Sounders midfielder Nicolás Lodeiro made an instant impact in Seattle before he stepped foot on the pitch.
In the locker room before games, music normally played through the speakers. Before Lodeiro’s first match, he assertively walked over and turned the music off. He set a tone, one of focus and determination, and it’s been instilled in the team ever since.
When Lodeiro arrived as a Designated Player from Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors in summer 2016, the Sounders were drowning near the bottom of the Western Conference and in severe jeopardy of missing the postseason for the first time in their eight MLS seasons. Lodeiro scored four goals, added eight assists, willed the Sounders into the playoffs and earned MLS Newcomer of the Year honors despite playing only 13 regular-season matches. He scored another four goals in the postseason and propelled the Sounders to an improbable first MLS Cup title.
“Nico is just relentless,” said Sounders General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey. “He never stops. He is a force that always has to be accounted for in any game by any opponent. That is really tough to give enough credit and weight to because he is absolutely the force that drives us on and off the field.”
The Sounders, now in their third MLS Cup appearance in four seasons since Lodeiro’s arrival, host Toronto FC on Sunday (12 p.m. PT; ABC, Univision, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM). Seattle and TFC square off again after splitting their 2016 and ’17 Cup meetings, each in Toronto.
Lodeiro is not just the catalyst to the Sounders’ attack. He is the offense. There’s arguably no player in MLS more important to his team’s success than Lodeiro, and he continues to prove why. No one in the league has more assists than Lodeiro’s 48 since he joined the Sounders. He is already the club’s all-time assist leader through three-and-a-half seasons and is fifth in goals (26). He’s the team’s all-time leader in postseason goals (seven) and is second in assists (six).
Lodeiro also lives for the big moments. In MLS Cup 2016, he buried a perfect, pressure-filled penalty kick in the fifth round of the PK shootout to keep Seattle alive. Against LAFC in this year’s Western Conference Championship, Lodeiro scored the match-winner and assisted on the Sounders’ two other goals in a brilliant 3-1 win.
Lodeiro celebrates winning the first MLS Cup in club history | Charis Wilson
“When your DP, when the guy who’s your best player, is your hardest worker, that sets a tone that nobody else can replicate,” said Lagerwey. “You cannot come out here in training on a day-to-day basis and hide. Not only is he a role model to the young players, but he’s a bar that everybody else has to reach. That’s amazing. If you want to look at who’s the important link here in ’16, ’17 and ’19: It’s Nico Lodeiro.”
Something Lodeiro has at his disposal now that he didn’t have on the Sounders’ 2016 and ’17 runs to MLS Cup is Raúl Ruidíaz. The Sounders last summer signed the Peruvian scoring machine, who has 27 goals and seven assists in just 41 regular season and postseason matches. Add in a healthy and thriving Jordan Morris on the wing, and Lodeiro has more weapons than he’s ever had before in Seattle.
“For a player like myself, I love playing with [Lodeiro],” said Morris. “Everyone is lucky to have him on the team. I’ve definitely benefitted from having him around because I like to make those runs in. He just puts it on your foot, he makes it easy for you.”
Added Lagerwey: “He’s on a trajectory to be one of the best players in MLS history at this point.”
Lodeiro has an opportunity to add to his growing trophy cabinet this weekend, while checking off another first in club history: lifting MLS Cup in Seattle in front of a sold-out crowd at CenturyLink Field.
