When the Seattle Sounders arrive for preseason in early January 2025, just over a month after their 2024 campaign came to a close, the stakes of the franchise will never be higher.
Gone are the days of just competing for an MLS Cup and a U.S. Open Cup title to boot. The Sounders are entering a calendar year where they can win several trophies, from as granular and local as the Cascadia Cup to as big of an international tournament as the FIFA Club World Cup.
All in, Seattle is already slated to compete in over 40 matches, inclusive of the MLS regular season, and tournaments such as the Concacaf Champions Cup and the Club World Cup, the latter of which will be the brightest stage anyone in United States club soccer has ever competed.
The Sounders will welcome some of the grandest names in world football when France’s Paris Saint-Germain, Spain’s Atlético Madrid and Brazil’s Botafogo come to Lumen Field this summer.
“My goal, our goal, is to not build a roster for Club World Cup, but it’s to win MLS Cups, which is going to set us up for being competitive in the Club World Cup because our goal is always about winning trophies,” said Head Coach Brian Schmetzer on Tuesday at the Sounders’ end-of-year press conference.
“We’d love to be competitive against the Brazilian champion, one of the best teams in Spain, the highest spending team in the world maybe,” added Schmetzer. “We have to be realistic. We want to be competitive. We want to show our Pacific Northwest grit and determination. We’re not going to quit.”
Part of the challenge of such a congested schedule is formulating a deep enough squad to withstand the kinds of rotation necessary to be competitive in multiple competitions. MLS clubs have historically struggled in this department, particularly against Mexican opposition, but with an even greater spotlight on some of the league’s biggest teams, the need to capitalize on roster strength is paramount.
“In a year like this, where we’re going to be pursuing multiple trophies, multiple platforms at the most elite levels in our region and now world, we do need to add some proven talent,” said Sounders General Manager & Chief Soccer Officer Craig Waibel. “We need to add guys who come in with experience in high-pressure situations, that are ready for the challenge, to meet the challenge, and also complement our locker room.”
Waibel emphasized flexibility, not just in terms of personnel, but also in formation and tactics. He wants to bring in players who can be an asset in Schmetzer’s typical 4-2-3-1 formation but can also fit into something like a 5-3-2 or 4-3-3, for instance, should the match dictate it.
“You need to build a roster that the coaches are comfortable with putting guys on the field, different formations, different opportunities, different tactics,” said Waibel. “Some of the profiles we’re looking at hopefully give us the opportunity for the coaches to look at different ways to approach games because it’s a lot of games in a short amount of time.”
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Despite coming away emptyhanded, the Sounders made deep runs in each competition they participated in last year. Seattle fell in the Western Conference Championship of the MLS Cup Playoffs, the semifinals of the Open Cup and the quarterfinals of the Leagues Cup.
The Sounders in 2025 are preparing for a daunting foray into the Concacaf Champions Cup starting with Guatemala’s Antigua GFC in February before welcoming the three global giants in June. The year ahead is not an easy one, but the opportunity it presents is one that’s not lost on the group.
“We always wanted to compete because we were the Sounders, and winning games was important regardless of the tournament,” said Schmetzer. “[The FIFA Club World Cup] probably won’t come again in my lifetime, or maybe it will. I don’t know. Hopefully it would, but you never know. So, we have to do the best we can to enjoy the moment. We have to get everybody out and support the team."
“We, the Seattleites, the guys who have been around this franchise for a long time understand those obligations and expectations,” he continued. “We’ve worked with them. Some teams might not have the same as us, but we’re driven by winning, and it’s not just the particular competitions, but just trying to make sure we’re competitive in each one.”
