By Owen Murray On the cold, rainy night of December 10, 2016 in Toronto, a short man with messy, dark hair strides confidently with a ball. As tens of thousands of fans are baying their attempts at manifesting a miss, he faces up a goalkeeper twelve yards away with seven inches on him. The commentator reminds those watching at home of the stakes: if he misses, his team (and they are undoubtedly his team) lose their chance at their first title in their history. He’s not going to let that happen. He strokes the ball easily into the goalkeeper’s top left hand corner, hitting the camera on the way by. Mere minutes later, he’s hoisting his club’s first league championship into the December sky.
As reports emerged over the past week of the Seattle Sounders’ Uruguayan gem Nicolás Lodeiro seeking an emotional return to his boyhood club, Boca Juniors, a question asked by many Sounders fans in the past season is once again pushed to the forefront: is the dream over? Regardless of whether Lodeiro truly wants to leave, is it time for the Sounders to let go?
Despite the Sounders’ early achievements (four US Open Cups, one Supporters Shield, and two Cascadia Cups), they had failed thus far to reach the pinnacle. MLS Cup remained a tantalizing opportunity to stake their claim as the best in the league. They’d come close, losing in 2014 to the LA Galaxy in the conference finals by an away goal, and in a semifinal penalty shootout in Dallas in 2015. Even more frustrating was that their rivals, the Portland Timbers, had managed to prevail against Dallas, and again in the final. Despite the Sounders holding the series advantage, they hadn’t had the chance to face them in the postseason after falling to Dallas.
The following July, with the team bottom of the conference, they had one chance (and $6 million) to save their season. They bought the 27 year old Lodeiro from Argentinian champions Boca Juniors, and hoped the combination of the Uruguayan and hometown interim manager Brian Schmetzer would be enough to preserve the club’s 7 year playoff streak. As Lodeiro strokes the penalty into the corner of the net, allowing Roman Torres to step up and send Seattle, 2500 miles away, into rapture, he’s become an instant legend. In his revelation, he was awarded the MLS Newcomer of the Year award, despite playing only half the regular season. As the era in the club’s history dominated by figures like Clint Dempsey, Obafemi Martins, and Chad Marshall began to wane, a space yawned in the elite echelon of one of MLS’ most dominant sides.
Lodeiro undoubtedly filled that gap, taking the number 10 shirt and writing history with it like no other in the club’s history. He filled the record books, both visibly (he’d leave as Seattle’s record assister) and with a work ethic that was amongst the best in the league. Year after year, he’d rack up the most distance covered and fouls drawn, staking his claim as the Sounders’ finest player. He was named to the 2020 MLS Best XI, and to the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League Best XI as the Sounders became the first American side to win the tournament.
As he built a legacy in Seattle, the effect was visible on Brian Schmetzer’s side. When an aging Lodeiro began to fall to injury, the manager was often unable to fill the creative void left by his star man despite signing multiple ostensibly worthy substitutes. Such a crisis often led to the Sounders inability to construct a campaign capable of challenging the record books. They secured the league title again in 2019, but didn’t come near the Supporters Shield by the season’s end.
Much as Dempsey had come to provide the locker-room presence of a mentor throughout his final seasons with Seattle, Lodeiro might now transition to a similar role. It’s quickly becoming evident that his play must adapt to his physical abilities, and Schmetzer must answer the question of whether his system should once again do the same. Lodeiro’s heir apparent, the Slovak Albert Rusnák, signed as a free agent from Real Salt Lake, has settled for the midfield spots around the central role that he occupied with his former club in his time with the Sounders, but in Lodeiro’s absence he provided a spark that hinted at a future. Rusnák, 28, isn’t a clone of the Sounders legend, but his history within the league might allow for the evolution of an aging side into its next chapter.
Lodeiro is absolutely worth retaining as a piece of this side; the ability to create a chance from thin air is criminally rare amongst footballers and invaluable late in matches. In the wake of general manager Garth Lagerwey’s departure for Atlanta United, however, the man handed the spot must attempt to rearrange the puzzle. Craig Waibel will likely attempt to reduce Lodeiro’s contract, allowing Seattle to pursue pieces elsewhere. Should such a task prove impossible, it’s not unthinkable that Lodeiro should move on. Not only would it open a Designated Player slot, it’d serve as a statement of intent for the new GM, staking his claim on the franchise much like Lagerwey did with the original signing of the Uruguayan.
If the question asked of Seattle, as a city, an organization, and a group of supporters, is whether it is time to let go, the answer is edging closer to a yes. In years past, such reports have been laughed off, but they are getting harder to ignore. Letting go of a legend is difficult for fans, especially a group of supporters as fervently dedicated as Seattle’s, and the inevitable exit of Nicolás Lodeiro comes with the promise that he is remembered as the club’s greatest ever player. He leaves behind a full trophy cabinet, a list of shattered records, and countless memories of magic illustrated against the Seattle skyline.
