Sigi Schmid can take a lesson from the United States victory over Ecuador.
Throughout the offseason, the Sounders’ repeated mantra was the switch away from Sigi Schmid’s 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3. It was repeated often and frequently and came to define their play in impressive performances against Club America. But after several games, the wheels fell off. Real Salt Lake and the Vancouver Whitecaps showed easy ways to neutralize both Clint Dempsey and Andreas Ivanschitz and without the presence of Erik Friberg, gameplans quickly deteriorated until the Sounders were nigh unwatchable.