UPDATE: The Sounders made the hiring official on Friday,.
"Gonzalo was always the type of player that you knew would eventually become a coach," Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said in a press release. "His experience and leadership were valuable assets to our locker room, and he never hesitated to stay late and do extra work with younger players. I know he will be a positive addition to our staff."
The first of what appears to be several open coaching spots will go to a former Seattle Sounders player, Gonzalo Pineda. With Ante Razov leaving for LA Galaxy and Brian Schmetzer moving from First Assistant to Head Coach the staff should have at least a couple openings. Currently Djimi Traore and Tommy Dutra are the only first-team assistant coaches. S2 only has head coach Ezra Hendrickson. Kurt Schmid is listed as Head Scout. Dave Tenney heads the fitness and sports science department with Chad Kolarcik in support.
It was former Sounder Herculez Gomez who broke the news about Pineda.
Hearing MLS champ @SoundersFC is adding World Cup vet, former Sounder @GonzaloPineda8 to Brian Schmetzer’s staff. Formal announcement soon.
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) January 19, 2017
Pineda’s actual Twitter account is GonzoPineda8 if you you want to welcome him back to the club. Pineda spent the last year working with Univision sports covering MLS, Liga MX, Copa America and more. Pineda worked towards his ‘A’ License, and told SoundersFC.com that he hoped his long-term future was in coaching last year.
Pineda spent two seasons as a Sounders midfielder starting 48 league matches, scoring four goals. He previously played for seven Liga MX sides, as well as earning 38 appearances with the Mexican National Team, four of those at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Plus, he’s a Sounder at Heart.