TUKWILA, Wash. – Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey only got to play four games with star playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro last year before he was sidelined for the season in September with an irregular heartbeat.
But as Dempsey works his way through Seattle’s preseason training camp with an eye on a return to the field this season, the Sounders hope their pair of Designated Players can start to rebuild what looked to have the makings of an impressive partnership.
“That will be a work in progress still,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer told reporters after Seattle’s practice at Starfire Sports Complex on Friday. “Those were four really good games last year. We obviously hope to improve on that. But we’re also realistic enough to know that teams will now watch film. Towards the end of [last] year, they kind of figured out some of Nico’s tendencies. Clint [returning] would help relieve some of the stuff other teams try to do to shut him down.
“On the other side, Nico would open up stuff for Dempsey. So we’re hoping that continues in a good partnership.”
Whether or not Dempsey will, in fact, play in 2017 has yet to be concretely determined, although Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey expressed cautious optimism while discussing that topic with reporters earlier this week.
Dempsey, for his part, has looked much like his old self on the practice field, showcasing his usual array of flicks and tricks and even launching a highlight-reel, long-distance golazo with his left foot during a team scrimmage on Friday.
Speaking with reporters after that scrimmage, Lodeiro said his first training session back with Dempsey left him excited at the prospect of getting his running mate reintegrated into Seattle’s attack.
“Clint is a very important person for us,” Lodeiro said. “The most important thing is that he’s happy and he looks to be on-form physically. He’s going to help the team a lot and, in particular, I feel really comfortable having him around.”
The impending return of forward Jordan Morris from US national team duty figures to add another element to the equation. The trio of Morris, Dempsey and Lodeiro seemed to be clicking just as Dempsey was sidelined last season, most notably in a 3-1 road blowout of Orlando City that saw Dempsey notch a hat trick and Morris assist two of his goals.
“[Dempsey, Morris and I] are going to have to work a lot,” Lodeiro said. “The names don’t mean anything, we’ve got work hard at it. We’ve got to learn each other’s games and try to do what we did when all three of us played together.”
