TUKWILA, Wash. – Erik Friberg’s second stint as a Seattle Sounder is underway.
The Swedish midfielder was officially introduced back to the Sounders following Seattle’s Tuesday training session at Starfire Sports Complex, unveiling his new number 28 jersey and meeting with reporters for the first time since his acquisition was finalized earlier this month.
Friberg, who last played for the Sounders in 2011 before heading overseas for family reasons, said that he maintained a relationship with several teammates and coaches after his departure -- including Seattle sporting director Chris Henderson -- and that the sides have had a mutual interest in a return for some time.
“I thought [that I would be coming back],” Friberg said. “I was close a couple of years ago and had contact with Chris Henderson every year, so they knew that someday I wanted to come back. Now I’m here. It’s perfect.”
Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid and general manager Garth Lagerwey have each pointed to Friberg’s versatility and ability to play multiple positions in the midfield as his biggest on-field asset as they decide where he will slot into their lineup moving forward.
“I think he’s a real versatile player from what I’ve seen in the couple days that he’s trained now,” Lagerwey said of his new acquisition. “He’s very clean, he’s very simple. Everything is one or two touches, he has a very good vision for the field. I think he’s a player who’s really going to help us connect passes.”
Although he is capable of playing as a wide midfielder, Friberg says that he feels most comfortable in a central role where he has played the majority of the time over the course of his last three seasons overseas.
“I want to play in the middle,” Friberg said. “That’s what I’ve played on every team. Some games I’ve been out wide, but if you see the last couple years, I’ve been in the middle all the time. It was the same here in 2011, almost every game was in the middle and I was outside some games. But normally I played in the middle. It just depends where they want to use me.”
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The 29-year-old was also known for his colorful personality in his previous stint in Seattle, endearing himself to fans and teammates through his sense of humor and a public affinity for tacos, qualities that Lagerwey and Schmid have said will bode well for Seattle’s locker room chemistry.
“He’s just an easy-going guy,” Lagerwey said. “He fits in well with the group. He’s friendly, he’s outgoing, things that make you likable in most walks of life.”
Schmid said Friberg is about 75-80 percent of the way to being fully match fit, meaning a debut this weekend in Seattle’s home matchup against the Colorado Rapids (10 pm ET, MLS LIVE) seems unlikely. However, he figures to make a hasty entrance into the fold for Seattle’s midfield for the goal-starved Sounders, who are in the midst of an offensive drought that has seen them score just twice in their last 450 minutes of action.
