Foreigners or neighbors? Seattle-Vancouver soccer rivalry renewed

I can still remember those hordes of foreign invaders making their way from the great white north to cheer on their beloved Whitecaps in the Kingdome. After a three-year hiatus, the Vancouver-Seattle soccer rivalry is renewed at Qwest Field Saturday night.

BY BILL SWARTZ

Jun 10, 2011, 12:19 PM Updated: Jun 11, 2011, 5:03 pm

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Whitecaps' Eric Hassli, center, jumps over Toronto FC's Julian de Guzman during the first half of the opening game of the Canadian Championship soccer final in May. "Eric Hassli is a big presence," Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said. "Even those he's got a lot of bad publicity because of three red cards, he's also been able to score goals." (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Geoff Howe)

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Geoff Howe)

To get a sense of this cross-the-border rivalry I sought out two men who’ve tasted it first hand.

Sounders FC assistant coach Brian Schmetzer played for Seattle’s North American Soccer League squad, and later coached the USL Sounders against Vancouver teams.

“I remember when Canada was like a foreign country,” said a tongue-in-cheek Schmetzer. “Now it’s p.c. to call them our neighbors. Back then (in the 1970’s) they were a foreign country. We didn’t like ’em.”

Just like me, Schmetzer was part of the Washington-British Columbia junior soccer exchange program. We traveled to the Vancouver area to play their teams, and stayed with Canadian families.

Schmetzer, again half-joking, says he still suffers nightmares.

“I blame my mother for bad parenting,” he said. “You’re 10 years old and staying with foreigners. It was terrorizing my childhood!”

Sounders FC midfielder Roger Levesque is the target of Portland Timbers fans, but has also played against Vancouver teams several times.

Chosing his words carefully Levesque said, “Since I’ve been with Seattle in the USL, Vancouver has always been a team to beat. They’ve always been one of the top teams in the league. If they haven’t won it, they were right there at the end.”

“C’mon Roger, give us some ammo to hate on the Canadians,” I said.

“They are friendly people, absolutely,” said Levesque. “They throw some “eh’s” in there. I’ve made a lot of friends playing against Vancouver. It’s a good rivalry, and I think we’ll see some good soccer.”

Vancouver won its first MLS match, but hasn’t produced a victory since. Last week the Whitecaps FC fired coach Teitur Thordarson. The team’s soccer operations director Tom Soehn will run the bench the rest of the season.

Sigi Schmid told me in our Coach’s Corner interview he expects the Whitecaps to come out with plenty of energy against the Sounders.

“Even though they’ve been able to play a couple of games after the change, this is really their first week they trained under Tommy,” Schmid said. “He’s coached in the league before (with DC United), so it’s a little bit easier because I have an idea of how he likes to play or what he wants to do.”

Vancouver players who concern coach Schmid the most are midfielder Camilo, who Schmi said “can break in to the middle of the field when he plays wide. He has a strong right-footed shot.”

“Eric Hassli is also a big presence,” Schmid said of the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Frenchman. “Even though he’s got a lot of bad publicity because of three red cards, he’s also been able to score goals.”

Seattle comes off a scoreless tie at Chicago. Schmid says the squad worked on possession and finishing scoring chances.

“We’re still looking for the best combination to get that accomplished,” he said. “We’ve tried different combinations, and I’m sure we’ll hit on something that will work here quickly.”

Mauro Rosales and Lamar Neagle both performed well against Chicago and might have earned more minutes in Saturday night’s match. Swedish midfielder Erik Friberg is closer to full health and should be available.

Matt Johnson hosts the pregame show at 7 p.m. Saturday, with Arlo White handling play-by-play at 7:30 p.m. on 97.3 KIRO FM.