TUKWILA, Wash. — Throughout his career as an MLS talent evaluator, Craig Waibel has stood out with his ability to find players others may have missed. That’s how he was able to regularly put out competitive teams at Real Salt Lake while being outspent by most of the league and it’s what made him such an attractive candidate to the Seattle Sounders when they were looking for someone to replace Chris Henderson as Garth Lagerwey’s No. 2.
Rarely has Waibel been afforded the luxury of scanning a list of players, identifying the one he felt was simply “the best” and having the confidence he’d have the resources to push the signing across the line.