Steve Zakuani and Brian Mullan will forever be tied together after that fateful night in Commerce City, Colorado on April 22, 2011, when Mullan came in hard on a tackle that broke Zakuani’s right tibia and fibula, ending his third MLS season after playing just five games.
Zakuani has repeated the same mantra throughout his recovery – that he does not hold any ill-will toward Mullan.  On June 25, the night before Mullan returned from his ten-game suspension for the incident, Zakuani reached out to the Colorado Rapids midfielder.

“I spoke to him the day before he was coming off his ban.  I sent him a text telling him I had no hard feelings toward him.  I knew that the fans would boo him, but I wanted him to know that the guy who probably should be booing him won’t.  I wanted him to do well,” Zakuani said.  “He called me and we spoke and I know a lot of my friends have spoken with him too.  I’ve seen him playing on TV and I’m happy.  It was a really bad tackle, but he didn’t mean to break my leg.  I wish him all the best.  I really do have no hard feelings.  I was putting all my energy into getting back.”

Along the way, Zakuani got support from all over the league while he worked his way back from the injury.

“I got an e-mail two days after my injury from David Beckham – I didn’t even know he had my e-mail.  I sat down for a couple hours with Thierry Henry.  I got a lot of encouragement from Kasey Keller.  I spent a lot of time with Sigi.  Caleb Porter, who I respect a lot.  Schellas Hyndman reached out.  I talked with Jason Kreis and Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales.  I know Landon Donovan said something about it.  Then I always talk with my friends around the league -Teal Bunbury and Darlington Nagbe and Michael Nanchoff,” Zakuani said.  “Knowing that I have that kind of support is good.  It gives encouragement.  It definitely makes it easier to know that the guys around the league appreciate what I do.  Jason Kreis told me that the league needs exciting players like me.  That means a lot to hear a coach say that and it makes me want to work harder to come back.”

In addition to players around the league, Zakuani has also heard from fans around the world and those messages have made a lasting impression on the 23-year-old.

“Last, but not least, the fans – every fan who has messaged me or tweeted me, it means a lot to me.  I still have four boxes of unopened letters from all over the world.  I haven’t even touched them.  I think I’m going to open them when I get closer to playing to give me some extra motivation,” he said.  “It’s been an amazing outpouring.  I wish I didn’t have to go through this to know how much they love me, but maybe it’s been a blessing in disguise in that sense.”

Steve Zakuani's recovery from a double-leg fracture was slowed dramatically by a life-threatening condition, but he is now hopeful that he will be ready to play when the Sounders kick off the 2012 season in March.

Sigi Schmid, Kasey Keller and Mauro Rosales all may walk home with something for their trophy case after a record-setting 2011 season for the Sounders FC.

Winners for each award will be announced prior to MLS Cup on November 20.

It's that last show of the season, and Matt, Arlo and Pete discuss the heartbreaking match against Real Salt Lake, and there favorite moments of the season.

A surprising tale of a 24-year old midfielder from Federal Way, Lamar Neagle has proven to many his value this season.

I joined Dave "Softy" Mahler at 950 KJR for our weekly podcast to put the wraps on the 2011 season and look ahead to the off-season. Take a listen here.

Untested through most of the match, Kasey Keller's final save as a pro was memorable for so many reasons.

Major League Soccer released the final rankings for the 2011 Castrol Index this morning and Sounders FC midfielder Alvaro Fernandez finished second in the season rankings after a late flurry of goals from Chris Wondolowski rocketed the San Jose Earthquakes forward into the top spot.

Fernandez finished the season with nine goals, second on the Sounders FC to Fredy Montero.

The final Top 10 from the league looked like this:
1 Chris Wondolowski, San Jose Earthquakes, 9.31
2 Alvaro Fernandez, Seattle Sounders FC, 9.26
3 Thierry Henry, New York Red Bulls, 9.21
4 Omar Gonzalez, Los Angeles Galaxy, 9.17
5 Aurélien Collin, Sporting Kansas City, 9.12
6 Chance Myers, Sporting Kansas City, 9.09
7 Drew Moor, Colorado Rapids, 9.05
8 George John, FC Dallas, 9.02
9 Bobby Boswell, Houston Dynamo, 8.98
10 Jamison Olave, Real Salt Lake, 8.95


The top players for the Sounders FC looked like this:
2 Alvaro Fernandez, 9.26
19 Fredy Montero, 8.71
27 Jeff Parke, 8.55
38 Osvaldo Alonso, 8.35
51 Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, 8.15
61 James Riley, 8.01
67 Mauro Rosales, 7.93
89 Tyson Wahl, 7.66
145 Kasey Keller, 7.08
149 Erik Friberg, 7.04
153 Brad Evans, 7.01
203 Patrick Ianni, 6.55
233 Leonardo Gonzalez, 6.28
243 Lamar Neagle, 6.19
247 Roger Levesque, 6.16
252 Michael Fucito, 6.11

For more information on the Castrol Index, click here.

The Sounders FC showed Wednesday night that they wouldn't go down without a fight, battling to the bitter end though coming up short in a 3-2 aggregate goal defeat to Real Salt Lake.

A 2-0 win on Wednesday wasn't enough as Seattle fell 3-2 on aggregate in the Western Conference semifinals against Real Sale Lake.

Sounders FC midfielder Mauro Rosales is working hard to come back from a second MCL sprain in a month and a half, but he won't be ready to play against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.  That was the only thing out of Sigi Schmid's mouth on Tuesday that wasn't beaming with optimism toward Wednesday's second leg in the Western Conference semifinal series.

"Mauro tried his best in terms of being able to come back," Schmid said.  "He’s much further along at the same point of recovery from when he had the injury against DC United, so there’s optimism as we move forward that there is a chance for Sunday and as we go forward from there."

The Sounders FC has their eye on a tremendous comeback in their Western Conference semifinal series as they look to bounce back from a 3-0 deficit against Real Salt Lake.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and gates open at 5:30 p.m.

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