Of course that could also mean it keeps one of their Designated Player, Alvaro Fernandez on the bench still. Schmid could go a more technical route by playing Fernandez in the lineup but with a team built on using speed on the wings, it could be tough to go to a more technical route in their midfield.
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