As 2023 concluded, the reign of multiple eras in Seattle came to an end. Nicolás Lodeiro played his final season in a Sounders shirt, alongside the end of the iconic 2009-2023 Sounders crest as the club’s identity. Though we will not see Lodeiro play for the club in the ‘Next 50’ era, his legacy transformed the Sounders into an MLS juggernaut and forever shaped the future pursuit of championships. Starting from a struggling 2016 Sounders squad into a two-time MLS Champion and a CONCACAF Champions League winner, we now take a look back to reflect on Lodeiro’s time at the Seattle Sounders.
July 27, 2016 – Nicolás Lodeiro Signs For Seattle
The Sounders were in a state of crisis, sitting second-from-bottom in the Western Conference. The late Head Coach Sigi Schmid had just ended his eight-year tenure at the Sounders after a demoralizing loss against Sporting Kansas City. In spite of the team’s mid-season situation, Schmid left his position at the club with nothing but respect, love, and gratitude from the community, ending his Sounders career with five major trophies to show. However, the club was searching for a reviving spark to save the season, and the following day proved to be the most crucial day of the season. July 27 was the day Nicolás Lodeiro was announced as a designated player signing, and the rest is history. The 27-year-old Lodeiro, arriving from Boca Juniors, took on a multi-year designated-player contract, coming to Seattle with high hopes and ready to make an impact.
2016 – A New Hope
Brian Schmetzer, as an internal promotion to interim head coach, took charge with immediate effect. Schmetzer did not wait nor hesitate to start Nicolás Lodeiro, where both shared their respective debuts on July 31st against the LA Galaxy. Though the result ended in a 1-1 draw, the squad immediately looked refreshed and a promisingly different side. Lodeiro would open his Sounders scoring account with a one-touch curling banger on August 15 against Real Salt Lake. Lodeiro’s signature goal celebration was also introduced to Seattle on this day, as the team joined Lodeiro in the moment when he took off his boot to call for his late father.
Under the fresh Lodeiro-Schmetzer reign, a hot streak for the Sounders followed, picking up eight wins and losing only twice for the remainder of the season. By the conclusion of MLS Week 34, the team had come back from ninth place in the West to finish fourth, securing a playoff berth. Sounders supporters, at this point, could only dare to dream.
The Sounders entered the playoffs with 25-1 odds to win MLS Cup (per Bleacher Report), and after eliminating Sporting Kansas City with a late 1-0 victory courtesy of Nelson Valdez, Lodeiro shined the brightest against FC Dallas. Given the two-legged playoff format, Nico scored a brace in the home first leg, taking a 3-0 advantage into Dallas. The away meeting finished with a 2-1 loss, with Lodeiro scoring the one goal to keep the Rave Green clear of Dallas, prevailing to the Western Conference Final 4-2 on aggregate. Lodeiro would come in as clutch once again against Colorado after converting a penalty, and after an intense, competitive game.
Lodeiro, alongside many other notable Sounders, etched themselves in Sounders history after defeating Toronto on penalties in MLS Cup, defying the odds and marking the first MLS Cup championship for the club. While many may describe the cup final as an ‘ugly’ or ‘lucky’ victory for Seattle, the Sounders grinded over 120 minutes of constant Toronto pressure. Most notably in active play, Stefan Frei’s famous save, deemed ‘The Save’, still haunts Toronto supporters’ hearts to this very day. There is no such thing as an unlucky champion, however, and a pin-perfect top-corner penalty in the team’s shootout set up Román Torres to seal the championship.
2017 – Return to MLS Cup
The Sounders started their first title defense, looking to reignite championship form. After struggling to find positive results for the first eleven games, the Sounders found their familiar winning ways to finish the regular season tied for first place in the West. Though the club had a greater goal differential than the first-place Timbers, the Sounders barely missed out on the top spot by games won—an MLS quirk, where the league does not prioritize goal differential for tie breakers.
Alongside the strong regular season, Nicolás Lodeiro, in his first full season as a Sounder, crushed expectations in his usual fashion. Lodeiro started 33 times in the regular season and played 2,695 minutes—the most minutes out of any Sounders player that year. Lodeiro also finished the regular season with seven goals and one assist, one short of the season club record of 12 assists. One of the most notable games on Lodeiro’s record was the iconic comeback against the New England Revolution, where Nico found a goal and an assist to complete the three-goal comeback. Leading the team to a consecutive MLS Cup Final, Lodeiro played every possible minute in the playoffs. A rematch of the preceding final was set in Toronto, and the Sounders tried to play a similar game plan against the famously strong Toronto FC. The Sounders managed to keep Toronto scoreless around midway through the second half, and by the final whistle, the Rave Green came short of a second cup.
