Limelight finding Sounders FC midfielder

TUKWILA — The man in the middle of so much of Seattle’s success may not be Sounders FC’s best-kept secret anymore.

After a rookie season in which he was one of Seattle’s most solid players, Osvaldo Alonso is becoming a known commodity in Major League Soccer.

“I think he’s getting a lot more love now,” Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid said about the starting midfielder. “I think a lot of people realize and see all the things he does.”

Alonso, 24, defected from Cuba while in Houston with the national team during the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and spent 2008 playing in Charleston in the relative obscurity of the United Soccer League.

As an MLS rookie, he earned a job as a starting central midfielder, playing in a defensive role while Freddie Ljungberg was the attacking center mid. Alonso frequently won the praise of his teammates and coaches, but aside from occasional moments like a wondrous strike against D.C. for his only goal of the season, he played 2009 in the shadows of players like Ljungberg, Fredy Montero and Kasey Keller.

Maybe it’s the language barrier, or maybe it’s just the relatively anonymous nature of his position, but even if No. 6 in rave green isn’t piling up goals and assists, his days of flying under the radar appear to be over in 2010.

“They have a lot of references on who I am because I’ve already been playing here for a year in MLS,” Alonso said through an interpreter.

While Alonso has shown an ability to help set up goals—he had three assists last year and one in this year’s opener—it his work on the defensive end that has made him one of Seattle’s most steady players.

Frequently Alonso’s feet are where opposing attacks go to die. If there’s a loose ball, odds are Alonso will win it, and if an offense is building an attack, there’s a good chance he’ll snuff it out, which is a big part of the reason Seattle was able to hold opponents to 29 goals last season, tied for the lowest total in the league.

“His defensive instincts are good,” Schmid said. “He’s got good speed; he’s a lot faster than people realize or think of, when they think of Ozzie. He’s a tough character. He’s a little bit like a terrier-type of dog. He’s going to get in there and he’s going to bite you and scratch you and claw you until he gets that ball back from you. He knows how to use his body well. So when he’s in those duels with people he knows how to get his body in there and come out with the ball. He’s definitely, in terms of midfielders in our league, he’s one of top at being able to recover balls and win balls back for you defensively.”

And despite his age and relative lack of experience in the league, Alonso is comfortable taking charge when necessary, a necessary trait for a central midfielder. Take, for example, Tuesday’s practice when Miguel Montano, an 18-year-old Columbian who has been with the team for less than a month, was struggling with a drill. Schmid first tried correcting him from the middle of the field, then asked Steve Zakuani, who was near Montano, to help. But when Zakuani wasn’t getting through the youngster, Alonso quickly, and unprompted, took over, shouting instructions in Spanish.

“Maybe outside of the team he is (underappreciated), but on the team? No,” Zakuani said. “We know how important he is to us. He’s one of those guys where you don’t worry too much about him going into the game. You just know that he’s going to do his job and do what he needs to do. He’s unique because he attacks and defends. He’s a very important player.”

That importance, which has been known within the Sounders FC organization since early last season, is quickly becoming known around the league. Not that Alonso worries too much about the attention he does or doesn’t receive.

“I do my work,” he said. “I complete my obligations for my team. That’s my role and that’s what I try to do.”

And for over a season now, he’s doing it quite well. Well enough, in fact, that Seattle’s little secret is out.

Herald Writer John Boyle: jboyle@heraldnet.com.