Sounders midfielder Gustav Svensson has dealt with situations far more difficult than filling in at less-than-familiar defensive positions.
Back in 2014, Swedish import Svensson, 30, was playing for a team in the Crimea region of Ukraine when it was annexed by Russia. He’d lived for two years in the city of Simferopol, a short drive from the Black Sea coastline, enjoying a spacious apartment where he could stroll to the center of town for coffee, or meet friends he’d come to know there.
One day, gun-toting pro-Russian militia members showed up, taking over city facilities, the local airport and even putting snipers on rooftops.