The One’s Who Got Away
As a fan of the Seattle Sounders, I have grown accustom to a winning team being put out on the pitch year after year.
But as sports fans always do, I am inclined to wonder what could’ve been had we kept all of the talent we have let go over the years.
So here is a list of 5 players that I wish could still go out every weekend in the Rave Green and give it their all for the Sounders!
Arlo White gets a nod as well, even though he was never a player, just the voice of the Sounders for two seasons.
1: Sebastien Le Toux
As the very first ever player signed by the MLS squad, Sebastien Le Toux gets the first nod on my list. Le Toux played 3 seasons in Seattle, with his best seasons being played when the Sounders were in the USL still.
Overall, Le Toux netted 38 goals, in 100 appearances for the Sounders. He also set up the game winning goal for the Sounders in their first of three consecutive U.S. Open Cup championships. The Sounders lost Le Toux to the Philadelphia Union via the expansion draft.
What kind of list would this be with out Kasey Keller?
2: Kasey Keller
What kind of list would this be with out Kasey Keller? Though Keller retired, and wasn’t officially let go, he has left his mark on the legacy of Seattle soccer during his brief three year Sounders career.
A native son of the northwest, Keller was an instant god in his return to his home state. Kasey played 93 of his 609 club games for the Sounders, boasting a record 457 minute clean sheet streak to start the MLS franchise off right in 2009.
3: Freddie Ljungberg
Freddie Ljungberg was the first high profile European talent the MLS squad signed. The Swedish international played in 37 games and scored 2 goals in the little over a year he was in Seattle. Ljungberg was traded to the Chicago Fire before leaving America to head back to Europe, landing a spot at Celtic in Scotland.
4: Nate Jaqua
One of the first players selected in the Sounders expansion draft, Nate Jaqua is another product of the pacific northwest, born in Eugene, Oregon. Jaqua scored 9 goals in 66 games during his three year stint in Seattle.
After the Sounders declined to pick up his contract after his third year in Seattle, Jaqua was selected by the New England Revolution in the MLS re-entry draft after the 2011 season.
5: Dave D’Errico
As a nostalgia pick, and because I went to high school with his sons Aaron and Adam, Dave D’Errico played for the Sounders from 1974-1976 in the NASL, and was their very first pick in the ’74 expansion draft.
During his tenure in Seattle, D’Errico played 37 games, scoring 1 goal for the Sounders.
Like a lot of athletes, D’Errico lost his starting spot in Seattle due to injury, and a contract dispute led him to ask for a trade to the Minnesota Kicks where he played one season.
About Clinton Bell
