After a long trip to Florida and Cancun, the Sounders were welcomed back to Seattle at Sunday’s training session with a bit of snow and light hail.
They trained in Florida for a week and a half. Then they finished the trip with a jaunt to Cancun for a training match against a Mexican club in preparation for their upcoming quarterfinal matches of the CONCACAF Champions League on March 7th and 14th against Santos Laguna.
But as it turned out, some of the players got more than they had intended on the journey. Eight of the players stayed home Sunday because they’d caught a bug while in Mexico which they didn’t want transmitted throughout the team.
So there were a bit fewer players on hand. We did get our first look at the new trade acquisition, former U.S. Men’s National Team striker, Eddie Johnson. He was recovering from a minor hamstring tweak that he’d suffered while in Florida. So he was a neutral for the early part of the session and then just trained on the side.
Also on hand was the new voice of the Sounders, Ross Fletcher. I got a chance to chat with him for a few minutes. He is quite friendly and easy-going and was very keen on finally getting a firsthand look at the players.
This Wednesday (2/29) is going to be the first chance that we’ll get to see the 2012 team in a match format as they take on another Mexican club, Jaguares de Chiapas. Admission to the friendly match is free (donations to charities encouraged), and it’s set to start at 7pm. I’ll be down by the field, so keep an eye on my blog (and Twitter feed) for photos from the match.
