RENTON – Positional flexibility has been arguably the defining characteristic of Alex Roldan’s professional career.
After being drafted out of Seattle University where he had been mostly an attacking midfielder, Roldan played more defensively during his first two MLS seasons. His big breakthrough came in 2020 when he got a series of starts down the stretch and into the playoffs as a right back.
With the El Salvador national team, Roldan got starts at left and right back, attacking midfielder, defensive midfielder and at right wing.
His latest move – and how easy he has made it look – has probably been the most surprising. Since a spate of injuries effectively forced head coach Brian Schmetzer's hand on March 7 against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Roldan has now made eight consecutive starts at centerback. The Sounders have given up more than one goal just once in that time and Roldan has been looking so comfortable that Schmetzer has even quipped that Yeimar Gomez Andrade can’t just assume he’ll be starting when he returns from injury.
That's more of a commentary on Roldan than on Yeimar, a regular contender for MLS Defender of the Year.
"It’s just that Alex has been a revelation," Schmetzer said. "That's the right word I want to use at centerback, because it’s an unorthodox guy we’re playing there. But Alex has done really well, and I’m talking about defensively, not just the opportunity he creates for us on the ball, but his defending from that position has been very good. Even against some bigger, stronger players."
Like most coaches, Schmetzer tends to prefer bigger players at centerback, in part because they need to match up with beefy No. 9s.
Standing just 5-foot-10, Roldan is hardly an imposing figure. But he never shies away from physicality and his pairing with the 6-foot-6 Jackson Ragen seems to have worked well.
"As every game goes by, I’m getting a little bit more comfortable," Roldan told reporters this week. "There’s obviously things that naturally don’t come to me because I’m not naturally a centerback, but I’m doing my best to learn as quickly as possible. So far, I feel like we’ve had good results in terms of clean sheets and our goal differential is really good.
"But I wouldn’t say that that is due to my performances. I would just say, as a backline, or even the entire 11, we’re defending together."
It’s that all-for-one approach that goalkeeper Andrew Thomas believes has been the key to the Sounders’ ability to limit opponents to a league-low .56 goals per game.
"We talk about people being able to play multiple positions, drop in and do the job," Thomas said. "Everyone's focused on knowing the responsibilities of the people around them. He’s been fantastic in that spot."
Related to Roldan's move to centerback has been the emergence of Kalani Kossa-Rienzi at right back. Now in his third professional season, Kossa-Rienzi has already made nine starts and logged nearly 900 minutes across all competitions.
Against Sporting KC last weekend, Kossa-Rienzi was one of the Sounders’ offensive bright spots with dynamic offensive movement in and around the attacking third. If not for some impressive goalkeeping, Kossa-Rienzi could have had both a goal and an assist.
"He has done so well," Roldan said about Kossa-Rienzi. "He has that stamina. He has that speed and athleticism … he does well in terms of creating problems for the backline.
"I think the balance of me being a little bit more conservative and looking to defend for him on that right hand side has given him a bit more freedom to get forward."
If all that adds up to the coaches determining that Roldan is more useful at centerback, that is just fine with him.
"I don’t think about it too much," Roldan said. "I just try to do the best I can in the position they put me in. Right now, this is what’s needed of me and looking to continue to help the team in that matter."
