New Sounders midfielder Mario Martinez, who participated in the London Olympics with the Honduras national team, mentioned today that he will be re-joining that team next month for Olympic qualifying.

“I think the Olympics was a big step; coming here to Seattle is another big step. In September, I’ll be with the national team playing,” he said. “So, yeah, I think if you look at it all together, my career is in a good spot. I’m very motivated and I will keep working hard.”

This is what Sounders coach Sigi Schmid had to say about turning loose a player who just made his Sounders Reserve debut on Sunday.

“They have World Cup qualifiers, so when they call them up you have to let them go,” Schmid said. “It’s not an option for us; that’s what the FIFA rules are. It’s certainly something that we knew was a possibility when we signed him – but also a reflection of his quality. He’ll be here for the Chivas game, he’ll be here for the Trinidad game, and he’ll be here we expect for the Dallas game as well.

And then he’s only going to miss one game. He misses some training time, but he’s going to be around for three games, so that’s good. … Obviously I think he played well at the Olympics, and we’re happy we did his deal before he had that run in the Olympics for sure. But it certainly had drawn some notice for him, and I think for that entire squad of players as well, because they did so well.”

Source: The News Tribune