If the Sounders have struggled in any one particular area early this season, it’s been in the important business of linking the lines.
And to better understand why that is, it helps to know the essential differences between Cristian Roldan and Erik Friberg, the latter of which has suddenly opened up Seattle to a whole new world of tactical options.
Friberg returned to Seattle for a second stint last summer after a few years spent bouncing around Europe. His role then is much the same as it is now. In 2015, Osvaldo Alonso and Gonzalo Pineda were practically pinned at the hip when the two started together, preferring to play off one another rather than detach and make lung-busting runs forward.