2018 – A Promising Season Ending Prematurely
Lodeiro’s second full season in the Rave Green was another classic, setting the club’s single-season record of 16 assists and becoming the Sounders all-time assist leader. The Sounders were, again, having a slow start at the beginning, though they managed to complete the turnaround in time to complete another strong regular season, placing second in the Western Conference by its conclusion. The depths of the 2019 regular season included a 12-game unbeaten run from the Sounders, which found Lodeiro increasing his goal and assist counts by four and six, respectively. During the regular season, a top Nico performance came during the 5-0 home victory against the LA Galaxy. Lodeiro earned two assists against the Galaxy but had the potential to double his actual assist count.
Lodeiro’s most-notable match of 2018 came against Houston, where he earned a hat-trick of assists on the road. Another major performance came on that heartbreaking playoff evening against Portland, falling to a penalty shootout in the Western Conference Semifinal. However, Lodeiro’s proficiency at scoring penalties saved the Sounders from falling in extra time. Ultimately, 2018 saw a devastating end to the season, such that the failure to eliminate the Timbers, the Sounders’ arch enemy, from the playoffs was unnerving for everyone involved at the club. Arguably, that playoff night against the Timbers fueled the squad for the next season.
2019 – Two Stars
mmediately from opening day, the Sounders started 2019 with no mercy for their opponents. The team scored 11 goals and logged four wins in their first five matches, finishing the other as a stalemate. Lodeiro had another productive season with 12 assists while netting 8 goals in the regular season. The Sounders, yet again, finished second in the Western Conference at 56 points. Despite struggling to find consistency in the final third of the regular season, the squad found championship form at the perfect time, just before the playoffs.
The 2019 playoff run is among one of the most famous time periods in Sounders history, and for obvious reasons. Lodeiro was, at the very least, in one of the best forms of his career during this time. Nico scored two goals and earned five assists during the playoffs, truly displaying why he became an icon of Sounders history. Arguably, Lodeiro’s best performance came in the Western Conference Final LAFC, who were the strong favorites to take the trophy home. Lodeiro contributed to one of the greatest upsets in MLS history on this night, securing a 3-1 away victory by contributing to all three goals, namely one goal and two assists. The victory was the birth of the “Feeling Better Than Bob” meme amongst the Sounders community, and most importantly, the Sounders set up an MLS Cup Final on home turf.
Another MLS Cup rematch was set against Toronto FC, with the obvious difference being that the third time around was set at a sold-out CenturyLink Field. After a scoreless first half, Lodeiro put on a show for nearly 70,000 fans—excluding the traveling Toronto supporters, of course. Between Leerdam’s opening goal and Raúl Ruidíaz’s stoppage time dagger, Lodeiro assisted the second goal of the game, setting up Victor Rodríguez with a perfectly executed one-touch pass. Through Lodeiro’s leadership and experience, the Sounders team looked like a different finalist compared to the previous two championship games in Toronto. On this day, Lodeiro became the first Sounder to lift the MLS Cup at home, and celebrations ensued around the Puget Sound for a second time in three years.
2020 – A Unique Season, With Another Return to MLS Cup
Given the nature of 2020, the second title defense for the Seattle Sounders took a bizarre turn when the COVID-19 pandemic put all professional sports leagues on hold. Though Lodeiro missed the opening two games of the season before the lockdown, he went on to start in all 20 of his appearances when the regular season resumed four months later. Going from a packed Lumen Field to an empty atmosphere, Lodeiro did not allow the change of environment to affect his performances. Alongside scoring seven goals, Lodeiro tied for first place in the assist leaderboards, making 10 assists in 2020. In addition to his productive performances, Nico scored a brace and made multiple game-winning assists.
Lodeiro was among the individuals who stepped up in the Sounders’ unbelievable comeback victory in the Western Conference Final against Minnesota United, assisting Ruidíaz’s equalizer and Svensson’s winning goal. Once again, the Sounders booked a fourth MLS Cup Final appearance, but not against Toronto. The third-seeded Columbus Crew battled their way to their first MLS Cup Final since 2008, scraping past the sixth, seventh, and eighth-seeded teams. Despite the Sounders being second-seed in the West, the Crew had a higher Supporters’ Shield standing, and thus the championship match was set at Mapfre Stadium. In front of a pandemic-restricted crowd of 1,500, expectations and morale were high for the Sounders, coming off that legendary comeback against Minnesota. However, the 2020 MLS Cup Final became a day to forget for everyone wearing Rave Green, where the Sounders could not get a foothold in the game and put on an embarrassing display, losing 3-0 to the hosts. While disappointing was a massive understatement for the result, the supporters and club felt a strong sense of pride for all the Sounders had accomplished since Lodeiro arrived.
