My 3 Thoughts on Seattle-Pumas

Sounders Win CONCACAF Champions League, Making History for Their Club and for Major League Soccer

Jordan Morris and Raúl Ruidíaz played big roles in the CONCACAF Champions League final decider (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

SEATTLE — The Seattle Sounders beat Mexico’s Pumas 3-0 on Wednesday in the return leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final with goals by Raúl Ruidíaz (two) and Nicolás Lodeiro, giving Seattle a 5-2 aggregate victory and the continental championship. Here are my three thoughts on the game:

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• Seattle’s CCL title is the greatest on-field achievement by an MLS team in the league’s 27-year history. For the first time since the CONCACAF club tournament went to a league format in 2008, an MLS club is the continental champion. The 16-year stranglehold by Mexican teams on the CONCACAF crown is over. Never has an MLS team competed in the FIFA Club World Cup. That will change later this year when Seattle has the chance to go toe-to-toe with all the other continental winners in competitive games. For years, MLS officials have proclaimed their objectives of becoming one of the world’s top soccer leagues. But you can’t be one of the planet’s best leagues if you never even win your own continental championship. Year after year, MLS clubs have piled up failure after failure in the CCL to the extent that it became the soccer equivalent of Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown on an endless loop of despair. That’s over now.

• Seattle showed remarkable resilience. Losing starters João Paulo and Nouhou to injury in the first half could have been a killer for Seattle. João Paulo (out with a non-contact right knee injury after 29 minutes) is probably the Sounders’ most important player, a tone-setter who has become the soul of the team in the defensive midfield. And Nouhou (who lasted just 11 minutes due to foul-happy Pumas) is a terrific left back with international experience. But their replacements—Kelyn Rowe, the 30-year-old veteran, and 16-year-old Obed Vargas—did just fine after coming on. Vargas, in particular, was a revelation, a teenager who came into a huge game without almost no warm-up and held his own like a player 10 years older. Eventually, a deflating and debilitating first half for Seattle (marked by a 13-4 foul count) was rewarded in the 45th minute. Albert Rusnák’s driving run and cross eventually saw the ball on the foot of Raúl Ruidíaz, whose shot was deflected into the net by Pumas’ Diogo for a 1-0 Seattle lead. Instead of lamenting their key personnel losses, Seattle kept fighting. This team’s depth and resolve were impressive during the biggest game in club history.

• The gap between MLS and Liga MX is closing fast. Seattle totally deserved this trophy. The Sounders were the best team in the tournament, and there was nothing fluky about the two games against Pumas. I’m not ready to say MLS is better than Liga MX just because an MLS team won a CCL title. That’s going to take more years and more tournament victories by MLS teams, including in next year’s massive Leagues Cup tournament involving every team in MLS and Liga MX. But MLS teams have already largely closed the money-spending gap with Liga MX clubs, and roster spots 1 through 15 on MLS teams are much better than they were just a few years ago. The mystique that Mexican teams used to have over MLS sides, especially for games taking place in Mexico, has mostly gone away. MLS will pass Liga MX, maybe sooner rather than later, and then nights like this one may feel slightly different. But what happened on Wednesday made history, for Seattle and for MLS. And both groups should savor the special moment.

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What are your thoughts on the game? You can join the discussion in the comments below.