Victor Rodriguez prepared for more expansive role at Seattle Sounders

Summer signing Victor Rodriguez is prepared to feature in a more expansive role for Seattle Sounders following a hamstring injury to first-team regular Jordan Morris.


The 28-year-old was signed up in early August with a view to adding more quality to the Sounders attack.

Rodriguez was initially expected to play a backup role in the Sounders squad, but his position has been changed in recent days after it was revealed that 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year Jordan Morris will be sidelined for weeks with a hamstring damage. The youngster suffered the injury during the 1-1 draw against LA Galaxy, and the impetus will now be on Rodriguez to contribute towards the attack.

“It’s unfortunate Jordan was injured but we’re a team with lots of good players. Obviously, he’s a very good player and it’s difficult to replace him but we have a lot of good players that adapt to challenges and a strong bench that we can call on many players to do that. I’m ready [to fill in] and I’m happy to be here. My teammates took me in, as well as the training staff, so that makes things much easier,” Rodriguez is quoted as saying on MLSsoccer.com after the Sounders’ practice on Thursday. Continue reading “Victor Rodriguez prepared for more expansive role at Seattle Sounders” →

Seattle Sounders winger suffers injury setback

Seattle Sounders attacker Oalex Anderson could be out for an extended period after he suffered a setback in his quest to return from an ACL injury sustained last season. The speedy forward had been training with his fellow teammates since May and appeared close to making a first-team comeback before suffering another setback. Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer is however optimistic that the winger will return to full fitness ahead of the 2018 preseason.

Speaking to reporters, Brian Schmetzer confirmed that Anderson is still sidelined after he twisted his knee awkwardly during a non-contact drill on Monday, he said: “He twisted his knee. It was his repaired knee, so obviously there’s some concern there. That’s why we had him come off the field. He was just by himself and landed funny. I feel bad for the kid because he’s super talented.” Continue reading “Seattle Sounders winger suffers injury setback” →

Seattle Sounders Only Manage a Draw in Victor Rodriguez’ Debut

Seattle Sounders were only able to secure a 1-1 draw with Vancouver Whitecaps in the recent league match.


The club have been on a great run of form over the last few weeks, but the streak of three consecutive wins was brought to an end with the draw against Vancouver. Still, it was a positive result for the club considering that most of the table rivals were also dropping points. After having had a mediocre start to the campaign, Seattle Sounders are now pushing for a MLS cup title. The defending champions are unbeaten in the last 11 league matches. The club’s last defeat was away against New York City.

Victor Rodriguez was one of the new faces for Seattle Sounders in the game against Vancouver, as he came up with a strong debut. The Spanish midfielder was signed earlier this month and the 28-year-old winger was able to get a penalty. This was converted by Nicolas Lodeiro, but Seattle Sounders were unable to hang on to this advantage. Continue reading “Seattle Sounders Only Manage a Draw in Victor Rodriguez’ Debut” →

Arsenal Sponsorship Deals: An Overview

We’re expecting an announcement soon that will confirm Arsenal dropping Puma as they shirt designers in favor of a £180m deal with Adidas to commence at the kick-off of the 2018/2019 season. Should the deal be completed it will nearly treble the club’s annual income paid for the right to design their team jersey, and take propel them much closer to the kind of income enjoyed by their top of the table rivals. While this is major news and yet further proof that the EPL leads the way when it comes to enhancing subsidiary income streams, it also provides us with the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at the many other sponsorship deals they enjoy.

Emirates Remain The Key Partner
Arsenal and Emirates have enjoyed over a decade of partnership with the airline proving a key source of funding for the 60 000 capacity, £390m Emirates Stadium. A commercial partnership was crucial in order to get work underway, as the club was not granted any public sector funding and despite their best efforts only earned around £50m from careful player sales (an impressive sum for the times but only an eighth of the total cost, not including a new training ground). Continue reading “Arsenal Sponsorship Deals: An Overview” →

Seattle Sounders sign Victor Rodriguez from Sporting Gijon

Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders have announced the arrival of Spanish winger Víctor Rodríguez from La Liga B club Sporting Gijon.


The 28-year-old had started training with the Sounders on Monday, but the move was kept on hold until all paperwork had been finalised. Rodriguez becomes the Sounders’ second recruit of the transfer window following the signing of Dutch full-back Kelvin Leerdam on July 1.

Rodriguez has spent his entire professional career in his home nation where he has racked over 230 outings for Badalona, Vilajuiga, Zaragoza, Elche, Getafe and Sporting Gijon. The Spaniard had been closely watched by sporting director Chris Henderson over the past 24 months, and club president Garth Lagerwey is pleased that the attacker has been added to the squad.

“[Rodríguez] is a player [Vice President of Soccer and Sporting Director] Chris Henderson has scouted for almost two years now,” Lagerwey said. “He’s seen him multiple times live and I want to give Chris a lot of credit because he really was dogged about this one. He had never been available and suddenly he was available and popped up and we thought, ‘Well, OK this is a guy we’ve been tracking for a while and are pretty excited about.’” Continue reading “Seattle Sounders sign Victor Rodriguez from Sporting Gijon” →

Neagle Returns to Seattle Sounders (Again)

A new face arrived at CenturyLink Field this week but it’s an extremely familiar one as Lamar Neagle returns to the club for his fourth stint with the team. The midfielder links up with the side once again after the Sounders traded a fourth round pick in the MLS Super Draft with struggling DC United.

Neagle has spent eight years competing in the MLS and has spent five of them in Seattle colours. Brian Schmetzer was keen to add to his squad and the acquisition of Neagle can only help competition for places.

Seattle Sounders are on a terrific run of form with their most recent victory a resounding 4-0 success against Minnesota at the TCF Bank Stadium. Away successes are few and far between in the MLS but Schmetzer’s men put in the perfect counter attacking display with Clint Dempsey and Will Bruin both on the scoresheet. Jordan Morris is also back amongst the goals, which is a huge positive for the club. Continue reading “Neagle Returns to Seattle Sounders (Again)” →