Raúl Ruidíaz built a singular legacy in Seattle

LOS ANGELES — With confetti cannons firing behind him, celebratory music blasting in the background and his teammates mostly consoling one another, Raúl Ruidíaz stood alone near midfield, arms crossed and just watched.

More than likely, Ruidíaz knew Saturday’s Western Conference final was the last game he had played for the Seattle Sounders, a team he helped deliver an MLS Cup in 2019, the Concacaf Champions League trophy in 2022 and for whom he established himself as the all-time leading scorer during seven seasons.

That was confirmed on Wednesday when the Sounders announced their end-of-season roster decisions, which included a farewell note to Ruidíaz. In the note, head coach Brian Schmetzer called Ruidíaz “a player who always rose to the occasion when it mattered most,” while GM Craig Waibel said he “left a lasting legacy.”

None of this should have come as a huge surprise. The writing has been on the wall for months, if not longer, that this would likely be Ruidíaz’s last season with the Sounders. Ruidíaz was in the final year of his contract and was coming off the least productive season of his prolific career, having struggled to stay healthy since a hamstring injury sidelined him in late 2021.

Beyond any injury concerns, Ruidíaz had also made it clear he was unhappy with his role at various times this year. At one point this summer, he was suspended following a postgame argument with coaches about his playing time. More recently, there was an anonymous report about his displeasure with how his benching had been handled and that he had already decided to leave the team in the offseason.

In that sense, that he and head coach Brian Schmetzer had even gotten to a point that Ruidíaz played in all four playoff games was a testament to his professionalism and commitment. Despite the various flashpoints, Schmetzer had insisted all along that he believed Ruidíaz would continue to put in the work, likely pushed by his desire to not let down his teammates.

At no point over the final few months did Ruidíaz ever show a noticeable lack of effort in training and he was as ready as ever to contribute once the playoffs came around.

Although Ruidíaz was unable to find the net in any of his four playoff appearances, he still managed to provide some memorable moments. It was his Panenka in the first round of the penalty shootout in Game 1 against the Houston Dynamo that set the tone. Dynamo goalkeeper Steve Clark appeared to say something to Ruidíaz after the attempt. Ruidíaz just gave him a sly shrug.

In the Game 2 shootout, that sequence still seemed to be on Clark’s mind. Ruidíaz went fifth in the shootout and blasted his attempt past Clark, who seemed to hesitate a beat too long before lunging to his right. Clark could just shake his head as he pulled the ball out of the net.

Ruidíaz left opposing goalkeepers with similar levels of frustrations a lot during his Sounders career. Almost from the moment he joined the Sounders during the summer of 2018, he proved to be one of the league’s most dangerous strikers. Ruidíaz could score from almost anywhere, firing shots from all over the field with a variety of techniques. At his best, he was just as adept at making a near post run as he was at peeling off to receive a pass from the top of the box.

What made him especially dangerous was how much power he could unleash from a minimal wind-up. Ruidíaz seemed to have a spring-loaded hip, always ready to shoot from a variety of angles.

The goal I think everyone remembers from Ruidíaz was that type of play. Facing an Atlanta United team that was the defending MLS Cup champion in 2019, Ruidíaz controlled a pass from Cristian Roldan by chesting it down, then took a dribble off his head to evade one defender, rainbowed centerback Miles Robinson with a quick flick and then blasted it past goalkeeper Brad Guzan on the volley.

What also made Ruidíaz special was his sense of the moment. He scored three goals in his first MLS postseason, including a full volley in the 3rd minute of second-half stoppage time that sent a game against the Portland Timbers into overtime. Among the 86 goals he scored for the Sounders during his seven seasons, 13 were against the Timbers, nine were in the postseason, five more came in international cup competitions and 17 came in the 85th minute or later.

The one achievement that Ruidíaz didn’t accomplish here was a hat trick. On 17 different occasions, he scored a brace only to come up one goal short. That happened twice in 2024, both toward the start of the season when for a brief period it looked like he may have rediscovered some old magic.

Despite playing with the backups through preseason, Ruidíaz started the season-opener when the Sounders were hit by a rash of injuries. While being asked to play more as a withdrawn forward, Ruidíaz had four goals in his first six appearances.

When he scored the game-winner against the Timbers on May 12, he was sitting on seven goals through 12 games. But in his next four appearances, Ruidíaz went scoreless and didn’t look particularly dangerous in any of them. His struggles were particularly obvious in a 2-1 loss to Sporting KC on June 8, as he simply failed to make several runs.

Perhaps in an attempt to keep himself fit after missing more than half of the Sounders’ games in the previous two seasons, Ruidíaz had altered his game. Rather than making hard runs to the near post, looking for stray balls in the box or always being available when his teammates were on the break, Ruidíaz spent most of his time hovering around the top of the penalty area. He ended finishing the season with an average shot distance of 21.7 yards, more than three yards longer than in any previous season and four yards longer than his Sounders career average. Although he finished the season with 25% more touches per 90 minutes than his career average, he actually saw a decrease in touches inside the penalty area.

Ruidíaz was benched the following game, and didn’t even play. He came off the bench the next two games, but did score the equalizer in a 3-2 come-from-behind win over FC Dallas. He celebrated the goal by running to the bench and pointing at the name on the back of his jersey. Schmetzer acknowledged the gesture was likely aimed at him, a message to “not to forget about me.”

While putting on a positive face in public, apparently the scene was very different in the locker room. Sounder at Heart reported that Ruidíaz and Nouhou got into a locker room argument with Schmetzer following the game and were effectively suspended for a week.

With Ruidíaz already in the final year of his contract, it would not have been the most surprising outcome if he fell completely out of favor at that point.

Ruidíaz didn’t make another start until the playoffs, but he did continue to be a key part of Schmetzer’s rotation. He also continued to serve as a mentor and friend of many of the team’s younger players, relationships he’d gone out of his way to build during his seven seasons. Ruidíaz was a frequent carpool partner of Danny Leyva, a player 13 years his junior. That sort of relationship was perhaps best exemplified in the CCL final when he celebrated his goal by jumping the ad boards and embracing a group of unrostered players who were sitting in a pitchside suite.

Ruidíaz was a star who seemed to fit Seattle just about perfectly. He was willing to work, but had a flair for the dramatic. He wasn’t afraid to puff out his chest, but he also felt accessible and down to earth. He was capable of almost unfathomable displays of skill, but understood when to put his ego aside for the betterment of the group.

Ruidíaz exceeded any reasonable expectations for his time here. He delivered on every possible promise. The ending he got was something short of perfect, but there was something fitting about that last image of him in a Sounders jersey. He wasn’t longingly watching the Galaxy celebrate and wondering what could have been, he was watching his teammates and likely recalling the memories they made together.