The Seattle Sounders are hosting Liga MX’s Santos Laguna on Tuesday (7 p.m. PT; ESPN2, Univision | TICKETS). Here is everything you need to know about the Mexican opposition:
Full club name: Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V.
Nickname: Los Guerreros (The Warriors)
Founded: 1983
Location: Torreón, Coahuila
Stadium: Estadio Corona (Capacity: 30,000)
Club honors:
- Six Liga MX titles
- Copa MX title
- One Campeón de Campeones title
- Two Concacaf Champions League runners-up
Manager: Guillermo Almada (Uruguay)
Almada joined Santos Laguna in 2019 after four years in charge of Ecuador’s Barcelona SC where he managed current Sounders center back and Ecuador international Xavier Arreaga.
2021 Apertura record (W/L/D): 2-1-5 (11 points, 6th place)
How they got here: Santos defeated Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC 1-0 in the quarterfinals behind a 30th-minute goal from Juan Ferney Otero.
Sounders connection: The Sounders and Santos Laguna last met eight years ago in the 2013 Concacaf Champions League Semifinals. Santos advanced 2-1 on aggregate in the home-and-home series, buoyed by a first leg away goal at Lumen Field by Herculez Gomez, the former United States international and eventual 2016 MLS Cup champion with Seattle.
Players to know:
- Fernando Gorriarán: The 26-year-old Uruguayan made his senior international debut this past summer in 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and is one of the best midfielders in Mexico. Gorriarán joined Santos in 2019 and, along with the other two players on this list, was a member of the Liga MX All Stars that fell in penalty kicks to MLS in August.
- Diego Valdés: Santos’ No. 10 also joined Santos in 2019 from Morelia, where he was teammates with current Sounders forward Raúl Ruidíaz. The Chilean international has 15 goals in 79 appearances for Los Guerreros.
- Dória: The 26-year-old Brazilian center back began his career at Botafogo, where current Sounders Nicolás Lodeiro and João Paulo each spent time. He joined Santos in 2018 and has been a constant on the back line, logging over 100 appearances while also adding 10 goals in his three-plus years. He also recently won the Balón de Oro as the Best Defender in Liga MX.
