TUKWILA, Wash. – Coming into a new team is difficult enough for a professional athlete. Coming into a new country after two months off is even harder.
Seattle Sounders FC 2 midfielder Irvin Parra logged his first minutes in a Sounders uniform last Saturday in San Antonio after spending four seasons in Germany and for Parra, it was admittedly a bit of an adjustment.
“First half, I kind of felt a little lost,” he said. “I had to get used to the team, used to the connections, get that chemistry going on.”
But the rust soon fell off and Parra, 22, got into a groove as the match went on.
“Second half I feel like I did much better going at players and just playing my game,” he said. “Overall I feel great with the team…It was a very special game after coming back to the United States.”
Head coach Ezra Hendrickson echoed Parra’s statements on his debut performance.
“I thought he did well for us; he’s very good one v. one, where we’re playing him on the wings," Hendrickson said. "[He was] a little rusty, missed a couple of touches but that’s normal when you haven’t played in a while. We’re very happy that he’s available.”
Despite signing on Aug. 4, Parra had to wait for his debut due to some unexpected circumstances. In an interview following Tuesday’s training session, Parra noted that he was actually supposed to play against Vancouver on Aug. 6, but that he then suffered a sprained ankle that set him back a couple of weeks.
Parra signed with S2 after spending the past four seasons in Germany. Last season, the midfielder made 10 appearances for Kaiserslautern II after scoring two goals in 17 appearances in his first campaign with the club.
Despite the recent injury, Parra said he felt good playing soccer again and is looking forward to helping the team reach the USL playoffs.
“I want to help this team go to the playoffs,” he said. “That’s my goal.”
