By RYAN TOLMICH
In the midst of a rough stretch, the Seattle Sounders have bolstered their midfield with the signing of a La Liga and Bundesliga veteran.
The Sounders announced Tuesday that it has signed midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz from Spanish club Levante. An Austrian international, the 31-year-old midfielder has 69 career caps and scored 12 international goals
“Andreas is a player who is creative in the attack and dangerous on set pieces, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he can contribute to the group,” said head xoach Sigi Schmid. “As we head into the final months of our season and begin CONCACAF Champions League play, we welcome Andreas’ experience and poise at this critical time of year.”
Ivanschitz joins the Sounders after making 49 appearances for Levante in two seasons. Prior to his move to Spain, the midfielder featured for Mainz in the Bundesliga, as well as Panathinaikos, Red Bull Salzburg and Rapid Vienna.
In total, Ivanschitz has made 380 appearances and scored 62 goals throughout his professional career, while also featuring in the Euro 2008 with Austria.
“Andreas is a skilled and dynamic player that has proven his abilities in some of Europe’s top domestic leagues and at the international level,” said Sounders general manager Garth Lagerwey. “We’re excited to bring him to Seattle and help him integrate into our attack as we head toward the stretch run of our season.”
Ivanschitz joins a Sounders team that is currently in a rut, as the team has lost eight of 10. The Sounders will look to return to winning ways on Sunday with a visit to the LA Galaxy.
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What do you think of the signing? How will Ivanschitz fit in with the Sounders? Expect the team to improve soon?
Share your thoughts below.
Samson? Really?? Doesn’t Seattle have one of the highest payrolls in the league, maybe $15-18 million?
Wow, Red Eye has everything figured out.
Reminds me of Christian Tiffert.
Quite an unfortunates
Do you mean unfortunate last name?
At least it’s not Ivtheschitz. That could get confusing when Siggy is trying to get his attention from the sideline.
Seattle needs a new coach, lower Alonso’s DP to not DP, get your stadium with grass or pressure Seahawks to make themselves a new stadium.
I also have an idea for mls and garber, by 2022 raise the salary cap for sure, add a DP American spot, add a DP Mexican or South American spot, add a goalkeeper DP spot with different rules and make it 4 normal dps, making 7 dps in total plus Higher salary cap.
They should sign Messi too.
Ronaldo is more MLS style…Beckham United
Sounds like Seattle is getting cheap. They could have brought in a bigger name
Dude looks pretty good. Definitely think he’ll help.
———Dempsey—–Oba—————-
Schitz—————(New S American DP)
———–Friberg——Ozzie—————-
Remick—–Marshall—–Evans—–Mears
——————-Frei———————–
Valdez on the right. Solid signings.
Solid vet pickups that can hit the ground running, but why does Seattle continue to ignore the back line. Evans at CB is not going to hold up against the big boys…
Because they disagree with you.
As do I. Evans will be fine in the back. Just get him more games at CB. Ozzie being injured is not helping out the back line any.
Yeah, I disagree as well. I think Evans has done very well at CB. He and Marshall will hold up just fine.
as other stated, the starting backline is just fine. Plus, Lowe and/or Ockford are potential replacements for the future in the middle. Fischer looks pretty good on the right. Remick is playing well enough, and is young. But just in case, Correa is there as well.
I like Fischer a lot. Remick is still growing into a real player.
People talk about depth, but it is coming. Maybe for a good reason with the Sounders getting crush during many absences, but there are some very good player not getting playing time yet.
I still prefer Leo to Remick, when possible. Leo is slow and can’t keep up with his marks against teams like Dallas with super speed on his flank, but he makes MUCH better decisions with the ball at his feet. Hopefully Remick will improve in that regard…
While it may not be true in this case, as a general rule, it seems that MLS teams are spending the vast majority of their DP money on strikers or attacking mids. Given that, the offenses may be ahead of the defenses for a while.
this is also a reason that I don’t see the physicality of the league getting any better.
A inferior defender usually resorts to physical play to stop talented attackers.
Roman Torres just said hello. I hope you find that a satisfactory signing.