Seattle Sounders FC are off to the best start for a new franchise in MLS history.  Not only with a very solid start on the field for an expansion team, but also by breaking home attendance records... and they are about to EXPAND their capacity!  Defender James Riley talks with Soccer365's Lars Lifrak about the team's recent level of play and give his thoughts on exactly what it is that's made the MLS such a hit in Seattle.  

by Lars Lifrak

365:  This was a huge win for you guys, wasn’t it (2-1 over San Jose)?
James Riley:  For sure, it was good to get back into the winning ways.  We made it a bit difficult for ourselves but we showed some good stuff.  They’re always a good team, they will always compete, I played with them last year and we knew that would be the case.  It’s definitely to get a win in front of the home crowd for sure.

365:  It seemed like things were more fluid today than they have been for you guys.  Why was that do you think?
JR:  We just put it down.  It’s another game that we have under our belts together.  This week in training we worked on just connecting and we’re learning guy’s tendencies.  I definitely agree in the first half we were a bit more fluid.  Seba (Sebastian Le Toux) makes a big difference because he runs so much off the ball it stretches things out for both Freddys (Ljungberg and Montero).  That was something we took advantage of for sure, we were very lively in the first half.

365:  Was attacking the flanks as much as you did a concerted effort?
JR:  Definitely.  We wanted to get the ball wide to (Steve) Zakuani and Freddie and to run off them.  It was definitely our plan.

365:  So was it a specific strategy for playing San Jose, or is that what you want to do as much as possible?
JR:  I think it’s more or less how we want to play.  We want to go inside out which then opens up the options to come back inside, and then we can start going inside out again.  Obviously we have Zakuani who can isolate and draw lots of guys.  Now the next step for him to look up and play guys through or connect and try to get through without the ball because he’s attracting a lot of attention now and with Ljungberg or Montero they add an extra dimension. 

365:  Getting (Osvaldo) Alonso back on the field has to be huge for you guys.
JR:  Yeah, for sure.  You saw how he comes in and breaks up plays and he’s probably not even fully fit yet.  But you can see the calming presence he has with the ball at his feet and he did it in a crucial game.  It was a big bonus to let him get some minutes in.

365:  Now let me you the question that everyone is wondering about league-wide.  Why do you think the MLS thing is so successful in Seattle so far?
JR:  That’s a pretty layered and dynamic answer.  I think the organization and the vision from the owner to the players doesn’t deviate.  The owner’s vision is what’s going on.  Sometime there is a dissonance between how much owners are involved and what you get on the field.  Here the owners are involved on a daily basis so they know what type of product they want to put on the field.  There is a common goal.  It’s run like any top 100 company to be honest.  A common vision, a common goal and you put the right people in the right places.  The Seahawks already had their infrastructure set up and they welcomed us with open arms.  Seattle was defiantly ready for a soccer team and this area has a deep, deep history of soccer going back to the old Sounders of the 1970s.  It was also good timing with the Sonics leaving and it’s just a storybook for sure to start things off.

365:  Finally we like to end on a light note.  Is there anything you’ve found in Seattle so far that you couldn’t really do in the other cities you’ve played in?
JR:  That’s a good question.  I live right downtown, a single guy living downtown.  I like to get out and walk around the city.  It’s perfect.  I go down to the (Olympic) sculpture park on the water, take a book out and sit on a bench or the grass and just read after practice.  Or just go down and hit some nice happy hour spots down on the water.  It’s great.

365:  Thanks a lot.
JR:  Yeah, no worries.  Thanks.