2021 – Knee Injury Keeps Lodeiro Sidelined for Majority of Season
When the 2021 season rolled around, there started to exist some sense of normality in society, where supporters were slowly being integrated back into Lumen Field. Misfortune struck Nicolás Lodeiro when he suffered a knee injury, forcing him out for the majority of the year and requiring knee surgery. Following rehabilitation, Lodeiro re-aggravated the same knee injury during team training, forcing him out for an extended period of time. Lodeiro only made nine appearances for the team, making one assist earlier in the season. The Sounders squad had to learn and adjust without their captain if they wanted to succeed in the 2021 campaign. Luckily, João Paulo, who had recently been signed on a permanent deal, was found to be the solution for the majority of the season, working as the engine of the team’s midfield.
In the late summer, the Sounders looked serious about finishing the season strong. It was also around this time when Lodeiro underwent a second successful knee surgery, namely a right knee arthroscopy. Despite Lodeiro’s absence, the Sounders went on a five-match unbeaten run in all competitions, including the famous 6-2 road victory in Portland. Though, after the month of September and a painfully close loss in the Leagues Cup Final, it seemed the squad started to miss Lodeiro’s starting presence. The Sounders failed to win their final six games in the regular season, where the 4-1 early-October home victory against Vancouver would end up being the last win of 2021. The fear of hitting championship form too early was alarming to the Sounders supporters, and was not unwarranted. The Sounders missed out on first place in the Western Conference on Decision Day, after drawing the last game, and would go on to suffer a home Round One exit via a penalty shootout. Lodeiro was able to make a small handful of substitution appearances in the final stretch of the regular season, as well as appearing as an extra-time substitute in the playoff game. However, Schmetzer was easing Nico back into play cautiously during this time, as reaggravating his knee injury would be detrimental in the long term.
2022 – A Bittersweet Year of Immortality
The Sounders began 2022 with an immediate CONCACAF Champions League campaign, kicking off ten days before starting MLS play. Starting in both legs against Hondouran side Motagua, Lodeiro saw 60 minutes in each game. After dominating Motagua in the second leg, Lodeiro sat out of both legs against Club Leon—a rematch of the 2021 Leagues Cup Final. The club found themselves in the semifinal round against New York City FC, and Lodeiro started to find consistency again, starting and playing most of the first leg and playing the entire second leg. Nico, at this point, looked restored and finally bounced back from his knee injury saga.
The CONCACAF Champions League Final was set against Pumas UNAM, with the Sounders looking to become the first MLS side to win the competition. The Sounders rightfully anticipated the amount of pressure coming in the first leg in Mexico, and after going down by two goals by the 50th minute, the morale was seemingly low. Lodeiro played an integral role in the Sounders’ Champions League success. In Mexico, Lodeiro did not back down as the team captain and stepped up when the team was given a 77th-minute lifeline penalty. Converting the penalty, the Sounders kept up the momentum to level terms for the second leg. In the dying moments of the first leg, after a stressful VAR check, Lodeiro was given the chance to score a brace through another penalty. Under the immense pressure of setting the tone for the second leg, Lodeiro kept his composure and banged in the equalizing penalty to reset the aggregate score.
Scenes similar to MLS Cup 2019 were back at Lumen Field, where almost 70,000 fans packed the stands. The Pumas away support was also strong and loud, filling up their entire third-level area in the stadium. Thanks to the contributions of Lodeiro in the first leg, a home win was the only requirement to take home the Champions League trophy. After Ruidíaz put Seattle in the driver’s seat before halftime, Pumas responded with a series of intervals of immense pressure on the Sounders defense, eventually becoming desperate for the equalizer. In the final ten minutes, with the Sounders looking to edge out Pumas at the time, an unmarked Lodeiro snuck onto the top of the penalty box to deliver a slick no-look ground delivery to Ruidíaz, assisting him to double the lead.
As the clock ticked closer to the final whistle, Lodeiro found more glory by scoring the third, concluding goal of the final by a Jordan Morris shot rebound off the post. Lodeiro ripped off his shirt, celebrating with the supporters knowing the Champions League Final is unanimously in the Sounders’ clutches. When the final whistle sounded, Nico Lodeiro was officially set to become the first MLS captain to lift the CONCACAF Champions League trophy. Lodeiro was also presented with the tournament’s fair play award, eventually being named to the competition’s team of the tournament.
