Entering his seventh year with the Senior squad at left back Cameroonian international Nouhou is enjoying soccer and looking for a big bounce back for the Rave Green. Using the term bounce back as a relative term here. While the Sounders became the first MLS Club to compete in the FIFA World Club Championships and win their first game in Morroco, the club failed to make the playoffs for the first time in club history. Nouhou was a starter for African side Cameroon in last winter’s World Cup in Qatar. The Indomitable Lions finished Qatar run with a 1-1-1 record and an unforgettable 1-0 win over Brazil.
SEASON OF REDEMPTION
All of the above are great accomplishments for one’s country but not so much for one s’s club. Nouhou and the rest of the Sounders are focused on not just returning to the playoffs but adding another MLS Champion trophy to the awards case.
Practice Notes:
Head coach Brian Schmetzer acknowledges that striker Raul Ruidiaz is in a race with the clock to feature in Sunday’s opener. Diaz is nursing a hamstring injury. Although the striker wants to play Schmetzer said he is leaning on having the striker sit out.
Cristina Roldan continues to excel in practice. The midfielder looks lighter, stronger, and quicker on both halves of the field. I asked Jordan Morris and Schmetzer and both acknowledged that Roldan is fully healthy and settled.
