Panama international Roman Torres (pictured) joined the Seattle Sounders on August 12, 2015. (Photo: Mexsport)
SEATTLE, Washington – The Seattle Sounders made their third major acquisition in slightly more than a week, announcing Wednesday the signing of Panama international Roman Torres.
The 29-year-old defender, who arrives from Colombian side Millonarios, joins Paraguay international Nelson Valdez and Switzerland international Andreas Ivanschitz as the club's newest additions.
“We believe Roman’s athleticism and leadership are valuable assets to this club as we head into the final stretch of our season,” said Seattle Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid. “He’s a player who has achieved success at both the club and international levels, highlighted by his standout performance with Panama at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. We’re going to help Roman integrate into our team as quickly as possible, and we look forward to his contributions at Sounders FC."
Torres’ entire 11-year career had been spent in either Panama or Colombia. He started out with Chepo FC (2004), before moving to San Francisco FC (2005-06) and winning a pair of Panamanian league titles. In 2006, his career transitioned to Colombia, where he played with Cortulua (2006), La Equidad (2007-09, 2012), Atletico Junior (2010), Atletico Nacional (2011) and Millonarios (2012-15, 2012 Clausura champion).
With Panama, Torres finished runner-up twice to the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup (2005, 2013) and won a Central American Cup title (2009). He has scored two goals in each competition.
Last month, Torres captained the Canaleros to a third-place finish at the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
The six-foot-two center-back has also played in six Copa Libertadores matches (2, 2010 with Atletico Junior; 4, 2013 with Millonarios).
Seattle is currently participating in the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League. The Sounders opened the 2015/16 edition last week with a 1-1 draw at the Vancouver Whitecaps and will return to tournament action on August 19 against visiting Olimpia.
