TUKWILA, Wash. – Seattle Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso has something of a double-sided reputation.
On one hand, if Seattle’s 31-year-old captain hasn’t already cemented his status as the best defensive midfielder in MLS history, he’s at least squarely in the conversation.
But his propensity for physical play and laying the occasional hard foul has also earned the ire of some his peers, with an anonymous survey of MLS players conducted by ESPN FC finding that 25 percent of the 140 participants named Alonso as their choice for “biggest reputation for crossing the line with his behavior on the field.