Raúl Ruidíaz discussed Major League Soccer 5,000 miles away from the United States. While with the Peru national team for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the country’s first appearance in 36 years, the latest Seattle Sounders Designated Player talked about what he should expect playing there with countryman Yoshimar Yotún, who joined Orlando City SC last summer and was recently named to the 2018 MLS All-Star Game.
“We discussed the competitiveness of the league and how it’s growing,” Ruidíaz said through a translator on Friday after his first training session. “Without a doubt, I decided to accept the offer that I was offered here.”
Ruidíaz had heard of MLS and recognized its growth on a global scale. He played with Peru at CenturyLink Field in 2016 at Copa America and got a first glimpse at his future home. He knew now was the right time to make the move, one which both club and player are confident will be successful.
Ruidíaz poses with Chris Henderson, Brian Schmetzer and Garth Lagerwey | Charis Wilson
“It’s a league that is growing and is very competitive,” Ruidíaz said, “and I want to have the opportunity to grow with the league as well.”
The Sounders made an eight-figure investment in their new No. 9 Ruidíaz, who is under contract until 2022, and are hoping his eye-popping goalscoring numbers continue in Seattle. He scored 40 goals in the last two years with Liga MX’s Monarcas Morelia and saved the club from relegation with a last-gasp goal on the final match of the season. He can score in a plethora of ways, and Seattle will be reliant on him to help jumpstart an offense that has struggled out of the gate in 2018.
“Offensively, I think I can help out by seeking out the spaces and be able to find them,” Ruidíaz said. “I’m going to give 100 percent to be able to support the Sounders’ objectives.”
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The situation Ruidíaz is entering is not entirely dissimilar to the one that fellow Designated Player Nicolás Lodeiro walked into in summer 2016. The Sounders were bottom-dwellers of the Western Conference and lacked a special playmaker in the midfield. All Lodeiro did was score four goals and record eight assists in 13 regular-season matches before scoring four more in the postseason to lead the Sounders to their first MLS Cup title.
To expect Ruidíaz to have the same instant impact is a lot of pressure, but a certain possibility given his track record and current form. He scored at least nine goals in each of the last four Liga MX seasons — each 17-match campaign is roughly the same amount of games that the Sounders will have remaining once Ruidíaz becomes eligible when the transfer window opens on July 10 — and could be the difference between another end-of-season sprint to the playoffs or missing the postseason for the first time in the club’s first 10 MLS seasons.
Ruidíaz trains for the first time with the Sounders | Charis Wilson
General Manager & President of Soccer Garth Lagerwey believes Ruidíaz is the missing link in the offense, a lethal and elite finisher primed to thrive in front of players like Lodeiro, Víctor Rodríguez, Clint Dempsey and Magnus Wolff Eikrem. The challenge is there, staring Ruidíaz in the eye, and he seems more than ready to answer.
“I’m aware that when Nicolás Lodeiro came over here, the situation of the club was difficult,” said Ruidíaz. “This is a similar time. I have the intention to come and provide all my support to be able to take the team to where it should be and be able to achieve titles.
“Anytime that I join a team, my objective is to help the team gain an additional star on their badge, so that’s what I’m coming to help out with here.”
