When the Seattle Sounders host Uruguay’s Club Nacional de Football on Wednesday night at CenturyLink Field (7:30 p.m. PT; JoeTV, You Tube TV, El Rey 1360 AM | TICKETS), it will be a special and emotional moment for Nicolás Lodeiro.
A native of Paysandú, Uruguay, Lodiero moved to Montevideo to be part of Nacional’s Academy at a young age before debuting for the First Team in 2007. He spent two and a half seasons with his boyhood club and won the 2008-09 Primera División title. To have the opportunity to play against them in his new home means a lot to the Sounders midfielder entering his fourth season in Seattle.
“I’m very excited,” Lodeiro said of the friendly. “It was a wonderful surprise. It’s something I’m going to relish. It’s the club of my life, the one I’m the biggest fan of. My family’s club. I’m a soccer player today thanks to Nacional.”
Lodeiro went on to find success at Dutch giants Ajax, Brazil’s Botafogo and Corinthians and Argentina power Boca Juniors before coming to Seattle in 2016. A two-time member of La Celeste’s FIFA World Cup squad, Lodeiro has had a tremendous career, one for which he extends infinite gratitude to Nacional.
“I owe them a lot,” said Lodeiro. “Everything I have, everything I’ve learned is thanks to that club. It’s going to be an exciting match.”
