TUKWILA – At their Starfire practice site, Sounders FC players fill the air with conversations in Spanish, English, French and sometimes Korean. As the most popular sport in the world with an estimated four billion fans globally, a blend of languages should be expected.
But how the languages and varied cultures attached to them mix to form a team currently third in the MLS Western Conference standings is fascinating.
“Soccer is always a universal language,” said Sounders midfielder Gustav Svensson, who’s Swedish. “I’ve played in China, Turkey, in Ukraine where pretty much no one can speak English but you learn how to talk even if you can’t speak to each other.