Wednesday, Day 3:
A long-awaited content opportunity happened at lunch when we delivered Nouhou his favorite meal: spicy chicken teriyaki.
Later in the afternoon, our six Sounders made their way to Banc of California Stadium and into the history books, as all six were named starters for the MLS side. The energy was vibrant from the moment the match kicked off. Liga MX opened the scoring in the first half, and by halftime all our players had subbed off. MLS found the equalizer in the second half and went on to win 3-2 in penalty kicks, capping off an exciting all-around evening.
Tuesday, Day 2:
The day started with a training session at the LAFC Performance Center. It was fun to see all six guys warm up together and hangout before practice, although it was admittedly strange to see our guys get one-on-one coaching time with Bob Bradley. Just for this week, at least!
After a light session that mostly featured 11-v-11 and finishing drills, all the guys participated in media sessions for the league, media, and the club.
On our end, we had Nouhou interviewing Yeimar in three languages, JP “confirming” he created a Twitter account to vote for Cristian as captain, and Alex and Cristian starring on Roldan TV.
In the evening at Banc of California Stadium was the Skills Challenge pres. by AT&T 5G, featuring Raúl. He competed in the Shooting Challenge, where he had to hit targets, and the Cross & Volley Challenge, contributing to MLS wins in both rounds. Liga MX ended up winning the competition in the end, but it was a solid evening all around for both sides.
Monday, Day 1
And we’re off! After a record-setting nine-point week, six Sounders are off to Los Angeles this morning for the MLS All-Star Game: Yeimar, Nouhou, João Paulo, Raúl Ruidíaz, and Cristian and Alex Roldan.
Today is all about getting settled in. A notable highlight was introducing Nouhou to “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus, as he did, in fact, hop off the plane at LAX.
The hotel is decked out in MLS All-Star banners and both MLS and Liga MX players and staff abound. Cristian Roldan, who was named captain of the MLS squad after a successful fan vote, was part of a media press conference that also featured Head Coach Bob Bradley and Columbus star Lucas Zelarayan, as well as members of the Liga MX All-Stars.
It was a restful afternoon and evening for the guys as they stuck to the players lounge and had a player-specific dinner.
