“This is for immortality”: CCL Final an opportunity to make Seattle sports history

“It’s for the Pacific Northwest. When you think about opportunities to host games in the ’26 World Cup, being able to fill our building for a Champions League Final is the best possible advertisement we can make for our community as a whole in terms of supporting a World Cup.”

Seattle have managed to stock the trophy case since the club’s 2009 entry into MLS, with four US Open Cups, two MLS Cups and a Supporters’ Shield already to their name. But there is undeniably something different about CCL given the reality that no MLS club has ever conquered the continental tournament, and the heavy degree of difficulty that comes with it.

“I think it would be the biggest achievement in club history, period,” said Lagerwey. “It’s certainly the hardest tournament to win, if you think about what you have to achieve just to qualify for the tournament and then the process you have to go through playing games both home and away, just a massive amount of travel, starting early in the season, just all the difficulties, there can be no greater degree of difficulty then winning this tournament.”

It’s an opportunity that Lagerwey dubbed “once in a lifetime”, with his hope that Lumen Field will be packed to the brim when the club returns to host the second leg on May 4.