Georgi Minoungou could be Sounders’ missing ingredient

RENTON — Georgi Minoungou is the kind of person who always seems to be smiling. The 22-year-old native of Ivory Coast may not be quite fluent in English, but whatever he can’t articulate with words comes across clearly enough in vibes. He exudes positivity in interviews, which just about perfectly mirrors his playing style, always toward goal and ready to make something special happen.

When Minoungou met the press following his signing of a first-team contract a couple of weeks ago, this energy was on full display. He greeted every reporter by making eye contact and shaking their hand, giving each of their questions a thoughtful and considered response.

In a sense, joining the Seattle Sounders after three seasons with the Tacoma Defiance is the culmination of a lifetime of work. But he also views it as just another significant step toward something even bigger. Minoungou doesn’t just believe he can be a star, he’s willing to put in the work, too.

“My dream was to be at the highest level — the highest, highest level — and I always pushed to get there,” Minoungou said. “It’s not easy at all. I’m 22, I’m not that young. You have to know a little about your future. I had to prove myself at Tacoma. There were definitely some challenges. With the staff, they’ve been pushing me since Day 1. I knew I could push more, have more impact. It wasn’t easy, but I pushed myself and I made it. My level is going to get better everyday.”

Overcoming adversity

Although Minoungou’s physical talents are easy to see — few players in MLS can match his speed and power of his first few dribbles — it’s a testament to his general outlook and work-ethic that he’s gotten to this point. Minoungou’s career, and general well-being, were almost completely derailed just as it seemed as though he was on the precipice of signing a first-team contract with the Sounders in the 2023 preseason.

The Sounders had seen enough promise in Minoungou after his first season with the Defiance that they decided to exercise their purchase option on his loan from Czech side MFK Vyskov and invited him to preseason in Marbella, Spain, where he was among the breakout performers.

But shortly after returning to the United States, Minoungou’s left eye began to swell and it was discovered that he’d need a procedure that could require the eye’s removal. Although that ultimately wasn’t deemed necessary, doctors did discover that Minoungou had lost vision in that eye long before and had been effectively playing with just one good eye.

The process for recovery forced him to cut short his trial with the first team and miss the first month of the Defiance’s season. During that time, coaches checked in with him regularly and he became even closer with Nouhou, who would visit on a near daily basis. Their friendship endures today, although not necessarily on the field where they go at one another with particular verve.

On days when Minoungou trains with the first team, coaches often make a point of telling Nouhou that he’ll need to be particularly sharp. Minoungou takes pride in pushing Nouhou as hard as any attacker in the league.

“I don’t care if you’re my brother or if you’re my dad, I go like it’s like a final,” Minoungou said.

Although the eye issue wasn’t literally a worst-case scenario, doctors recommended that Minoungou play with goggles primarily to protect his right eye. But after enduring fogged lenses and general discomfort for several months, Minoungou ditched the goggles and has continued to play without them.

Wade Webber coached Minoungou for his first two seasons at the Defiance and continues to work with him as the club’s director of development. He describes Minoungou as a man of faith and someone who believes there’s a plan for him. The struggles with his eye are just part of that, more of a detail to his life story than the prevailing narrative.

“That was a setback,” Webber said about the eye issue. “You do well and it’s taken from you. You’re tested.

“There were some moments where he was sad. That’s the best descriptor. As an adult, someone who has adult children, it’s hard to see someone suffer when it’s outside of their control. Lots of athletes make mistakes. But this was nothing he did. He faced his own sporting mortality and didn’t flinch, didn’t quit, didn’t ‘woe is me’, just ‘give me the goggles.’ He made his way through it and has abandoned the goggles.”

For his part, Minoungou doesn’t seem to want anyone else’s pity, either.

“This doesn’t affect me at all,” he said. “That’s not an excuse. I have one eye, but I can do better than those with two eyes. That’s my mindset.”

After Webber left the sideline to work in the front office, he was replaced by Hervé Diese as Defiance head coach. Minoungou could have hardly found a better mentor.

Diese grew in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa, and feels a sort of kinship with Minoungou, going as far as likening their relationship to one of an older brother as much as a coach.