Sounders player Osvaldo Alonso is number 6 on the team. He is a middlefielder who weighs 155 pounds and is 5’11. His hometown, which is also his birth town, is San Cristobal, Cuba.  Alonso’s birthday is November 11, 1985. He signed on to play with the Seattle Sounders on January 29, 2009, coming to the team from Charleston Battery. Just a few years later, Alonso became a citizen of the United States on June 16, 2012.

The Sounders started Alonso during 28 out of 29 of his games during his first season, and in 26 of those games, he played the full 90 minutes from start to finish. Although he missed three of the playoff games with a muscle strain, he did play the full 210 minutes in the games against Houston Dynamo.

Alonso is known as the “Honey Badger” on the field for his ruthless playing style. Known to go as far as harassing and tackling during play, Alonso is an effective offense player that opposing team members are wary of crossing.

In 2015, Alonso played 15 games for the Seattle Sounders. His career total as of the same year is 192. In the same year, he scored a total of 19 goals, with a total of 187 goals scored during his entire career as of 2015. His career best for the sounders was 33 goals in a single season, which occurred twice. He hit the high in the 2014 season as well as the 2011 season three years before.

Alonso has a club record of participating in 150 games against New England. In the same year, 2014, he was selected for the All-Star Team for the fourth year in a row. Fans have voted Alonso as Newcomer of the Year. His team has also voted him Player’s Player of the Year.

Before playing for the Sounders, Alonso played for the senior Cuban National Team. His first game was during a match between Turks & Caicos Islands in September of 2006. During the qualification for the 2008 Olympics, Alonso fulfilled the leadership duties of captain of the U-23 National Team.  In 2008, he was voted Rookie of the Year after he earned All-USL First Division honors.

Alonso is married with two children. His wife’s name is Liang Perez, and their children are Paulina and Dennis. His parents are Osvaldo and Maria, and they reside in Los Angeles, California. Aside from soccer, Alonso enjoys playing baseball.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia