Who is Freddie Ljungberg?
That is the first question that will rise to the general public’s lips when it hears that Seattle has signed its Designated Player. Creating buzz is part of the Designated Player calculus and Ljungberg flunks that test. Outside of the die-hard soccer fans and underwear advertisement connoisseurs, Ljungberg’s solid career with Halmstad, Arsenal and Sweden doesn’t do enough to move the proverbial dial. 2. Ljungberg is constructed from a mixture of Faberge and fine china Take one look at his Premier League appearance record over the past seven seasons: 25, 18, 25, 26, 30, 20, 17. It may be tough to glean from those numbers, but Premier League teams play 38 games per season. And you’re going to ask Ljungberg to go from Seattle to the East Coast regularly? Ask D.C. United how well having a part-time Designated Player worked out for them this season. The lingering injury concerns present a real question as to whether Ljungberg can do the things that made him a success earlier in his career.
