When Nicolas Lodeiro arrived from Argentine giant Boca Juniors in last summer’s transfer window, the Seattle Sounders’ newest Designated Player hit the ground running.
The story has been told and retold: Lodeiro came into a squad that had just parted ways with its longtime head coach and sat at the bottom of the Western Conference table as the possibility of missing the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons grew ever more imminent. But once the Uruguayan playmaker showed up, Seattle rode the eventual MLS Newcomer of the Year to its first MLS Cup title.