Sounders quietly owe a dynasty debt to Christian Roldan’s hidden genius | OneFootball

Local boy does good. If a player comes from a local university regardless of his birthplace being two states to the south, he is local. Right?

Christian Roldan was born in California, where he went undefeated in his senior year at Pico Rivera high school and earned the 2013 Gatorade National Player of the Year. He then played for the Washington Huskies and contributed to their Pac-12 title the following season.

He won the Freshman of the Year honors over future teammate Jordan Morris and was offered to play for academy teams for both the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA. After two years at UW, he was drafted by the Sounders.

Even though he bounced around from position to position initially as he competed for more time on the field, Osvaldo Alonso became his mentor. He eventually replaced Alonso and has been one of Seattle's most dependable players since.

Other than his groin surgery and concussion issues in the only year that the Sounders failed to make the playoffs, Roldan has played in more games, and for more minutes than any other field player. In 2018, Roldan started in all 34 games and accrued 3,000 minutes. Roldan joined Alonso and Frei for making over 250 appearances with the club.

There are parts of his game that separate him from other defensive midfielders. He has shown a knack for playing the post on corner kicks and clearing out balls that had beaten Stefan Frei and were destined to be goals before Roldan cleared them from the line.

He has also shown the ability to make longer penetrating passes to the front line that split the defense and set the Sounders up for quality attacking efforts, which coach Brian Schmetzer would like to see more of. His other ability is to be where the Sounders need him, he covers the entire field in his play, and finds ways to contribute, even if he isn't credited for goals or assists.

Christian Roldan was called up by the USMNT on several occasions. He chose to play for the United States over other ancestral choices of Guatemala or El Salvador. He has made 30 appearances for the US with 2 assists and was part of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup team as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup team.

He drew criticism for his lack of involvement in scoring plays for the national team and his play went largely unnoticed by many. He was given credit for being a glue guy and a professional in the locker room, but his play, even though it was more effective than most of his teammates as the team struggled. The poor performance of the team and a new coach may affect his future appearances.

Seattle Sounders FC: MLS Cup: 2016, 2019, CONCACAF Champions League: 2022

United States: CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2017,[40] 2021[41]

Individual: MLS All-Star: 2021, CONCACAF Champions League Best XI: 2022[23]