Dating back to the club’s inaugural season in 1974, the Seattle Sounders have always been a locally rooted club with global ambition.
In the MLS era alone, those lofty aspirations have materialized into four U.S. Open Cups, a Supporters’ Shield, two MLS Cups and an unprecedented Concacaf Champions League title.
This week, the Sounders will begin their quest for a new trophy to collect as they begin the 2024 Leagues Cup, which features every team from Major League Soccer and Liga MX vying for bragging rights as the premier club in North America.
“This is a big tournament,” said midfielder Albert Rusnák. “So, we need to enjoy it, take the games seriously, and then try and go as far as possible.”
The Sounders have enjoyed plenty of success against Liga MX competition, making a run to the 2021 Leagues Cup Final one-year prior to their historic CCL championship.
The team is looking to display a similar showing in this year’s Leagues Cup, starting with Friday’s match against Minnesota United and following up with a head-to-head battle against Liga MX side Necaxa on Aug. 4 to round out the group stage.
“It's another tournament and another trophy on the line,” said Rusnák. “These are games that mean something.”
The Rave Green hope to utilize their past experiences competing against top Liga MX teams to its advantage.
“Whenever you get to play that competition and you get used to it, you get to understand that style of play a little bit and I think the CCL run hopefully can help us in this tournament,” said forward Jordan Morris. “It's just an opportunity to compete for a trophy and I think our past experiences in tournaments like that will hopefully help us get there.”
While Seattle was disappointed with its showing in last year’s tournament, the team is using it as motivation to come out stronger come Friday night.
“Leagues Cup is something that last year we didn't do very well and so we want to prove to people that we can play,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer.
The North American showdown is beneficial for the team and its future endeavors in more ways than one. Not only is it a chance for the Sounders to qualify for Conacaf Champions Cup in 2025, the tournament is also a time to continue preparation for next summer’s Club World Cup in terms of facing teams with different playing styles.
“We know the quality that Liga MX teams have and we want to show that we can play with the best of them,” said Morris.
The two-league Concacaf competition has a lot on the line for the Seattle side, and the players are ready to take on that challenge.
“We think we have the team that can compete for trophies,” said Morris. So it's another opportunity.”
