There has been a lot of talk about how he got too frustrated with his teammates, too devisive as a player in the locker room, and just not good enough for us. There is no doubt that there is some truth in some of it. I don’t believe that he wasn’t good enough for us, however. I do believe that the link up between him and the other players just didn’t work. Is that his fault? Not really, or at least not completely. You could just as easily blame the other players, and the couching staff for that matter. But it doesn’t mean he wasn’t good enough.

For everything negative said about him, let me also remind you that we would not have made the playoffs last year if it weren’t for is run of form at the end of last year. I haven’t gone back to look at the stats per game… but he had something like 6 assists in the last 7 games. And these weren’t just “last player to touch the ball before the goal” type of assists. He did the hard work and made most of those goals. There were countless pin point crosses that led to the goals that gave us that last surge into the playoffs.

Also, as Adrian says in the following quote… he was a big part of bringing legitimacy to this organization before we even stepped foot on the pitch. He helped peek the interest of the sport and team for many that may not have looked in the first place. No, it isn’t a reason to buy a player, but it is possible that the electricity, ticket sales, and buzz, when we started in 2009, would not have been quite what it was, without Freddie.

Adrian on Freddie “I think Freddie played a big part in helping us launch the franchise. It was a big signing, in a rollout of a bunch of big announcements for this club. Whether it was signing Kasey Keller, or a partnership with Xbox, or KING-5, or Kevin Calabro. There were a bunch of big announcements that helped us launch this franchise in a big way. Freddie was one of those. He did a good job in helping us make the playoffs last year, but now he plays for the enemy and our focus is on our team and how we beat he and Chicago on Saturday.”"I think Freddie played a big part in helping us launch the franchise. It was a big signing, in a rollout of a bunch of big announcements for this club. Whether it was signing Kasey Keller, or a partnership with Xbox, or KING-5, or Kevin Calabro. There were a bunch of big announcements that helped us launch this franchise in a big way. Freddie was one of those. He did a good job in helping us make the playoffs last year, but now he plays for the enemy and our focus is on our team and how we beat he and Chicago on Saturday.”

You can read all of Adrians thoughts on Freddie and DP’s in general here.

I know some people will want to boo him, and so be it. They have their opinion of how to treat a former player,  and I have mine. I would boo if he told Seattle to F off. I would boo if I thought he didn’t try on the pitch for us. I would boo if he had said bad things about the organization. But he didn’t do any of that…

So on Saturday, when his name is announced, I will applaud him for what he did do for us, forget that he had his moments of frustration, and then route us on to kicking the crap out of the Fire.

Ok moving on. This weekend, a friend of mine that I share season tickets with has a group of family and friends in from the UK. He has been gathering up as many tickets of those sitting around us as possible. Earlier in the year I was happy to give mine up to him in order to trade for another date…

But recently, when Freddie got traded, we also started to do really well, and with this game being his homecoming… of sorts, and the importance of the result affecting both teams playoff chances, well I wasn’t happy to be missing this one. Thanks to my boss, who is not going to be using his suite, I will not be missing it anymore. I, along with 11 other friends, will be taking in the match at the club level on Saturday night. After the hot towel and neck massage, I will sit down in the leather recliner and enjoy my prawn sandwiches, with the crust cut off of course, while sipping on a chablis, routing on our boys.

From where I will be sitting, bad calls will be met with a scoff of disbelief as I turn my nose in disgust. Good plays will be honored by a slight head nod and a “hip hip hurah”. I will leave in the 80th minute to miss the crowds and traffic. Finally, I will be mingling with the elite that I so deserve.

But seriously, it should be fun (or at least different) for one game and I am just glad that I get to go.

In other news… Samprissa did us quite a favor last night and kept our CCL hopes alive… they thrashed Marathon which leaves the group very interesting IF, we manage to beat them next week. We then need to route for Monterrey to keep on tearing through the group (other than us). Next week, if they, and we win… we are tied with Saprissa and Marathon all on 3 points. That would be quite a break and a decent place to find ourselves in after losing the first two. Not saying it is easy from then on out, but it sure looks better than it does right now. How big will that bogus PK call against Marathon look then?  Like I said yesterday, I won’t be crushed if we can’t make it out of the group, but I do want to compete. I don’t want two meaningless games at the end of the group stages.

What else? Well, away from this continent, the UEFA CL draw yesterday created some talking points. Drogba returns to Marseilles. Dechamp back to Chelsea. Eduardo back to Arsenal. Newcomers Tottenham getting the champions Inter. AC and Real matched up in the group stage again. Rubin Kazan (who?), one of the few teams to every beat Barcalona at Camp Nou, get the spanish giants again. Could they do it two years in a row?

Regardless of if you  will boo or cheer or do nothing at the announcement of FL10 (or FL8 as it is now) or whether you will be watching from the GA in the south endzone or your pedestal in a suite, here is to 3 points against the Fire tomorrow night.

Happy Friday GO SOUNDERS

Official Release

Freddie Ljungberg, an MLS Best XI selection and two-time All-Star midfielder for the Seattle Sounders FC, has been traded to the Chicago Fire today in exchange for a conditional selection in the 2011 or 2012 SuperDraft.

Ljungberg, 33, led Seattle and finished fourth in MLS with nine assists in 2009. He was named the MLS October Player of the Month after assisting on the team’s final four goals of the regular season, helping the Sounders FC reach the MLS Cup Playoffs in the club’s inaugural season. Ljungberg was also a finalist for MLS Newcomer of the Year.

“Freddie is a tremendous individual and an exceptional player who contributed greatly to the huge success of Sounders FC, both on and off the field, in the past year and a half,” said Adrian Hanauer, general manager. “Freddie, along with Kasey Keller, gave this club immediate stature in the world’s game, and we are grateful for his service. We wish him all the best in Chicago.”

