The Seattle Sounders appear to have settled in nicely at their temporary digs in Marbella, Spain, where they will be training until Feb. 10. SoundersFC.com is providing daily updates of their activities. So far, the biggest takeaway is that Spain is exactly as everyone had hoped in terms of weather, food and beach access.
There's plenty to love about Marbella 🤩 pic.twitter.com/HwlpbM7Dq1
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) January 28, 2024
Travel roster
Perhaps the single most informative piece of social media that has come out from the Sounders' time in Spain, though, was actually provided by the training center itself. They put out a video that had a bunch of clips from training sessions that allowed us to see just about everyone who made the trip.
One of the most successful 👏 @MLS 🇺🇸 teams over the last few years @SoundersFC in MCF! Very happy 😀 to see you back! Welcome 🙌 !
— Marbella Football Center (@MarbellaFCenter) January 28, 2024
Uno de los equipos de la @MLS 🇺🇸 más exitosos 👏 de los últimos años @SoundersFC en MFC! ¡Muy contentos 😀 de veros de vuelta! Bienvenidos 🙌 ! pic.twitter.com/iBNufFwzTI
Combined with a few more posts the Sounders have put out, I think we can reasonably determine everyone who traveled to Spain. From the first team, it looks like everyone but Yeimar Gomez Andrade (visa issues) and Nouhou (international duty) is now in training. There's still no word on when Yeimar might join, but Nouhou will presumably be there soon, as Cameroon was just eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations.
The non-first team players who appear to have made the trip are draft picks Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Tino Lopez; Defiance players Snyder Brunell and Gerogi Minoungou; and Academy players Mo Shour and Gallatin Sandnes. I don't know how likely any of those players are to make the first-team roster out of camp, but from what I've seen I suspect Kossa-Rienzi has the best chance.
Jeremiah Oshan
Preseason games
While we await an official announcement, it does look like the Sounders have at least finalized who they will play in Marbella.
On Wednesday, they're supposed to play FK TSC – previously known as Bačka Topola – a team from the Serbian top flight. TSC currently sits third in the Superliga table and were second in the previous campaign.
On Sunday, they're set to play IFK Norrköping from the Swedish top flight. They, like the Sounders, are preparing to start the 2024 season. They finished ninth in the 16-team Allsvenskan last year.
On Feb. 9, the Sounders are scheduled to play Odense Boldklub of the Danish top flight. They currently sit ninth in the 12-team Danish Superliga, which is in a winter break.
After returning to the Seattle area, the Sounders will close out their preseason schedule against the USL Championship's Sacramento Republic in a closed-door match at Longacres on Feb. 17. Republic finished atop the Western Conference in the regular season before falling in the conference finals to Phoenix Rising.
