Seattle Sounders: The decisions behind a constant contender

The Seattle Sounders have established themselves as one of Major League Soccer's best teams since head coach Brian Schmetzer's arrival in 2016, picking up a few trophies along the way.

'consistency' and 'competitive' come to mind when thinking about Seattle. After all, the Western Conference side has constantly challenged the league in regular season action and postseason play. Schmetzer has led the Western Conference side to new heights at Lumen Field, including many firsts for Seattle, but how has he guided the team to so much success in recent years?

Consistently challenging despite all odds

Many have become accustomed to seeing Seattle atop to the Western Conference standings, and that's been a staple of Schmetzer's time with the Sounders. Since Schmetzer's arrival in 2016, the team has missed the playoffs just once in his seven seasons in charge - the 2022 campaign.

The 2022 seasons was also the first time in club history that the team failed to qualify for the postseason, but it wasn't due to lack of coaching.

The lone disappointing season was when Seattle were without key figure Joao Paulo due to an ACL injury, which hampered the midfield and the team's success as they fell to 11th place with 41 points in the Western Conference table.

However, Schmetzer still delivered joy for the Seattle faithful that season. The team lifted the 2022 Concacaf Champions League over Liga MX's Pumas, becoming the first side in MLS history to win the continental trophy.

Outside of the bleak 2022 season, Schmetzer has guided the Sounders to six second place finishes in the West (including the 2023 season), including fourth place in 2016 when he took over as head coach from an assistant role and led the team to MLS Cup glory that year.

Schmetzer's style of play has kept the Sounders fans entertained and dreaming for the most part, no matter if a player like Paulo or Jordan Morris misses huge chunks or even entire seasons.

Given the resources, Schmetzer has proven that he can deliver the goods as he has the Sounders consistently fighting for major honors, looking to add to more silverware to his resume that already includes MLS Cups in 2016 and 2019 as well as the CCL in 2022.

Veteran players continuing to deliver

Throughout the years in Schmetzer's tenure, plenty of veterans have been called upon and successfully answered the call in leading on and off the pitch.

Take Stefan Frei, for example. The 37-year-old, who's reportedly agreed to a fresh two-year deal to keep him at Lumen Field through the 2025 season, has essentially aged like fine wine. Frei joined Seattle in 2014, and he's remained as Seattle's first-choice goalkeeper all through the years with Schmetzer in charge.

The Swiss has kept 55 clean sheets across seven seasons, reaching 14 in the 2024 regular season, a new milestone for the experienced shot-stopper.

Then there's Nico Lodeiro, who has seen a reduced role in the past couple seasons, but he was still crucial to Seattle's MLS Cup wins as well as the Concacaf Champions League triumph. Joao Paulo sprung back to life in 2023 after missing all of 2022, solidfying his veteran presence in the midfield.

Although Morris is the youngest player mentioned here at 29-years-old, he's still been in the Seattle ranks for some time now banging in the goals. In the 2023 campaign, Morris notched 11 goals, the second-most in a single season for him after his 12 goals scored in his rookie season in 2016.

While MLS has shifted more toward a league suitable for younger players who are on the brink of stardom, the Sounders, under Schmeter's tutelage, have proven that veteran players will always have place due to their experience and winning mentality.

Making tough decisions with fan favorites

Veterans remain key parts of team sports due to their know-how, experience and leadership. But when these players continue to pick up small injury setbacks or even long-term problems as well as not being able to perform at the desired level, it can be come an awkward encounter.

Fans want to see players they've grown to love over the years, even though they might not be up to par anymore. For many, Schmetzer may seem like the bad guy in these scenarios given that he's had to make several tough decisions over the years with fan favorites to put the collective ahead of the individual.

Lodeiro, who's out of contract at the end of the year, still started 28 games in 33 appearances, but it appears that his time in Seattle is up as he hasn't been offered a new contract by the club. Lodeiro is both an MLS and Sounders legend, but Schmetzer may believe that they could be putting resources into a player who may be younger, or he could also just want hand over creative keys to Albert Rusnak.

We've seen the same thing happen with the likes of Ozzie Alonso and even Raul Ruidiaz who's seen a diminished role in the past couple of seasons as well as Clint Dempsey in 2018. Dempsey's was a little bit of a different scenario given his irregular heartbeat that kept him sidelined in 2016, but Schmetzer was still dealing with a veteran, fan favorite player that was approaching the end of his career - and he had to find a way to play without him just as he's had to phase some players out.

Frei seems to be the rare exception here as he continues to defy the odds by getting better in between the sticks as time passes by.

It may be hard for fans to understand why a coach may be phasing out a fan favorite, but deep down, Schmetzer has done that several times to benefit the team in the short and long run. Schmetzer's ability to take the emotional aspect away from his decision making in team selections is something that not all coaches are able to easily do, another key reason as to why Seattle continue to fight for trophies year after year.