SEATTLE — Nothing about what happened Wednesday at Lumen Field was a coincidence.
The Seattle Sounders becoming the first Major League Soccer team to win the CONCACAF Champions League was a yearslong journey for all involved. The competition in its current iteration had been ruled exclusively by Mexico’s Liga MX, which has built-in advantages through its history, roster construction rules and the calendar. Seattle weathered it all. Pick any player, coach or executive, and they’re an important element to completing the ultimate puzzle.
Let’s start with the hometown kid Jordan Morris.
Growing up in the Seattle area, he’s living his childhood dream by playing for the Sounders. This specific tournament, though, brought back bad memories. In the CCL opener four years ago on Feb. 22, 2018, Morris tore an ACL for the first time. Last year at this time, he was rehabbing another ACL tear that cut his loan to Swansea City in the English second tier short and landed him back in the Pacific Northwest.
As he tried to work his way back yet again, it was a moment like Wednesday’s that kept him motivated.
“Last year was a really tough year going through a difficult injury,” Morris said. “To be back playing in games like this and winning trophies is kind of what you think about when you’re going through the rehab, so it’s amazing.”
He ended up being an integral part of the two second-half goals that stamped the win over Pumas UNAM, 3-0 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate.
Raul Ruidiaz, meanwhile, was of course going to play his part, scoring the first two goals of the game. When he joined the Sounders in 2018, he arrived as one of the top goal scorers in Liga MX with Morelia, and not much has changed stateside.
The Peruvian international has played in big moments before, but he didn’t hesitate to call this the best victory of his career. Many of his champagne-and-beer-soaked teammates backed that notion.
“This is the best one for me,” said Cristian Roldan. “Making…