Liviu Bird

Seattle got off to a quick start against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday with Andy Rose's goal in the ninth minute. It was less of a well-worked goal and more of a defensive breakdown. SaH tactician Liviu Bird breaks down the breakdown.

Sounder at Heart tactician Liviu Bird played goalkeeper in another lifetime. In this latest installment of Tactics Analyst, he takes a look at something the Sounders’ main man, a 6-foot, 5-inch Austrian, is much better at than he ever was: crosses.

Obafemi Martins scored again on Saturday, but it probably never should have happened. Let's take a look at the many defensive breakdowns that led to a Nigerian flipping through the air.

Seattle Sounders FC’s offense fired on all cylinders on Saturday, finally fulfilling the promise that a roster with its ability gives every time it steps on the field. Hometown hero Lamar Neagle ran the show, scoring two goals.

Major League Soccer salary numbers are out again, so it’s time to take a detailed look at them.

After a week off, it was much of the same for Sounders FC offensively in its 2-2 tie with the Philadelphia Union. The style of play from early in the season is starting to become a pattern — at least with Osvaldo Alonso and Shalrie Joseph out.

Sounder at Heart is nothing without its community. Every now and then, we will give you the opportunity to ask SaH tactician Liviu Bird anything you would like to know about Sounders FC and soccer tactics. This is the first of many installments.

Osvaldo Alonso doesn’t get enough credit. With his new central partner, Shalrie Joseph, Alonso has been freed up to have even more of a major role for the Sounders, on both sides of the ball — and both players deserve credit for that.

Having not won a match in league play, the Sounders shook up their lineup in a 1-0 Champions League loss to Santos Laguna. Sigi Schmid’s new-look team may not have won, but it took a step forward in what has been an otherwise dark time.

The Sounders barely missed out on a result last week in San Jose, but Real Salt Lake exploited the team’s weaknesses much more thoroughly. Despite pulling a goal back in the second half, Seattle never really threatened to make RSL’s lead disappear.

The San Jose Earthquakes and Sounders FC reminded Major League Soccer critics of their main arguments on Saturday night. In a barbaric game, San Jose was lucky to have one of the many long shots fall into the net to win 1-0.

Former United States national team shot-stopper Tony Meola was in town to do some promotional work and catch the first leg of the Cascadia Cup. Sounder at Heart caught up with him to discuss the goalkeeping situation in Seattle.

The Portland Timbers stole a point late from Seattle Sounders FC, tying 1-1 on Saturday. It was a fair result given the play, which Sounders FC saw the better of early, and Portland did the same later on.

Brad Evans played with Robbie Rogers at the Columbus Crew, so Sounder at Heart asked him for his take on Rogers’ decision to come out and homosexuality in soccer.

Nenana Public High School has a team that competes in the state’s coed league, which includes other schools from small villages that don’t have the means to sustain full boys’ and girls’ teams. But the school has no field of its own — yet.

The center back pairing of Matteo Ferrari and Alessandro Nesta has seen almost everything soccer has to offer between the two of them. On Saturday, they led their team to a win the way only veterans can.

Experienced players know how to weather a storm on the road in a tough atmosphere. The Montreal Impact defended resolutely and attacked quickly on the counter-attack to defeat Seattle Sounders FC in the opening game of the MLS season.

After Seattle Sounders FC’s first training session of 2013 at CenturyLink Field on Thursday, goalkeeper Michael Gspurning spoke to Sounder at Heart about the start of the season and the newest addition to his family.

If you have questions about the 2013 MLS preseason, this is the place to drop them. Liviu Bird, Jeremiah Oshan and Dave Clark will be answering questions today (Monday) from 9 to 11 a.m.

Former Serie A and English Premier League star Obafemi Martins is rumored to be on the Sounders FC radar. He hasn’t dipped much in form since his peak, as he plays for Levante in La Liga right now.

The six-time MLS All-Star with 20 Grenada caps to his name showed up to Seattle Sounders FC training unexpectedly on Friday, looking for a club to revive his career after a shaky 2012 season. However, he is likely nowhere near signing for now.

United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, both verbally and non-verbally, confirmed that Seattle is being seriously considered for a World Cup qualifier on the road to Brazil 2014.

With Seattle Times sports columnist Steve Kelley retiring, we lose a great advocate for the game and a man not afraid to hold Sounders brass accountable for everything they do — or don’t do.

Seattle Sounders FC convened on the grass field at Starfire for one final session before catching a flight to Phoenix and making the short drive to Casa Grande to begin its first phase of training away from the city.

During two-a-days, the season feels so close and yet so far off. Players battle soreness, mental fatigue and the uncertainty incumbent in a fresh start. They may wonder just why they do this — until something rekindles that love for the game.

Seattle Sounders FC training moved to the Virginia Mason Athletic Center for fitness testing — the beep test — on Friday.

Local collegiate players Ben Fisk, Machael David and Anthony Arena are on their way to MLS camps after being selected on Tuesday in the Supplemental Draft. All three played for Seattle-area clubs through high school.

With the Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper contingent slimmed down to three players, Josh Ford is set to have a more magnified role than last season. Recovered from injury, the UConn graduate started preseason training Monday with the rest of his team.

What began as a 4-3-3 vs. 4-3-3 matchup turned into an interesting battle that showed a couple of different modern permutations of a classic formation. While this match ended scoreless, it was more entertaining than the opening match of the group.

The Seattle Reign FC roster is up to 11 after the inaugural NWSL college draft in Indianapolis on Friday. Reign FC picked up Christine Nairn, Mallory Schaffer, Kristen Meier and Haley Kopmeyer.