SEATTLE, Washington – There were so many mainstays on the Seattle Sounders’ run to the 2022 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League title, but without question one of the key ingredients was the success of the Sounders’ right flank manned by brothers Alex and Cristian Roldan.
Both started all eight of Seattle’s matches in the tournament, which ended with Seattle’s 3-0 win over Pumas in the second leg of the 2022 SCCL Final.
It also made history as the first time a team from Major League Soccer won the SCCL in the SCCL era. It was no wonder that following Wednesday’s triumph, Alex was all smiles.
“I’m just extremely grateful to have an opportunity to win this title. Not many get this opportunity to get to this level and I think being the first is such an important thing for us. Winning a title is great in general, but being the first means you go down in history. You’ll always be the first, so I’m very grateful and happy to win this,” said Roldan in an exclusive postgame interview with Concacaf.com.
Making it even more special was the fact that the brothers achieved the feat in front of family and friends in attendance and in a city that he has grown to love.
“Doing it with my brother and my family here watching is amazing. We love playing with each other on that right side, we’re connecting very well. I hope there are more years to come where we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor on this field and the work that we’ve done to get to this point.
“Seattle is my second home. They’ve allowed me to come here and be happy and succeed here. I’m just grateful that they’ve allowed me to come here and do my part and contribute to this success,” said Roldan.
While Seattle will continue with their MLS campaign in 2022, they will also be able to turn their attention toward the club’s first ever FIFA Club World Cup campaign.
The potential chance to go up against legendary clubs like Liverpool or Real Madrid is already on the mind of Roldan.
“The Club World Cup goes back to the topic of playing big games, big tournaments and playing against heavy hitters from the world’s best leagues. It is a great competition for us, getting exposed to different teams and different competition is great a thing for us,” concluded Roldan.
