Jésus Ferreira gives fitness update, shares first impressions

RENTON — Jésus Ferreira’s first experience wearing Seattle Sounders gear came a little earlier than expected.

The Sounders’ biggest offseason acquisition wasn’t supposed to meet his new teammates in person for another week or so, after they had already departed for Marbella, Spain. But he was unexpectedly excused from the United States men’s national team camp, along with a somewhat vague statement from the federation about giving him time to “return to full fitness.”

That set off a bit of mild panic, with many wondering if the Sounders had effectively acquired damaged goods.

After undergoing a battery of tests with trainers at Longacres, Ferreira had a chance to add some clarity to the situation.

“From the start, we knew there was an issue but we quickly realized it wasn’t an injury,” Ferreira told reporters. “My leg wasn’t there yet in terms of fitness to sustain matches. I was following the plan that Seattle gave me. I was supposed to be incorporated with the team (on Thursday).

“But we sat down and thought about it. We were going to have two hard trainings before matchday and I was only going to play 20 minutes based on fitness and the progressions. I decided that I’d rather go to Seattle and join them in preseason.”

While possibly not the exact outcome anyone wanted, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said he thought that longterm it’s probably for the best and even suggested it could be a “blessing in disguise.”

“I like the decision, personally,” Schmetzer said. “It gets him in camp and we see what we have.

“Then from a personal level, there’s a new national team coach, so Jesus is going in there and is not 100% fit. Sometimes first impressions are hard to overcome.”

For a veteran player with 23 caps and 15 international goals, the way Ferreira stays in the national team picture is by performing at the club level anyway, Schmetzer added.

On a similar note, Schmetzer said he was mostly unbothered by a comment Ferreira made on Herculez Gomez’s podcast saying he was hopeful that Seattle would be “just a quick stop” on his way to Europe.

“I don’t take much stock in it,” Schmetzer said. “If guys have ambition, what I always challenge them with is, you have to be the best player here for Seattle and really focus on that because that’s the only way you’re going to move up in the world. If you’re already thinking past this step, that’s never going to equate to any success.”

In the meantime, Ferreira reiterated that he’s happy to be in Seattle.

“I always say that god has perfect timing,” Ferreira said, adding that two potential moves to Europe fell through last year. “This opportunity came and I could not pass on it. It was amazing. With what the coaches showed me with their plan. Seattle is always competing for a championship.

“I’m here to win championships, win games. If the opportunity comes, it comes, but I’m in a place that is going to push to win championships. You can see it from the facility, the way we train, the care they give us. I’ve been here two days, but you can see the huge differences. I’m excited to be here.”

That’s not to say there won’t be things he has to get used to.

Ferreira was born in Colombia and spent the last 15 years in Dallas. When former FC Dallas and current Sounders teammate Paul Arriola picked him up from his hotel on Thursday, Ferreira asked “What time does the sun come out?”

Arriola responded “This is it. This is all you’re getting.”

Ferreira took it in stride.

“It’s awesome to kind of get away from the same scenery and environment,” he said. “I’ve loved every second of it.”