RENTON – It has been about 16 months since Jesús Ferreira was traded from FC Dallas to the Seattle Sounders. Ferreira has now played his former team twice and only a few of his former teammates are still there.
But as the 25-year-old prepares to face them a third time on Saturday, he admits that it still feels “weird” to face the team he played for throughout his childhood and for his first eight season as a professional.
“There's still, like, butterflies,” Ferreira said following Thursday’s training session. “Going against your childhood club, the club that you grew up your whole life in … so, it’s exciting. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ferreira will likely have a significant role to play in this one. With Albert Rusnák unable to fully participate in training this week, it’s entirely possible that Ferreira will get another start at the No. 10 spot. The midfielder currently leads the Sounders with six assists in all competitions, and is tied for fifth in MLS with five assists in league play.
His latest came on Saturday when he set up Osaze De Rosario with a wonderful pass, even if the goal didn’t actually come quite as easily as it seemed like it could have.
After making a slick move to cut the ball back and then hit the pass in the same motion, De Rosario seemed to have a chance to hit a quick shot either with his left or by cutting it back immediately to his right. Instead, he took a couple of dribbles while moving away from goal before hitting a shot through traffic while back-pedaling.
Put 'em on skates ⛸️
— Sounders FC (@soundersfc.com) 2026-04-21T20:57:32.300Z
“It was a little scary,” Ferreira said with a chuckle. “Honestly, I thought it was dead but then he brought it back to life.
“I told him, ‘I gave you the ball for a one-touch finish’ and he decided to go all around the box and I was like ‘OK, fine. You do you, but just put the ball in the back of the net.’”
Coincidentally, that’s something Ferreira hasn’t done himself this year. For all of his playmaking, Ferreira still hasn’t scored, which is clearly something he’s aware of. During his FC Dallas days, Ferreira was known mostly as a goal-scorer and became the youngest player to reach 50 career MLS goals. But with the Sounders, he has just five goals in more than 3,600 minutes across all competitions.
“The coaching staff would like me to be a little more goal-attacking,” he said. “That’s something I want, too. But right now, I’m being the facilitator. I’m the guy getting assists. Whatever I can do to help the team, that’s what I’m going to do.”
In recent games, at least, Ferreira has shown increased signs of being more goal-dangerous, compiling five shots in 127 minutes. He had just three shots in his previous 481 minutes this year.
“Thankfully, I’m in a group of people who trust and believe in what I can do,” he said. “That gives me the confidence and the ability to kind of do my own thing.
“But I know some of the guys want me to be a little more selfish and that’s something I need to do. At first, I was trying to get them on my side and trust what I can do. After that, maybe they won’t question some of the shots that I take.”
