Sounders preseason camp arrives in hurry before busy spring | Notebook

RENTON — The offseason for the Sounders ended up being all of 45 days between the day of their loss to the LA Galaxy in the Western Conference final and the start of preseason camp Monday.

That’s barely six weeks off heading into potentially the busiest season in franchise history.

“By the time the offseason comes to an end you start to miss it for sure,” forward Jordan Morris said.

Almost all players were accounted for when the Sounders took the field on a chilly morning at their training facility. A few players were held back from getting into full training, including Paul Rothrock and Reed Baker-Whiting as they continue to recover from injuries lingering from last season. New striker Jesús Ferreira won’t join the roster until after his stint with the U.S. national team concludes following a pair of friendlies later this month.

But otherwise, the main pieces of the roster the Sounders expect to have for a congested late winter, spring and early summer on the schedule were ready for the preseason to start.

“Every season is a little bit different and the starting lineup on Day One might be a little different come toward the end of the season,” coach Brian Schmetzer said.

Morris was one of those players who had an eventful offseason, although without requiring any real effort on his part. His effort came last season when a career performance triggered a clause in his contract that elevated his current deal to designated player status.

Morris, newly re-signed midfielder Albert Rusnák and young forward Pedro de la Vega are the Sounders’ three designated players heading into this season. De la Vega’s deal is a “young designated player” distinction as he won’t turn 24 until next month.

“I’m excited. I don’t think it changes too much. I always kind of put that pressure on myself to perform at that level. Feel like I’ve been performing at that level. And like I said, kind of expect that from myself,” Morris said. “So for me, it doesn’t change too much. It’s just a title. Excited to be a leader with this group and push forward to win more trophies.”

The Sounders will spend the first week of preseason at home before leaving this weekend for a couple of weeks in Marbella, Spain. It’s the third straight season the Sounders will spend time in the resort city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Their first stint there came before the FIFA Club World Cup in Morocco in February 2023.

The time in Spain will be where the bulk of the preseason work gets done, Schmetzer said.

“In Spain, we’ll really dig deep into the tactics and the way we want to play,” Schmetzer said. “The games over there are against good competition. We got some good games lined up. We get excited about that. You’re playing against teams from Europe. It just feels different. The place we stay in Marbella is very nice. The training grounds are very nice. So it’s been a good trip for us.”

But like the offseason, the preseason will be accelerated for the Sounders as they open play in the CONCACAF Champions Cup on Feb. 19 in Guatemala. Three days later is the MLS season opener against Charlotte at Lumen Field.

“I think it’s a fine balance between having to start quick with Champions Cup, obviously, but understanding there’s a long season coming up and kind of not putting too much stress on the body too early on because there’s going to be a lot of games,” Morris said.

Settling positions

How Schmetzer decides to pair Morris and Ferreira together will be one of the big questions that will get solved only after Ferreira arrives at camp. Morris thrived last season playing at the top of the attack as the primary striker. But there are a lot of options for the Sounders to play Morris and Ferreira together at the top or have one play a little closer to midfield.

Schmetzer wanted a lineup with versatility and he appears to have received his wish.

“We’ll need to see him up close and kind of make those final decisions,” Schmetzer said.

Aside from the forwards is the question of where Cristian Roldan will be best suited. Roldan has played seemingly every position at some point in his Sounders tenure.

“It’s tough to say because every year I feel like I give you a different answer,” Roldan said.

This will be his 11^th season since being drafted by the Sounders and seems likely to settle into hybrid defensive/central midfielder role that he played for a big portion of last season. Roldan said that role could allow Obed Vargas or another attacking midfielder to push forward.

“So my job now is going to be how can I be disciplined, organize, manage our team with communication, leadership when we’re committing another guy forward?” Roldan said. “My job might be to be a little bit deeper, which I’m totally OK with. As I get older, I feel like I do a better job of trying to organize. I’ve seen a lot of games. I’ve played in a lot of games so being able to organize a little bit more will be my job.”