Isolation isn't too bad for Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan. In fact, his leisure time feels almost normal.
If the season were going on, Roldan would be playing video games and watching movies in his downtime between matches and training. And there's a solid chance he'd spend a lot of that time battling his roomate. Who just happens to be his teammate. And his brother, Alex.
“I’m a homebody, this isn’t new to me," Cristian told MLSsoccer.com.
Of course, Cristian and Alex have both seen the memes about how families who once yearned to spend more time together will be thrilled for the time apart once the stay-at-home orders mandated by the cornavirus pandemic end. They just don't reflect their particular time together under one roof.
“We’re not driving each other crazy, it’s quite the opposite," Cristian said. "It creates competition in every aspect, whether it’s video games, cooking or fitness. It’s been really good, we’ve been able to beat each other up so it’s been an absolute pleasure to live with my brother during quarantine.”
It wasn't always this way. Cristian, a year older than Alex, admitted to the normal brother-on-brother growing pains when they were kids.
“When we were younger, we beat up on each other quite a bit," Cristian said. "It wasn’t until we got older when we started forming a better friendship. We became extremely close and not beating each other up. It’s a nice change.”
Alex was selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft by the Sounders as Cristian was already making a name for himself in the first team. Cristian, now with 153 MLS appearances for Seattle, couldn't be more thankful that both Roldan brothers got a chance.
“That’s the beauty of playing for Seattle," Cristian said. "They took chances on both of us. Not just one, but both of us. It’s paid off. They started my career, they started Alex’s career and we’ve done nothing but give 100% back. There’s nothing like playing with your little brother on the field at the professional level.”
