Kim Kee-Hee shows you don’t need flash to be successful

SEATTLE — At 35 years old, Kim Kee-Hee doesn’t really have much left to prove. The centerback has enjoyed a long, successful career that has included multiple stops in Asia and now a second stint in MLS with the Seattle Sounders.

When he returned to the Sounders this past offseason, it wasn’t with much expectation. He wanted to play for a familiar club in a city where he enjoyed living. The Sounders just wanted a veteran presence who could step in when needed.

Through the season’s first seven weeks, Kim had only even made the bench a couple of times and had not yet played. But when Jackson Ragen was forced out at halftime of the match against FC Dallas on April 12, it was Kim who got the call.

Kim didn’t do anything special against Dallas, but avoided mistakes and helped the Sounders see out a hard-fought 1-0 road win.

Kim got his first start of the season against Nashville on Saturday. Again, he didn’t do anything spectacular, but he was clean in possession — completing 56 of 60 passes — and always seemed to be in the right place defensively in another shutout.

“That’s a performance that shows exactly why we signed him,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said after the Nashville win. “If I’m being honest, if I’m talking out loud, that’s a performance that people have to watch and so ‘oh, maybe I need to make sure I do my job.’ He was steady, solid, didn’t put a foot wrong and provided us some really senior leadership. He was great.”

In an era where goalkeepers and defenders are often asked to kickstart the offense and play with their feet more, Stefan Frei appreciates that Kim is a bit more “old school” in his approach.

“He doesn’t try to do fancy things,” Frei said this week. “I love that because he’s exceptionally reliable. Football is always cyclical, but maybe that’s where we need to get back to.

“It’s simple, but sometimes you can get caught up in all these additional things. That’s great if you’re capable of doing them, but you have to be able to do them really good.”

Heavy competition

Kim isn’t the only player who may be forcing his way into the lineup. Schmetzer has long insisted that no player’s starting spot is guaranteed and with several reserves turning to consecutive solid performances, they may get another chance even as the Sounders are at virtually full strength.

“It’s my job to win games, it’s the players’ job to play to their potential and make those choices hard for me,” Schmetzer said. “It’s just about as easy as that. The team has had two gutty performances and there will be some tough choices this week.”