Sounder bolster backline bring back Roman Torress

The reunion tour continuous for the Seattle Sounders FC.  On Monday afternoon the club announced it had acquired Roman Torres from Inter Miami CF in exchange for a conditional first-round selection in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft.  The Torres signing is 11 days removed from the club’s announcement of re-signing defender Brad Smith.

The Sounders defense has been dodgy all season. Since the return to play the Sounders have recorded two shutouts, a 3-0 win against the Timbers on August 23rd and another 3-0 win on September 18th against  LAFC.  The shutouts can be attributed to the stellar play of goalkeeper Stefan Frei and poor offensive efforts by opponents in both of the 3-0 win.

LATE GOALS FOR NO REASON

The Rave Green defense is has been unable to focus for a  full 90 minutes. The lapse in focus has not been catastrophic but rather disappointing and frustrating. The defense has given up late goals when winning and head coach Brian Schmetzer has kept the company line when asked. You have to assume his team’s inability to close out games is a point of frustration for head coach Brian Schmetzer.

INABILITY TO SETTLE DOWN

Defenders Xavier Arreaga, Yeimar Gomez, and Shane O’Neill have been unable to settle down and find a communication rhythm. An effective defense must have the sweeper and center back on the same all the time. Torres was here in the heyday of Chad Marshall so he understands the nuances of defending in the defensive middle of the field.  

FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS

Torres made 80 MLS appearances (including postseason) for Sounders FC from 2015-2019, as the club captured three Western Conference championships and two MLS Cup titles. He started and played every minute of the Rave Green’s three MLS Cup appearances and scored the match-winning penalty in the 2016 MLS Cup against Toronto FC. In his 80 MLS appearances, Sounders FC held a 45-18-17 record, including a 11-2-1 mark in the postseason. Torres has started four of his five appearances this season with Miami.

Torres can join Sounders FC in training and matches upon completion of any mandatory quarantine period under local government and MLS health and safety protocol.

A longtime captain of the Panamanian National Team, Torres has 119 career international caps since his debut in 2005. His historic 88^th-minute match-winning goal against Costa Rica in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier on October 17, 2017 clinched Panama’s first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2018, where Torres captained and started every match. Torres featured for Los Canaleros in seven Concacaf Gold Cups (2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019) and was a member of the squad that won the 2009 Copa Centroamericana and finished runner-up in 2007.