Nicolas Lodeiro

Lore & Background

When the Sounders signed Nicolas Lodeiro in the summer of 2013, the club's identity shifted almost overnight. Before his arrival, Seattle's midfield was functional but rarely transcendent. Lodeiro brought a different breed of player: an Argentine number 10 who could bend a free kick over a wall, thread a 40-yard through ball in a step, and dictate the tempo of an entire match from the half-space. Fans quickly adopted the nickname 'El Loco,' and the number 10 became a badge of creative authority at CenturyLink Field.

The 2016 season will always be Lodeiro's crown jewel. Playing alongside Jordan Morris, Obafemi Martins, and a surging back line, the Sounders marched to the MLS Cup Final, where they defeated Orlando City 2-0 to claim the franchise's first league title. Lodeiro's individual brilliance that year earned him the MLS MVP award, a recognition that he was not merely a contributor but the gravitational center of the best Sounders team many fans will ever see. The roar of 65,000+ fans at CenturyLink Field as the trophy was lifted is a sound etched into Sounders mythology.

By 2019, Lodeiro's time in Seattle had concluded as he moved to Club América in Mexico. His departure left a void that the Sounders have yet to fully fill in the same way. For a generation of supporters, 'Lodeiro' is shorthand for what the club can be at its most beautiful: technically superior, fearless in possession, and capable of magic in the final third.

In Their Own Story

The evening air at CenturyLink Field in December 2016 carried the chill of a Pacific Northwest winter, but the 65,000 souls packed into the stands were incandescent. Lodeiro stood over the ball in the left channel, forty yards out, the Orlando City keeper one step forward. He took three touches back, looked up, and the stadium held its breath. The ball arced high, kissed the top of the wall, and nestled into the far corner. The net rippled. The noise that followed was not a cheer—it was a seismic event, a wall of sound that shook the concrete beneath the pitch. Lodeiro didn't run to celebrate. He simply pointed at the Sounders crest on his chest, smiled, and let the wave of blue and gold wash over him. In that moment, the number 10 was no longer a person on a pitch. It was a promise kept.

Reader's Guide

Nicolas Lodeiro (b. 1989, Argentina) joined Seattle Sounders FC in 2013 and became the creative heartbeat of the midfield for six seasons. Operating as an attacking midfielder, he was the primary playmaker, responsible for set pieces, final-third delivery, and tempo control.

His peak came in 2016, when the Sounders captured their first MLS Cup, defeating Orlando City 2-0 in the final. Lodeiro was named the MLS MVP for that season, a testament to his all-around dominance. He was also a multiple-time MLS All-Star selection during his tenure.

Signature moments include his free-kick goals in high-stakes matches, his assist-laden performances in the 2016 playoff run, and his leadership as a vocal on-field captain who commanded respect from teammates and opponents alike. His partnership with Jordan Morris and his ability to unlock compact defenses defined the Sounders' attacking identity for years.

Lodeiro's lasting impact is cultural as much as tactical. He redefined what a Sounders number 10 could be—unapologetically technical, fearless, and artistically free. Even after his 2019 move to Club América, his name remains inseparable from the club's most celebrated era, and fans still invoke his free kicks and vision when discussing the Sounders' golden age.

Did You Know?

• Lodeiro's 2016 MLS MVP award made him one of the very few non-American-born players to win the league's top individual honour during the Sounders' early years.
• He was the central creative figure in the 2016 MLS Cup-winning squad, a team that finished the regular season with one of the highest goal totals in the league.
• His free-kick technique was so reliable that Sounders opponents routinely set up double walls on set pieces, a rare sight in MLS.
• The number 10 shirt Lodeiro wore became so closely associated with him that fans still reference 'the 10' when discussing the Sounders' creative identity, even years after his departure.