Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei and Cristian Roldan are no strangers to speaking with the media.
Two of the longest-serving members of the Rave Green, Frei and Roldan have participated in hundreds of scrums over the years. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, their most recent slate of interviews took on a new format, with the pair participating in a Microsoft Teams call with journalists on Monday.
As the sports world pauses to bend the curve, Sounders players have had plenty of time to reflect on the unique circumstances surrounding Major League Soccer’s suspension two games into the regular season.
“I feel like we had a lot of momentum, playing a lot of home games,” said Roldan. “It’s frustrating, and I wish I could be back on the field. However, you have to understand as a professional that it’s much bigger than just soccer. Hopefully we can be back on the field sooner than later.”
Entering the season as the reigning MLS Cup champions, the players felt poised to battle for numerous trophies and defender their title. However, they’re eager to compete for every available trophy whenever play resumes.
“This year in particular, I felt like we made really good additions to our team,” said Roldan. “We had a lot of chemistry going into the season. It’s frustrating that we can’t compete right now. Once it gets going again, we’re going for all the trophies possible.”
With the season being suspended so soon after the completion of preseason, it’s left the players’ match fitness in a bit of a limbo. That’s especially true for goalkeepers, who rely so heavily on specialized training to stay sharp.
“I’m lucky, I have a treadmill at home,” added Frei. “I can work on my cardio there. We get a decent program to work on our fitness and strength. There’s little drills you can do to work on your cognitive behavior.
“There is no true emulating what we do on the training field. It will have to take some time to work with Tommy and get the ball rolling again.”
In the interim, Frei has been using his newfound free time to find innovative ways to stay engaged with Sounders supporters, including artwork for charity, live-streaming video games and helping out with the RAVE Foundation.
“Soccer is part of the entertainment business,” said Frei. “For me, it was still important to try and entertain, to connect with our fans and our community.”
You can find more updates on what the Sounders are doing during break and ways to stay engaged with the club HERE.
