Photo by Richard McEnery/ISIphotos.com
By JOSE M. ROMERO
On a windswept day in Arizona after another preseason training session, Steve Zakuani reminisced.
"I remember my first year when I came in, we went down to Ventura (Calif.)," Zakuani said. "It's gone by fast, but obviously with the time, I've matured."
Zakuani, the Seattle Sounders' fleet-footed attacking midfielder, was the first overall pick of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. It might seem like a long time ago when he was a rookie, flying down the left side and causing problems for right backs who'd never seen him play.
But it wasn't so long ago, and now Zakuani, 23, is a Sounders veteran who has learned to refine his game.
After an ankle injury during the 2009 preseason and rehab from shoulder surgery going into the 2010 season that limited him in preseason training, Zakuani said he's "fully fit" in 2011.
"It feels good to through a whole camp with the team from start to finish so far," Zakuani said.
The injuries haven't cut into Zakuani's production, which has improved from one season to the next. After scoring four MLS goals with four assists as a rookie, he tallied 10 and six in 2010.
"I feel my first year, maybe my play was more exciting, where I was trying to do so much, but last year I just learned to mature in the game," Zakuani said. "Instead of trying to make six or seven runs per half, I was doing one or two and they were more effective. I was getting something out of them."
Zakuani felt he became more consistent in his second year. He didn't go more than a couple of games without making a key play and was on the field longer as his role with the team increased from one season to the next.
Zakuani seems proud to call himself an original Sounder, a player "that has been here from Day One." He wants to be more vocal in 2011.
As many scorers as the Sounders have or have had, they've managed just one goal in four postseason games (a pair of two-legged ties), and Zakuani scored it at the Home Depot Center last November. Zakuani explained the Sounders' shortcomings in the playoffs as a case of one "wonder-goal" for the Houston Dynamo in 2009, and being beaten by the L.A. Galaxy's experience in big games in 2010.
"It was a very big stage for us, and I think in some respects, we were caught like a deer in headlights where the stage was maybe too big, a year too soon," Zakuani said.
Speed remains Zakuani's biggest asset. He had the team's fastest time in the 40-yard dash fitness test recently. But he doesn't want speed to be the only thing in his arsenal.
"That's what I focused on more my second year," Zakuani said. "It wasn't about speed anymore, it was a case of being involved in the game even when you're not using your speed. I think that's how I got most of my goals... I try to add to my game every year."
And yet, he added: "I think my bread and butter will always be running with the ball."
