Two-time MLS Cup champion bolsters defense
Inter Miami CF announced today it has signed the Panamanian National Team captain, two-time MLS Cup champion and three-time Western Conference winner Román Torres. The 33-year-old center back joins Inter Miami as a free agent after five successful years with the Seattle Sounders FC.
“Román is an established leader whose quality, winning mentality and experience have led him to win multiple MLS titles, become the captain that qualified Panama to their first-ever World Cup and earn numerous individual recognitions,” said Inter Miami CF Sporting Director Paul McDonough. “He will solidify our backline and add leadership to Inter Miami ahead of the historic inaugural season.”
In his five seasons in Seattle, Torres played a key role in the Sounders’ MLS success, leading them to the 2016 and 2019 MLS Cup titles as well as the 2017 MLS Western Conference championship. Torres started in the Sounders’ three MLS Cup finals and scored the championship-winning penalty in the 2016 MLS Cup penalties. The Panamanian registered over 6,000 minutes with Seattle, appearing in 83 games - including 14 playoff matches, three Concacaf Champions League games and 66 MLS regular season fixtures.
Torres has been the Panamanian National Team captain for the past five years. Under his leadership and thanks to his 88th minute winner against Costa Rica in the last qualifying game on Oct. 10, 2017, Panama qualified to their first-ever FIFA World Cup in 2018. Torres then captained and played every minute of Panama’s historic World Cup appearance. The defender also featured in the 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2019 Concacaf Gold Cups, where the best countries from North, Central American and the Caribbean face off. The center back was also a member of the Panamanian squads that won the 2009 Copa Centroamericana and that finished as runners-up in the 2007 edition. After debuting in 2005, Torres recorded a total of 119 appearances with the senior national team, scored two goals and added two assists.
Torres has been named to the Concacaf Best XI, as one of the best players in the region, in 2015 and 2017.
Prior to joining Seattle, Torres spent three years (2012-2015) with Colombian Categoría Primera A side Millonarios Fútbol Club. In 61 overall appearances for the club, Torres won the 2012 Liga Postobón Finalización tournament, featured in four Copa Libertadores games, nine Copa Sudamericana matches and registered three goals and one assist.
In Colombia, Torres also featured and succeeded with three more top flight clubs - Club Atlético Nacional, where he won the 2011 Liga Postobón Apertura; Club Deportivo Popular Junior, where he won the 2010 Liga Postobón Apertura; and Club Deportivo La Equidad, where he won the 2008 Copa Colombia. He also played for Colombian second division team Corporación Club Deportivo Tuluá in 2006.
Torres made his professional debut on his home soil in 2004 with then-Panama’s first division club Chepo Fútbol Club, before moving to top-flight side San Francisco Fútbol Club for the 2005-06 season. He won the 2005 Liga Panameña de Fútbol Clausura and the 2006 Liga Panameña Apertura titles with San Francisco.
Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami will play all of its home matches at Inter Miami CF Stadium in Fort Lauderdale starting with the first-ever match on Saturday, March 14 against the LA Galaxy. Located off Commercial Boulevard and I-95, the stadium stands adjacent to the Club’s new 50,000 square foot state of the art training facility, which includes seven professional fields. The facility will be the home to all Inter Miami teams including MLS, USL League One and Academy. It will also host international clubs, tournaments and local high school sporting events.
For more information on how to secure season tickets, visit intermiamicf.com/tickets or call an Inter Miami sales representative at 305-428-0611.