Returning to full focus of the MLS regular season and following a solid run in form in the league, the direction of results would turn 2022 into a vastly bittersweet year for the Sounders. The struggle for results seemingly began after the home loss to Portland, where a majority of the following games would be one-goal losses. Lodeiro, also around this time, began to show signs of declining. The string of losses meant the Sounders would be missing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history, marking a dark outlying MLS season for the franchise by finishing 11th in the West. Though the team’s performance was not a contributing factor, Lodeiro still managed to remain a top-performing player for the team by scoring seven goals and making 11 assists. On the final day, Nico scored a brace as well as the second-fastest goal in club history.
2023 – Lodeiro’s Final Season in Seattle
Lodeiro’s contract was set to expire by the end of the 2023 season, and it was not a lofty belief to think Nico would, down the road, retire as a Sounder following a contract renewal. The 2023 season did mark a decline in Lodeiro’s attacking performances, where out of 33 regular season games, he scored one goal, that through a penalty. Lodeiro was still a productive playmaker, however, maintaining an 80.1% passing accuracy and making 10 assists, along with one additional assist in the playoffs. The 2023 Sounders team notoriously struggled to score goals compared to other MLS sides, and would often rely on their exceptional defense to maintain leads in games. Throughout the season, Lodeiro was an inspiring veteran player to every player in the locker room, notably keeping his teammates’ heads held high after losses. Despite maintaining a high position in the league table, a slump in the summer raised alarms within the Sounders team, meaning changes had to be made. Following the Leagues Cup failure, Lodeiro surrendered his captaincy status in the greater interest of the team when he had a conversation with Schmetzer, the main purpose being a refresh for the squad. Captain or not, the contributions of Nico’s leadership as a veteran player helped the Sounders finish back in second place in a highly competitive Western Conference.
After the final home game of the regular season, Lodeiro announced on social media that 2023 would be his final season in the Rave Green, thus not renewing his expiring contract. Prior to his announcement that night, during the fan appreciation segment, Lodeiro seemed to be giving a final goodbye to the Sounders supporters, alongside his son, who reasonably couldn’t hold back his tears. Lodeiro was later seen hanging around the stadium, appearing like a man who was truly immersing himself in deep thought.
Going into the playoffs, Schmetzer took a similar approach to starting lineups by keeping changes minimal between games. Consequently, since Lodeiro started two out of the final five regular season games, he found himself as a substitute for all four playoff games. The Western Conference Semifinal against LAFC would end up being Lodeiro’s final game for the Sounders, as he was a 57th-minute substitute since the team fell out of the playoff picture following a close and controversial 1-0 home loss.
2024 and Beyond – Lodeiro’s Sounders Legacy Ends and Stays in MLS, Signing for Orlando City
Lodeiro ended his Sounders career as the fifth-highest goal scorer and top assister in the Sounders MLS era, as well as a player proud of the accomplishments and legacy he leaves at the city. Friendship has always been Lodeiro’s priority, cherishing friendship over silverware and fame.
On January 4, 2024, Orlando City FC announced the signing of Nicolás Lodeiro on a one-year deal with a club option for 2025, truly marking a new chapter for the Sounders alongside the club’s 50th anniversary rebrand. Unlike former Sounders such as Clint Dempsey and Chad Marshall, and the reception Megan Rapinoe received for the Reign, Lodeiro never received a tribute on a similar level. Likely due to the window of opportunity to hold a stadium tribute, the Sounders instead, on social media, presented sentimental videos reflecting on Nico’s Sounders career with his commentary and thoughts. A picture was also taken of Lodeiro with all seven major trophies he lifted for the club—a photo that sums up his time in Seattle.
With respect to the gargantuan impact Nicolás Lodeiro made on the Sounders since his arrival, Lodeiro deserved a better end to his Sounders career, alongside a larger tribute from the club to account for at least a fraction of the glory he brought to Seattle. Seattle is not set to play Orlando at Lumen Field in 2024, and therefore, unless the stars align in 2025 or an unlikely non-MLS home fixture in 2024, a fitting tribute will have to wait for the Sounders legend in the best-case scenario. Meanwhile, Lodeiro and the Sounders diverge onto separate paths and turn towards a new chapter of independent challenges. No matter the circumstances in the future, Lodeiro’s legacy transformed the Sounders into a titan of the league, becoming the royal gold standard of Sounders success.
Cover Photo by Aimee Worthington / Area Sports Network (Edited by Niko Antoun)