Sounders win Leagues Cup final, 3-0, in system-validating victory over Inter Miami
By Owen Murray, Cascadia FC
Cristian Roldan wasn’t born in Seattle, but he might as well have been. On Sunday, as the Seattle Sounders’ captain limped across the penalty area to take custody of the ball, the weight of history could’ve pushed him down. If not that, it could’ve been the brunt of a game and a season spent wearing the punches of every midfield in the world.
Instead, the man drafted 16th overall in 2015 by the Sounders, who has won trophies and welcomed a child in the Pacific Northwest, looked like he was floating as he navigated the storm of superstars that surrounded him. Once they departed, he handed the ball to his younger brother, Alex.
“Sometimes he carries all the weight,” the younger brother said of the older one. “I tried to give my little piece today.”
After that, Alex Roldan — younger by 421 days and worn by position changes and a release-and-resign by the club between 2019 and 2020, stepped up. It doesn’t get more Seattle than that.
There’s not much the Sounders aren’t used to. Their history is one that values winning in equal measure with development. It’s no mistake that the man who has steered them to so much success is as Seattle born-and-bred as the players he chooses.
So when they lifted the final continental trophy that had for only six years eluded their grasp on Sunday night, it was only fitting that it was over an Inter Miami side that bent the rules to acquire superstar after superstar. Those who led Seattle to its 3-0 Leagues Cup final victory over Inter Miami — Osaze De Rosario, Alex Roldan and Paul Rothrock — couldn’t have been more different.
“Let’s talk about our guys,” Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer said postgame. “We have a great team. They might not be the names that are on the world stage, but they’re certainly talented people.”
For what it’s worth, the beginnings of final matches are rarely auspicious. Athletes paid to succeed in big moments fear mistakes. In this case, the adjective was tactically abnormal. Seattle — Seattle, whose head coach said over and over again that that it wanted the ball — was the one counter-attacking and punting it long.
It was working, so who cared?
Through 12 minutes, the Sounders had 30 percent of the ball and still held Miami without a shot (they’d finish with 34 percent and Miami with no shots on target).
It wasn’t a change so much as a concession for the sake of winning, but when Paul Rothrock can slide behind an advanced Jordi Alba, who cared? When Lionel Messi seemed more focused on getting into the head of 20-year-old Obed Vargas than finding the ball, who cared?
Right back Alex Roldan, whose marauding forward runs had been a staple of the Sounders’ overloaded side in possession, was firmly attached to Yeimar Gomez Andrade. Hoofing it long instead of checking to a deep-lying midfielder was different from the norm, too.
But some things stay the same no matter who wears the weight of history on the field. Jackson Ragen, born in Seattle and grown through local clubs, twice slid to deny Miami attackers entrance to Andrew Thomas’ goalmouth. The elder Roldan, who perhaps wore more history than any Sounder on the pitch, made the most of the extra inch of height he had on Messi to tackle him at the top of the box.
And when Jesús Ferreira, who struggled through half a season before finding the space he loves most on the pitch only because of the massive injury and suspension brunt Seattle bore, slid it wide to Alex Roldan, there was only one place the brother’s cross was going.
De Rosario, another Tacoma Defiance product, was only on the field because Danny Musovski — who himself had only been in place to receive the quarterfinal red card because Designated Player Jordan Morris was injured — was suspended. Before receiving his first-ever professional contract, De Rosario led MLS NEXT Pro in scoring. The son of MLS legend Dwayne De Rosario keeps his history in his blood.
So when he rose at the far post to nod home Roldan’s cross, it only felt right. In the 26th minute, the son of a legend turned child of the United States’ soccer city raised a heart to the Seattle sky.
“We desire the collective,” he said. “Everybody’s involved, and it shows. Everybody’s here working hard, and we all want the same thing.”
The struggle, of course, with a team so young should be maturity. When you’re consistently welcoming teenagers to the first team, the expectation is that the elders must spread his wings to ensure mental stability.
No matter. There’s a reason Vargas continually draws European eyes. There’s a reason Schmetzer, with longtime starting left back Nouhou suspended, reaffirmed his faith in Reed Baker-Whiting. When the stadium shakes, they don’t.
As Miami’s collective — down a goal and without a shot on target — whined its way down the halftime tunnel, Seattle looked focused.
