The Seattle Sounders announced Wednesday they have signed Uruguayan international Nicolás Lodeiro to a multi-year Designated Player contract. Here's a list of quotes following the press conference unveiling Lodeiro.
SOUNDERS FC MIDFIELDER NICOLAS LODEIRO
On how he feels joining the club:
“I’m very good, I am happy.”
On his family:
“My family is very happy about coming over here as well. They want to come here as soon as possible. I have my wife and one son, and yeah we are hoping they come here with us soon.”
On whether Garth Lagerwey persuaded him to come to Seattle:
“Garth was definitely one of those [people who convinced him], but there are more. I talked to Alvaro Fernandez, [Boca Juniors Manager] Guillermo Barros Schelotto and some other friends that I have that have lived here before. They all agreed that it was a good idea to come over here.”
On his style of play:
“I’m a very professional player. I like to win. I like to get together with my teammates and play with them. I like to be close to the ball and be part of the [build-up] play, and I definitely like to contribute to make the team a winning team.”
SOUNDERS FC GENERAL MANAGER & PRESIDENT OF SOCCER GARTH LAGERWEY
On the previous week:
“Yeah we’re really excited about Nico [Lodeiro] joining the organization, and I think it can transform the way that we play. I think that’s going to be important for us for the next several years, not just the next several weeks. I think we’re turning the page and we’re moving forward, and we’re looking forward. Yesterday was a rough day for a lot of people, but today was a good – we’ve got to get up tomorrow and make tomorrow a good day. We’ve got to build from there and continue to try to make the team better, give us more choices, and hopefully Flaco [Alvaro Fernandez] joins us in the next 24 hours. Hopefully we’re less than a month away from Román Torres coming back as well, and I think any team that adds three starters is going to look better than they did before. “
On his thoughts after watching Lodeiro play in person:
“The first time I saw him live was against Racing in Copa Libertadores, and Racing has a player named Oscar Romero, who is regarded as one of the best young talents in South America, and Lodeiro was the best player on the field. Specifically, [he] played with [Carlos] Tevez, who is a player in my opinion that has qualities similar to Clint Dempsey. He’s the big star for Boca and Lodeiro’s job was to get him the ball. It wound up in this game that I saw that Lodeiro got the goal by making a back-post run. His work rate and his brain [are impressive]. Nico sees the game [and] sees passes that I think a lot of players don’t see. More than anything you need a brain. We have elite players that can score goals, and have scored goals, we just need to get them the ball in better spots and we need to do it more often. I think Nico is going to be our giant soccer brain and he’s going to drive us [forward] from a soccer IQ, soccer acumen perspective and make the entire group better.”
On whether a signing like this can lift an entire organization:
“Yeah. I don’t want to put too many expectations on one player. But look, it’s been a rough season. It’s been a rough year. We haven’t played great since last May, so if we come in and we start playing good soccer and we get in the playoff hunt, if we get some momentum and some positive energy. There’s talent here it didn’t just evaporate overnight. We just haven’t been able to put it all together in a positive matter, and I think adding a player like Nico – yeah he’s important individually – from an energy and mentality perspective it might even be more important. To come in and have the attitude and the work rate that he has, and again the soccer brain that he has, it’s going to be fun to play with Nico. Guys are going to be excited to play with him, and I think he’s going to be a great asset for the organization.”
On whether the recruitment process was as dramatic as it appeared to be in the news:
“I would describe the negotiations as tortured and even anguished. It took a long time to get the deal done. Look, this is going to be more par for the course in MLS as we go forward, because the reality is that MLS hasn’t signed players with this kind of resume – of this caliber – before. And, you know, he’s not unique; I don’t want to pretend like he’s the best player ever. When you start signing guys at this level, with his profile – playing for his national team, playing for one of the best clubs in South America – you’re going to have competition. You’re going to have a lot of competition. You’re going to have to be willing to stick with it and really be dogged in your pursuit and your belief that this is the best player. For us, Nico was [the best player] and we put in months of effort: multiple scouting trips, multiple negotiations and eventually we were able to strike a deal that worked for us. It worked for Boca and it worked for the player, and hopefully the result is that we have a player that will be a difference maker for us.”
SOUNDERS FC INTERIM HEAD COACH BRIAN SCHMETZER
On how the team will play with Lodeiro:
“Well the key will be how we implement Nico with Clint [Dempsey]. I think those are our two main guys that will be able to carry us offensively, and making sure that we give them the creative freedom. I’m not going to tell Clint how to attack the goal and I’m not going to tell Nico how to pass the ball I just need to make sure that I put them in the right spots, surround them with the right players, and let them do what they do best.”
On whether signing a talented player lifts the rest of the team up:
“It should. Every guy that has come here has added something – whether you’re a $60,000 guy or a $6,000,000 guy. Everybody that comes on that’s new it always lifts the level of training.”
On what his biggest challenge as a coach is with a new player:
“To get to know him. I want to get to know him on a personal level and make sure he’s happy living here in Seattle. It’s my home as well so I want him to feel very welcome. I want him to acclimate himself with, not only the city, but the fans as well. I think the fans will really enjoy watching him play and I think that’s important—there’s always been that relationship between the fans and the players. Some of that off the field stuff will be a challenge, but at the end of the day my job is to just win games, so I’ll just have to try and implement him with Clint and try to win some games.”
On his thoughts over the past week:
“Well it was a lot of news, a lot of news. There was a big article in the Seattle Times this morning; I actually read the paper, and a lot of stuff on social media. So it’s been a big news week, and Nico’s edition is just kind of a good highlight to end the week on the positive.”
SOUNDERS FC SPORTING DIRECTOR CHRIS HENDERSON
On his thoughts after scouting Lodeiro for the first time:
“First time we saw this guy he was playing at a storied park in Argentina with the atmosphere and pressure that those players are under. [I saw that] he’s a guy who wants the ball and he’s getting in pockets, getting in positions, and laying passes through and setting up players, and you could see he had that winning mentality. You’ve seen a player, you’ve done all the video up to seeing him live, then you go back and watch more games, more highlights and get as much information as you can. Then you start to make calls and talk to coaches, talk to ex-teammates, as many resources as you can to make an informed decision on the player.”
On the process of identifying the player and trying to sign him:
“Yeah, there’s a long waiting process and there’s many times when we’ve scouted players and we started scouting them a year before. It is a long process and there’s many times when you get excited and you lose a player. So you’re very happy when you get to the point where you can actually sign the guy you’ve been trying to get the whole time.”
On whether Chris is excited for training tomorrow:
“Yeah, I’m excited for training tomorrow. This club needs an injection of some new guys and some healthy environment, and I think we’re a team that has quality in our roster and a win can kind of help. I’ve been on teams where a win starts a roll and you start to build on that and gain confidence and a team can turn things around.”
On whether new signings lift the spirit of the team:
“Yeah and I think it starts in training. It starts with the environment in training: the attitude, the confidence, and the connection between players. Sometimes you add some kind of change in the group, and it changes connections and that’s what we’re looking for.”
