There will be a, perhaps, surprising name on the list of players traveling with the Seattle Sounders to Tucson, Ariz. as they take their preseason training on the road: Steve Zakuani.
What at first seemed like a simply exercise to get into shape — something the 29-year-old did at the end of last year — is now something a bit more. When asked, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer agreed that Zakuani was someplace between a full-blown trialist and simply training.
“I have a very open book with Steve,” said Schmetzer, who was an assistant during Zakuani’s first five-year stint with the Sounders.