When he was finally called into action, 54 minutes from kickoff, Thomas — another of the Sounders on the pitch in part because of injuries — fell in line with Seattle’s sterling history of goalkeepers in finals and stretched out a big right paw to corral the Miami flick-on.
Yes, there was some luck. Eight minutes after Messi, who before the game had 33 goals in as many finals played, blazed over from inside the six yard box, Talledo Allende dragged wide from perhaps double that distance.
But Schmetzer doesn’t stray from his faith in the youth. His first two substitutions replaced De Rosario and Pedro de la Vega with academy graduate Danny Leyva and Defiance star Kalani Kossa-Rienzi. When Rothrock, who the coach presented as his alternative to Messi in a midweek availability, won a corner in the 66th minute, he gazed at Seattle’s supporters and indulged a mighty roar.
“I think this game was very much a validation of the Sounders culture and who we are,” Rothrock said. “We’ve got more homegrown kids and college players than anybody else, and that’s a credit to Schmetz.”
The Roldans had one more part to play, in the 82nd minute, when substitute Georgi Minouguou had his feet cleaned out in the box by Miami midfielder Yannick Bright. As a pink storm engulfed the penalty spot, Cristian took ownership of the ball and the verbal violence that came with it.
Once it quieted, he handed it to his brother. In front of Seattle and the world, the younger of two brothers sent goalkeeper Oscar Ustari the wrong way.
“Finals, games, sometimes they come with moments and momentum switches,” he said. “We knew they were going to come hot out of the gate in the second half. We did give up a few opportunities, but fortunately for us, they missed them and we were able to rebound after that.”
The 37-year old legs that had carried Sergio Busquets to so much gave no more when Rothrock — Schmetzer’s Messi — seized on a measured pass to slide past Ustari with just a few minutes left. There’s a reason he kissed the crest.
“I like pressure,” the 26-year-old said. “It’s why we play, for big moments like this, and I was really grateful that Schmetz put that pressure on me — he looks like a smart guy now.”
After that, Seattle’s newest son with a hoarse voice had no more words.
For the last three minutes, it felt more familiar, after all. The supporters who indulged Rothrock and Minoungou emptied their bag of traditions over the final minutes. There’s only one more this club has made a habit of — and it had to wait until the final whistle.
Eight of Seattle’s 11 starters were drafted by the club, developed in the Sounders’ academy, played for Tacoma Defiance or raised in the city. Two more — Ferreira and De Rosario — came from other MLS academies. Seven of 11 on the bench were the same.
Messi, Busquets and Alba come from academies too, of course. La Masia is a long way from Tacoma, Washington, but maybe the gap isn’t so wide after all — just three goals.
Perhaps, then, Sunday’s final was a monument to the way of business that Schmetzer, general manager Craig Waibel and owner Adrian Hanauer continually preach. It’s been three summers since the Sounders have made a splash midseason signing. This year Miami added World Cup winner Rodrigo de Paul. Seattle’s additions, De Rosario and 18-year-old Snyder Brunell, have more than tripled de Paul’s goal contributions since signing.
“Well, we don’t know what Miami’s doing,” De Rosario said in response to a question about the organizational differences between the two clubs. “But they’re not winning Leagues Cup this year.”
MLS commissioner Don Garber told media pregame that the final would’ve been watched worldwide even without Miami in it. Maybe that’s true, if only because those in Alaska who know Vargas’ story and those in Ivory Coast who know Minougou’s were almost certainly tuned in. Maybe it’s true, because of the 69,314 who watched the three goals go in, few departed before the trophy lift.
“Our academy, and the way we selected players from this region of the world fills in (our squad),” Schmetzer said. “It’s not the right way or the wrong way. It’s just the way we’ve done it. I’m sure in the next couple of years, we might sign another big name player, but right now, I’m very happy with the team I have.”
But for however many millions saw Seattle add yet another trophy to its incomparable collection, there’s only a few who might truly understand it.
Schmetzer, who applauded the supporters (of whom he is a longstanding member) is one. He was choked up as he looked at Hanauer in the press conference and spoke about “the success that he and I have built.” The Roldans, Rothrock and Vargas, who sobbed in his family’s arms after the final whistle, are more.
Is Messi? Are those who wear his jersey? Do those in Miami who said they were “built for nights like these” understand how Seattle created its own?
Who cares?