Said Ljungberg: “I want to start off by saying how proud I am to have been part of the most successful new franchise in MLS history, the Seattle Sounders FC. I didn’t know exactly what to expect when I first came to Seattle but I have to say that how the city and the fans have embraced me has gone beyond my wildest dreams and for that I am forever grateful. I also want to thank my teammates who are absolutely great on and off the pitch. I have made some very close friends who I know I will be in contact with forever.”

In a related move, Sounders FC has added midfielder Alvaro Fernandez, 24, to the active roster. Fernandez, a member of the Uruguay National Team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, was acquired on Thursday and has received his International Transfer Certificate. He is now eligible to play on Saturday night against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Ljungberg was signed as Seattle’s first Designated Player on October 28, 2008. He came to Sounders FC after 10 seasons in the English Premier League. In his nine years with Arsenal he was a member of teams that won two EPL titles, three FA Cups and a UEFA Champions League final appearance.

This season the former Swedish international played in each of the first 15 Sounders FC matches (starting 14) and contributed three assists. Altogether over the two seasons he played in 37 matches (starting 35), scoring two goals and adding 12 assists.

In 2009 Sounders FC became the first expansion team since 1998 to qualify for the playoffs and finished with the league’s fourth-best point total. Seattle also won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship and broke the MLS season record for attendance.

Unbeaten in its last three MLS matches and over five games in all competitions, Sounders FC plays the Earthquakes in Santa Clara, Calif., on Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium. First kick is 7 p.m. PT.

Transaction: Seattle Sounders (MLS) – Traded MF Freddie Ljungberg to Chicago Fire in exchange for conditional selection in 2011 or 2012 SuperDraft.

No more details are available.

The additional list include Seattle’s Kasey Keller, Fredy Montero, and, yes… Freddie Ljungberg have been added to the squad.

Goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen (Kansas City), midfielders Joel Lindpere (New York), Robbie Rogers (Columbus), and forward and Conor Casey (Colorado) round out the final group.

The three Sounders will be on the “Inactive” roster.

How Ljungberg makes it over Steve Zakuani? Sad.

• Freddie Ljungberg is no longer training with the Sounders, but rather on his own. According to Adrian Hanauer, “he is training by himself, getting healthy, getting fit. We agreed together that it made some sense to keep him away from the club as he is exploring other options. I don’t think there’s a secret that that’s happening. We just thought it was best to keep this team focused right here on winning on Sunday, let Freddie explore options. As that process plays out, we will take things as they come to us. Again, assuming something does or doesn’t happen in the next week or few days or two weeks, we will cross that bridge when we come to it.”
• Freddie has dumped Swedish agent Claes Elefalk and is now represented by Phil Smith, who is director of the First Artist cooporation. He also represents Andrei Arshavin and Emmanuel Adebayor.
• The Sounders are allowing Ljungberg to work out his options “in a collaborative effort” with the club. It appears one MLS side and one international club is interested in the Swede’s services.

Freddie's last effort in Rave Green? (by Chris Coulter)

of course it is possible, but it doesn’t take much interpretation to believe that the real answer is a big fat “NOPE” and that is kind of sad toe me.

today, in case you haven’t heard, a Q&A with chris henderson pretty much confirmed what we all thought was going on with freddie. there is a lot there, but clearly when you read this,

Does he have any future here at all? “I think it’s day to day…”

it doesn’t look good.

in all honesty, i am sad about the whole thing. yes, i was frustrated with his antics this year. yes, i was frustrated that he couldn’t be the same player he was 4 years ago. but the reality is, this year has been pretty poor for him and it is hard to argue that we are better with him on the field.

i 100% genuinely believe that this comes down to freddie not happy with his play on the pitch. everything else, imho, has stemmed from that. he is a proud person (like most of us) and when he couldn’t ply his trade in MLS??? well i think that hurt him. you go from FA Cup hero/multiple prem league titles/part of the arsenal invincibles/captain of country  to MLS and you don’t have what it takes anymore… that is a blow.

his frustration was taken out at referee’s, at himself, at teammates… sometimes just the air above him. he wasn’t happy.

of course i don’t know this for a fact… but having watched him play most of his career, he is a different person on the pitch at seattle than i have ever seen in him before. maybe the pressure of being the DP got to him or maybe something else… but the freddie and seattle experiment didn’t hit it off.

so, as it stands, surely he has more than likely played his last game for us.

if only we could have the freddie of the last ten games of last year. that was the freddie we signed. that was him at his best (well almost). he was smiling, we were smiling… MONTERO was smiling.

it is best to go our separate ways, wish each other well, and continue to somehow scrape and claw and fall backwards into the 8th and final playoff spot, but it won’t be with the best looking underwear model in seattle.

Freddie Ljungberg did not travel with the team because, “ankle flared up on him again after training with the team on Monday.”

The injury will not require surgery and Ljungberg has not been added to the Injured Reserve, but he will not be available for Sunday’s match against FC Dallas.

As you remember, following last Thursday’s First Kick match between Seattle and Philly, Nowack called the Swede “a whiner and complainer”.

The tackle in question revolves around a play in the 24th minute of the match where Fred10 was taken down by Union defenders David Myrie and Toni Stahl (who was issued a yellow card).

It was later found out that Ljungberg went to the Emergency Room following the match to get his spin X-Rayed where he suffered a bruised bone. The doctor compared the injury to “an NFL injury when someone uses their helmet to crash it into someone’s spine.”

The Sounder said that Nowack’s claims were “pathetic”.

Now, today, Nowack responded “If you have a problem with (your) back, it’s probably because you’re an old man and playing on turf. …Sorry to say.”

The Sounders travel to the City of Brotherly Love on June 27th.

Here’s a video of the play, again (in a different angle) …