A unique and comprehensive look at the Seattle Sounders franchise and its storied run for the Cup

The Seattle Sounders were a sensation from the start, attracting crowds of sizes unlike any MLS team had ever seen. By the 2016 season, Seattle was averaging more than 42,000 fans per home game, the most of any soccer team in the Western Hemisphere, and more than behemoths like Chelsea F.C. and A.C. Milan overseas. But, for all of its early consistent success, Seattle had yet to actually win the league.

In order to reach the ambitious goals the club set for itself, the Sounders needed the jolt of a championship. To get there would require tumult previously unknown to a club built on stability, a clash of egos, and a title run so unlikely it could hardly have been scripted. This is a Cinderella story for all MLS fans and every Sounder at heart.

Matt Pentz's profile page

Matt Pentz is a Seattle-based writer whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, and ESPN, among other publications. As an award-winning beat reporter at the Seattle Times, he covered the Sounders’ historic run to their first MLS Cup championship. This is his first book.

“Sure to be snapped up by the same enthusiastic crowds that pack the stands for Sounders games, this book will also appeal to general soccer fans, as well as anyone interested in the inner workings of a successful sports franchise.” — Publishers Weekly

“A fascinating read looking at the Sounders rise from the inside during their season of glory, on and off the field . . . This is a book that anyone who cares about the future of the sport in this country can savour and learn from.” — Roger Bennett, Men in Blazers podcast