Sounders relish annual preseason trip to Spain as preparations for 2025 season are underway

The Seattle Sounders begin their lengthy 2025 campaign on Feb. 19 when they visit Guatemala’s Antigua GFC in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup, but their reps against elite international competition have come quick and fast over the past couple weeks.

For the third straight year, the Sounders enjoyed their preseason at the Marbella Football Center in Marbella, Spain, a world-class training center on the country’s southern coast. Established in 2005, the nearly 14-acre facility was created to meet the highest demands of professional soccer clubs and is one of the most exclusive sports complexes in Europe.

“The fields are excellent, the training facilities are excellent, and the games against European competition are great,” said Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer. “That's why we come back.”

The Sounders played four friendlies during their stay in Spain, including a pair of wins over Hungarian side Puskás Akadémia and Danish club Aalborg BK and draws with Swedish teams IFK Norrköping and Hammarby IF. The Sounders got a taste of high-level competition that will ideally have them off and running upon their return to North America.

“I think the fields are great,” said midfielder Albert Rusnák. “The weather has been good, too. For me, it's just playing teams from Europe. It's a little bit different than playing the MLS teams. And we're going to play so many games this year that I feel like switching away from playing the teams from MLS, but actually playing the European teams with a different style of play, different mentality, I think that can be a learning process for us and a new experience."

“And we might need that, because we will face many teams outside of MLS this year,” he continued. “Whether it's the Concacaf Champions [Cup] or the Club World Cup.”

Featuring a mix of First Team players, Tacoma Defiance members and unsigned MLS SuperDraft picks, the club also enjoyed a chance to connect beyond the pitch in ways they don’t get to during a normal domestic season. There’s a sense of bonding and community built during this extended stay that has lasting positive effects over the course of a long year.

“We're away from our family, so it's like we have to spend time together,” said Rusnák. “Not that we don't want to, but we're going to spend at least two weeks here, basically seeing each other nonstop. And you know, whether we play cards or a few guys go for dinner together, it only brings the team together, the chemistry and also relationships.”

The Sounders leave Marbella and return to Seattle for a final preseason date against USL Championship outfit Louisville City FC on Feb. 12. One week later, the club kicks off its CCC quest before opening the 2025 MLS season at home against Charlotte FC on Feb. 22 (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch on Apple TV | TICKETS).

“We enjoyed the kind of seclusion, the camaraderie, the team bonding element of going somewhere like Spain, where you are away from home,” said Schmetzer. “And it's not just the United States. I mean, it's a foreign country. There are different things. There are different activities we do. It started when we went to the Club World Cup and we were playing in Morocco, and we really just enjoyed it.”