Seattle Sounders FC designated player Freddie Ljungberg trained at Qwest Field with his new team for the first time Monday, although on a limited basis.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s nice to see the boys. They’ve been out traveling a bit, so it’s nice to settle here and we can start training. I could probably do everything in training. We just want to be careful in the beginning here, so I didn’t play in the 11-against-11.”
Ljungberg, who scored 72 goals for Arsenal of the English Premier League from 1998 to 2007, was signed on Oct. 28 through an MLS salary cap exemption designed to attract high-profile players.
However, he was held out of training until this week while recovering from a hip injury, and no one yet knows when he’ll make his MLS playing debut.
“We’re not pushing too much of a timetable on it,” coach Sigi Schmid said. “We want to see how he (feels after his Monday work), how he gets through (today). He’s trained a little bit of soccer before he came with a lower division team in Sweden. This is a little bit faster, tempo is a little bit quicker. So, we’ll see how he goes each day, and our expectation is that in two-three weeks he’ll be full-out in training.”
Ljungberg said he has spoken with Schmid about playing as a central midfielder who will move forward when goals are needed.
In addition to his physical work Monday, Ljungberg made a point of spending time with several of his new teammates.
“I’m sure we’re going to get along and play very well together,” he said.
Extra time
The Sounders announced Monday that they will meet Real Salt Lake in a U.S. Open Cup play-in game at 7 p.m. April 28 at Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila. The competition is open to all amateur and professional teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer. … Seattle is one of 13 cities in the United States that will host games in the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The competition runs July 3 to July 26. A game will be played July 4 at Qwest Field. Groupings and more schedule information will become available later.
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