The club announced that legends Kasey Keller, the late Sigi Schmid, and the late Jimmy Gabriel have been inducted into the Eternal Sounders Circle of Legends. The three icons received over 75% of the needed vote to be etched into the Circle of Legends this season, now joining the 1974 NASL Sounders team.
The induction ceremony will be held prior to kickoff of the Sounders vs Timbers game on July 16th, where Keller, Schmid, and Gabriel will be honored.
Courtesy of Sounders FC Communications
Kasey Keller was the club’s first starting goalkeeper in the MLS-era, joining after his final season with Fulham. Keller set the bar for Seattle’s culture in goalkeeping, inspiring both teammates in the locker room and young fans who aspired to be leaders. Keller chose to wear long goalkeeper pants in many of the games in his career, becoming a signature look on the goalkeeping legend. Keller retired as a Sounder in 2011, where in his final season, Keller won Goalkeeper of the Year, a second-consecutive Save of the Year, and a third-consecutive US Open Cup.
In Europe, Keller had a luxurious career, making 513 total appearances across playing for Millwall, Leicester City, Rayo Vallecano, Tottenham, Southampton, Borussia Mönchengladbach, and Fulham between 1992 and 2008. For the US National Team, Keller kept 47 clean sheets and made 102 caps, and five of those appearances came in the 1998 and 2006 FIFA World Cups. Keller was also part of the called-up squads during the 1990 and 2002 World Cups.
Courtesy of Sounders FC Communications
Sigi Schmid was the Sounders’ first and currently the only other head coach in the MLS-era, joining in 2009 after winning MLS Cup with Columbus Crew. Sigi won four US Open Cups and an MLS Supporters’ Shield while making the MLS Cup Playoffs every season in charge. Schmid was very close to making the MLS Cup Final as the Sounders head coach on multiple occasions, namely in 2014, where an away goal separated him and making MLS Cup.
In total, Schmid finished his Sounders career with a regular season record of 155-79-56band was inducted into American soccer’s National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2015 alongside Kasey Keller.
Sigi Schmid left his mark on American soccer, and MLS went on to rename its Coach of the Year award after Schmid, following his passing in 2018.
Courtesy of Sounders FC Communications
Jimmy Gabriel was the original Mr. Sounder, joining from Brentford in the club’s first-ever season in 1974, scoring seven goals and making 54 appearances. Out of Gabriel’s seven, one of his goals marked the first-ever goal in the Kingdome, which came as a header against Pelé’s New York Cosmos. Gabriel went on to become the club’s head coach from 1977 to 1979, taking over from John Best, winning the NASL Western Division and Pacific Conference in 1977. Gabriel came very close to winning the 1977 NASL Soccer Bowl, missing out on the title after a 2-1 loss to the Cosmos in the final.
In an era of American soccer that prioritized bringing in big-name players from overseas, Gabriel emphasized his NASL Sounders squads on American and Canadian talent, especially from the local Pacific Northwest.
Years later, Gabriel served as the Sounders assistant coach between 1997 and 2005, where, from 2002, he was Brian Schmetzer’s assistant coach. Together, they led the Sounders to win the USL league title in Gabriel’s final season.
Cover Photo: Sounders FC Communications
