Match Fitness: In Living Color

Big, bright, and bold: while you could use all of these to describe Xavier Arreaga (pictured above), in this instance they seem more appropriate to describe his shirt. It’s an interesting look, and I appreciate the willingness to wear so much color, but it’s just not my style. That’s fine, it doesn’t have to be. He’s clearly feeling himself in this tee, and that’s what’s important here. While finding the exact shirt may be tough, if you like this style and want to try something similar yourself you can find striped offerings like this one from brands like Topman and ASOS. I’ll also add that, having recently clowned on Arreaga for some of his styling choices on the field, it’s nice to see him leaving this tee untucked.

On the accessory front, I dig the little peak of a gold chain Arreaga’s rocking. I do, however, wish that he’d upgrade his bag situation. Nothing against a simple Nike backpack, it certainly does the job well enough, but I’d selfishly prefer to be researching designer luggage.

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Kim Kee-hee is as handsome as ever. He’s also a sharp dresser and a talented soccer player, and you can always count on a solid appearance from him on both counts. While it’s reassuring to know that, week-in and week-out, you’re going to see the same sort of performance from him when he steps on the field, it is a little bit of a disappointment to see repeats in his outfits. I don’t begrudge him for running an outfit back if it worked the first time - I know that I’ve worn the same outfit to work more times than I could count - but I know what Kee-hee is capable of and I don’t think I’m alone in wanting to see him flex a little bit. That all said, this shirt still fits him really well, and he looks great in it. Let’s hope we see something a little different next time out.

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Cristian Roldan and Bryan Meredith are both more than capable of putting together a strong outfit. Cristian’s open, banded collared shirt here in a soft grey color - a slight departure from his usual preference for patterns and prints - is a great casual look, and Meredith’s polo is clean and fits just about perfectly. I’m not going to be focusing on their clothes this go-round, though.

Roldan and Meredith have given us the gift of accessories. Roldan’s sporting a fresh, gold-colored watch and a nice little cross-body bag. He might not have the fanciest bag, and it might not be the hyper-stylish fashion fanny pack that we’ve seen guys like Raúl Ruidíaz wear, but I appreciate that he’s trying something new for him. It’s a simple touch, and it completes the look well.

Meredith is back with his Ray-Ban Clubmasters, a pair that I can’t recommend strongly enough. It’s a familiar shape, but with details that make it stand out. The real star of his outfit, though, is the turquoise ring he’s got on. Given the finger he’s got it on, I thought that he might just have the most stylin’ wedding band I’d ever seen, but some times a ring is just a ring. That’s not to say that he’s single, though, as his Instagram suggests that he and his partner have been together for over eight years now.

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Nico Lodeiro kept it simple over the weekend, opting for a very slick black tee and his well-loved distressed denim. The length on the shirt is nice, longer in the back in a style that makes the shirt both great for layering and also a sharp stand-alone piece. The fit is really good, slim enough to indicate at a glance that Lodeiro is absolutely shredded, but not so much as to be skin-tight. As ever, his arms are filled with his mate accoutrements - the only accessories that he really seems concerned with.

Nico’s hair is at an interesting stage right now. I’m generally of the mind that, as long as it’s interesting, there’s no such thing as bad hair for pro players. Wacky dye jobs, wonky hair cuts, braids, headbands, or mohawks, they’re all fair game in my book. That said, Nico’s dye job is growing out, and the time has come to make a choice: he’s either got to cut it or dye it again, them’s the rules.

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That’s not some current Sounders player using that app that makes you look old, it’s Mauro Rosales, owner of one of the most magical right feet to ever step on the turf at CenturyLink Field. I don’t have a ton to say here, I dig the shirt, and Mauro looks great. I just think it’s nice that he was there as the Sounders took on Atlanta United.