Learning from David Estrada

Last year the Seattle Sounders picked up a "Big Mexican" named Sammy Ochoa. He was going to be our second awesome striker along side of Freddy Montero. But as the preseason wore on, something became apparent to coach Sigi Schmid, Sammy didn't prepare well in the off season. "He left the door open."

This resulted in a couple of favorite Seattle players getting traded to Montreal (Fucito and Neagle) in order to pick up that "Big forward."

But, who has been starting along side Freddy Montero most of the preseason? Five foot eight, 160 pound David Estrada.

After a strong preseason where he's tied for the team lead in goals, Estrada appears poised for a breakout season.

"I thought David did well," Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. "I thought he showed, he opened the game up for us, made a lot of runs in the corners. I thought he combined well with Montero. He scored a good goal. He was active, he was involved, he held the ball up for us. David's made big strides and I was very pleased with what he did today."

There's reason to think the partnership could work, at least in the short term. Estrada would be similar to Fucito in that he's a bit of a workhorse. While Estrada is not as physical of a player as Fucito, he makes up for it with better touch and passing.

Schmid said in a post game interview that "Nobody works harder than Estrada off the field."

I'm just saying ya'll, you don't have to be big. You don't have to have a big reputation. You have control of your future by how hard you work. You can do it!
References from www.mynorthwest.com and www.sounderatheart.com by Jeremiah Oshan