The Seattle Sounders announced on Thursday that the club had signed 22-year-old Argentine midfielder Emanuel Cecchini on loan from Spanish Segunda Divisíon side Malaga C.F.
Versatile and well-rounded, Cecchini bolsters a midfield corps that already features the likes of Cristian Roldan and Gustav Svensson.
Cecchini brings with him a skillset that translates very well to the Sounders game model, a natural byproduct of the fact that the Sounder shave been tracking since his days at Banfield in Argentina.
“We saw Cecchini at Banfield for sure, and then a little bit at Malaga,” said Vice President of Soccer Chris Henderson. “He’s a guy we’ve had on our radar for a while.”
An accomplished passer with an aptitude for releasing wingers into space with long diagonals, he fits right into Sounders FC Head Coach Brian Schmetzer’s possession-based system.
When the Sounders are at their best, they blend sustained possession with lethal, lightning-quick counter-attacks. If they face a bunkered-in opponent, Cecchini boasts the passing scope to unbalance opponents by switching the point of the attack.
“He’s a good passer of the ball, has good range,” said Sounders FC Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “He’s still young. I liked some of the plays [on his film] where he was hungry. I want guys that are hungry to play, hungry to make plays.”
Capable of occupying a more box-to-box role, the intelligent, young Argentine midfielder uses hips to disguise his pass before splitting defenders with a line-breaking pass.
Cecchini’s most electric trait is his ability to break an opponent’s press on the dribble, gliding past challenges with a bit of skill and driving into space. Once he’s in the open field, he draws in defenders before playing a simple, clever pass to a teammate in a more dangerous position.
“He’s a very flexible player,” said Sounders FC General Manager Garth Lagerwey. “He’s played as both a [No.] 6 and a [No.] 8 in Argentina.
“With a player like this in our team, it allows us to use Cristian in a couple of different spots,” he added. “We can use Cecchini in a couple of different spots. We can have different pairings, in terms of those two guys in the midfield. So, we really feel like it gives us a lot of options.”
With Cecchini’s ability to advance possession, Nicolás Lodeiro can roam higher up the pitch in search of dangerous pockets of space, which enables the Uruguayan to combine Raúl Ruidíaz or play through-balls into the wide channels for the wingers and outside backs.
On the defensive side, his rangy frame and motor enable him to cover vast swaths of ground. Disciplined positionally, he also has the pace and technique to recover for any lapses in concentration.
The Seattle Sounders will host the New England Revolution at CenturyLink Field on Sunday (1:00 p.m. PT; JOEtv, YouTube TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS)
