Sporting Director Chris Henderson says Sounders FC keeps a list of players from all over the world that the club is interested in bringing to Seattle. On Monday the Rave Green signed one of those players, a veteran from England that will help fill one of their biggest needs in the near future.
After losing several defenders from last season’s team, the Sounders added Tyrone Mears to their backline. Mears, 31, brings versatility to Seattle having played as an attacking outside back and as a central defender during his 14 years of professional soccer in Europe.
Sounders FC was left with just five defenders on its roster when DeAndre Yedlin and Jalil Anibaba departed the club in December. Yedlin was the starting right back for the last two years, while Anibaba made 17 appearances last season in various positions on the backline. Mears prefers to play on the right, where Yedlin thrived for his hometown club before heading to Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.
In terms of centerbacks, Seattle has reigning MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall, veteran Zach Scott and 21-year-old Damion Lowe. Scott, 34, is having surgery in the offseason to repair a foot injury. Mears is capable of filling in at that spot if Sounders FC needs him to play alongside Marshall in 2015.
“There are quite a few positions that I can slot into,” Mears said. “But obviously I am a fullback, so that’s the position I hope to be playing for the coming season. …I hope I can bring some experience to the younger players in the squad.”
READ: Sounders FC Signs Defender Tyrone Mears
Another option at right back is captain Brad Evans, who often played the position when Yedlin was absent in 2014. Evans spent most of last season at outside midfield. If Head Coach Sigi Schmid moves him to the backline, both Marco Pappa and Lamar Neagle are starting options for the Rave Green.
Up front in 2015, Seattle will look very similar to the group that set the club record for goals last season. All-Star forwards Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins are returning to the lineup, and fellow strikers Chad Barrett and Kenny Cooper will also be back with the squad in 2015.
Martins and Dempsey know Mears from their time in the Premier League. His familiarity with the Sounders FC players, along with the club’s passionate fans, is a main reason why Mears wanted to be in Seattle.
“It’s great to join a really friendly club all the way through,” he said. "The positivity and the way the fans get behind you is amazing. If you could’ve named one team I would like to play for, it would’ve been Seattle straightaway.”
Things won’t be the same next year without Yedlin, Sounders FC’s first Homegrown Player who represented the U.S. at the FIFA World Cup last summer. However, all 10 of the other starters from the Supporters’ Shield winning team are returning for 2015, and Seattle will continue bolstering its roster in the coming months. Mears’ signing is just the first step.
Photograph by Chris Coulter
