How Alex Roldan distinguished himself from his brother Cristian – The Athletic

One of the devastating elements of professional sports is how quickly squad decisions must be made after a championship. The thrill of glory still makes everyone emotional, the dressing room floor is still stained with champagne, but the bloodless between who is cut and who is renewed cannot be delayed.

So while some players flew to Cabo or Vegas to keep the party going, others were called into the superintendent’s office to be thanked for their service – but sorry, that won’t. be required again next season.

This is the reality of Alex Roldan in the winter of 2019.

The Sounders experienced one of the greatest days in Seattle football history, as they won the club’s second MLS Cup in front of a nearly 70,000-capacity crowd at the back yard known as CenturyLink. Field. The feeling of mutual love, recorded in history, was carried over to the championship parade a few days later, when thousands of others were bathed in reflected light. That only deepened Roldan’s hurt feelings.

Sure, he wasn’t necessarily on the Seattle starting line-up, but he did appear in 28 games in his first two seasons in the MLS. He thinks he might be getting a stark warning about the spots he needs to improve on. He didn’t expect the carpet to be yanked completely from beneath his feet.

He was told the Sounders would not choose his contract option. He is free to try his luck elsewhere, and if nothing goes wrong, he is welcome to try to reclaim his spot at next pre-season camp.

Now, Roldan loves Seattle. A native of Artesia, California, Pacific Northwest became an adopter.