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Sounders notebook: Cristian Roldan gets clarity on his position

Seattle’s Cristian Roldan (7), pictured in 2022, enters the 2025 season penciled in as the Sounders’ defensive midfielder.  (Tribune News Service)
By Jayda Evans Seattle Times

SEATTLE – Brian Schmetzer didn’t have control of his pen last season, and that’s a good thing.

From backup keeper Andrew Thomas to forward Paul Rothrock, the Sounders coach admitted performances were “forcing his hand” when deciding lineup and tactical choices throughout the season.

The most influential was Cristian Roldan.

Schmetzer often insisted Roldan was best on the right wing with a unique ability to play multiple positions. But a late-season calf injury to João Paulo made clear what was spotty before, the Sounders were at their best with Roldan as a defensive midfielder.

For the first time in his 11-year career, Roldan entered training camp knowing that’s the position he’s designated to play this season.

“I finally have a position that I can showcase rather than moving all around,” Roldan said Wednesday.

The Sounders are holding preseason training camp in Marbella, Spain, where Roldan said he’s able to focus on specific skills for a defensive midfielder.

“(I’m) perfecting being able to turn and play forward, for example,” he said. “Perfecting being in the right position defensively when we’re committing guys forward. Perfecting all of the nuances of the position.”

Roldan started at the position the final eight matches of the MLS regular season last year. The team outscored opponents 14-4 and climbed from eighth to fourth in the Western Conference standings.

The former University of Washington star was often paired with Obed Vargas. The latter was free to move forward while Roldan was able to help control tempo, break lines with his passing and know where to fill gaps with more of the field in front of him.

The position is also where Roldan initially thought he’d play as a mentee of Ozzie Alonso, who’s regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in MLS history. Roldan originally signed with the Sounders in 2015 and became a consistent starter in 2017, sometimes playing alongside Alonso.

“This is an opportunity for me to get better,” Roldan said of training camp. “I was a really well-rounded player, being able to play multiple positions. But now, how can I elevate my game by focusing on what the position brings?”

While the Sounders are most successful with Roldan in the starting lineup – no matter where he’s slotted – there’s still competition. João Paulo said he’s the healthiest he’s been since a season-ending knee injury in 2022, and Danny Leyva always makes an impact when he’s subbed into matches.

João Paulo and Leyva started together in the Sounders’ 2-0 friendly win against Hungarian side Puskás Akadémia FC last week. Both goals were scored in the opening half, João Paulo recording an assist.

“You can call Cristian a little bit of an experienced guy, but there’s always room to grow,” Schmetzer said. “We’ve seen Obed’s trajectory, it’s going like this (upward). We want to keep pushing them because I think they have a little bit more to give.”

Game plan

The Sounders will play Denmark’s Aalborg BK on Friday at Marbella Football Center. Schmetzer said the match format will be three 45-minute periods, but his lineup will be split in two with substitutions.

“It will be some strategically mixed groups,” he said.

Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák (hip), forward Jesús Ferreira (fitness), midfielder Reed Baker-Whiting (calf) and Rothrock (quad) didn’t participate in last week’s friendly as precautionary measures. The players had injuries impact the end of their 2024 seasons.

Rusnák had a cortisone shot before the team left for Spain and the travel stiffened the area, causing discomfort, according to Schmetzer. The players are healthy and will play Friday.

Field trip

Sounders assistant coach Freddy Juarez, video analyst John Elsenbast, and technical director Henry Brauner joined Schmetzer for a day trip Saturday to scout Atlético Madrid. The La Liga titan hosted Villarreal at Madrid’s 70,000-seat stadium, Riyadh Air Metropolitano.

Seattle will host Atlético on June 19 for a FIFA men’s Club World Cup group-stage match. The Spanish side drew 1-1 with Villarreal and is second in La Liga standings.

“Henry, John and everybody were taking notes, I was taking in the atmosphere,” Schmetzer said. “I loved some of their warm-ups that they do before the game. We were curious how other teams around the world did it.”

Atlético’s approximate $136 million payroll overshadows the Sounders ($16.6 million), but the 68,000-seat Lumen Field is nearing capacity for the CWC match.

“It gets us more excited for the Club World Cup,” Schmetzer said. of seeing Atlético in-person. “It was well worth the trip.”