The Seattle Sounders FC added another international star to their
roster, signing Swiss national forward Blaise Nkufo to an 18-month
contract on Thursday.
The free transfer of Nkufo (KOOH-fo) to Seattle won't be
completed until July when his commitments to his current European
club team, FC Twente in Holland, are complete and he is done
playing for the Swiss national team in the World Cup.
The earliest Nkufo could join Seattle would be for its July
15 game at D.C. United.
"He's big, strong, powerful, can hold the ball extremely well
in the box, good technically. He is a natural goal scorer and has a
nose for the goal," Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer said.
"He's slightly different than some of our guys today. Blaise is a
pure, experienced, successful goal scorer."
Nkufo is the all-time scoring leader for Twente with 111
career goals in his seventh season with the powerful Dutch club
team, which currently trails PSV Eindhoven in Holland's first
division. He also has 27 caps with the Swiss national team and
scored five goals during World Cup qualifying.
Even at age 34, Nkufo said the amount of games he could end
up playing in 2010 is not a concern.
"Last year is proof I can play a lot of games in Europe,"
said Nkufo, who played 43 games in the 2008-09 season. "I do
believe I can do that. I need the time to adapt, maybe the first
games, but it should not be a problem."
Nkufo's deal covers the rest of the 2010 season and all of
2011. Hanauer said there is an option for the 2012 season as well,
although the exact terms of how Nkufo's contract will be structure
is dependent on the new collective bargaining agreement the MLS is
currently working on.
"We'll let the CBA discussions and rules come out and then
make decisions on how he fits on our roster," Hanauer said. "Our
objective is always to get players on our roster at the lowest cap
number possible."
Contact between Nkufo and the Sounders first started about
six months ago and included Nkufo visiting Seattle in December. He
said he was impressed by the organization and the Sounders'
facilities.
Seattle will be the 11th different club for Nkufo, who moved
from Zaire to Switzerland when he was 7 years old. The majority of
his career has been with Twente, where Nkufo has scored at least 14
goals in five of the previous six season. He has nine goals in 24
games this year.
"Sometimes you have to go with your feeling and the time I
spent there I had a good feeling," Nkufo said. "The people I met
give me a lot of confidence for the future."
