Seattle Sounders: How do you stop Raul Ruidiaz?

The Seattle Sounders host Toronto FC with a new weapon to unleash. Here, I ask the question that all of MLS is asking: How do you stop Raul Ruidiaz?

The MLS Cup will be decided between two old foes, Toronto FC and the Seattle Sounders. They have now played three of the last four MLS Cups, each winning one. This year’s MLS Cup, then, is the crucial decider.

Toronto FC and the Sounders only met once in the 2019 regular season. It came on April 13th. Alejandro Pozuelo was making only his third start. Chad Marshall was the leading Seattle defender, while designated player signing Xavier Arreaga had not yet arrived in the Pacific Northwest.

And perhaps most significantly, star Seattle Sounders centre-forward Raul Ruidiaz, who has been integral to their offensive explosion in the latter stages of the regular season and throughout the playoffs, was not playing. Much has changed.

At that time, Ruidiaz was dealing with a heel bone injury, one that would keep him out of five consecutive MLS matches. In those five matches, Seattle scored eight goals. Ruidiaz would miss another seven games across the season, primarily due to international duty. The Sounders scored only seven goals in those matches. In the 20 games that Ruidiaz started, Seattle scored 36 goals, almost two per game. The difference tells you everything you need to know.

And in those 20 starts, Ruidiaz scored 11 goals himself, alongside three assists. No Sounders player scored more than the Peruvian livewire. Put simply, the Sounders are a different team with Ruidiaz than without him. And they will have a fit and firing Ruidiaz in Sunday’s MLS Cup.

It was a brilliant striking display from the Sounders designated player that unhinged the best team in MLS history. Ruidiaz was electric in a lone centre-forward role, snatching two goals to down the brilliant Los Angeles FC. In three MLS Playoff matches, he now has four goals and two assists. As a whole, Seattle have scored 11 goals, ten of which have been scored by Ruidiaz, Jordan Morris or Nicolas Lodeiro.

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So how do Toronto stop Ruidiaz? It is not a simple conundrum. Ruidiaz is unlike most modern-day centre-forwards. He does not look to get involved in overall play, he rarely drifts wide, and if he does it is only to serve his goalscoring, and he quite likes to drift on the edges of games before sneaking in at the last second of attacking moves.

This season, Ruidiaz averaged 20.6 pass attempts per 90 minutes and attempted only 1.8 dribbles per 90 minutes. And yet, he also produced 3.9 shots per 90 minutes, a figure comparable to Atlanta United’s Josef Martinez. So how do you stop a centre-forward who does not touch the ball that often and yet is prolific at getting shots on goal and boasts an excellent strike-rate?

Well, perhaps the best approach is to attempt to isolate him. Ruidiaz does not need great service to score goals, as proven by his limited involvement in play, but if Toronto can press the Seattle midfield into misplaced passes and separate them from their centre-forward, they could find some joy. But when Nicolas Lodeiro, with 12 assists, and Cristian Roldan, who completed 85% of his passes, are pulling the strings, that is much easier said than done.

Next. LAFC Vs Seattle Sounders: 3 things we learned. dark

Stopping Ruidiaz, then, is a near-impossible job. Greg Vanney called him an ‘assassin’ for a reason. That is precisely what he is. And it is his killer instinct that could decide this great MLS Cup rivalry.

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