I am so happy to be here, I can’t hide the happiness.

Miguel Montaño was all smiles on his first day in training with Sounders FC. The 18-year-old could barely wipe a grin as wide as the Rio Grande off his face as he encountered Seattle’s soccer press pack for the first time. For his inauguration, he was handed over to his fellow Colombian, Jorge Rivera of La Raza de Noroeste, who made it very clear that Miguel was among friends.

Not that he needed to. Montaño is accompanied in Seattle by fellow ‘cafeteros’ Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Fredy Montero, of whom Montaño said “They have given their unconditional support to me. It has been great so far and they are very supportive.”

Once he was handed over the anglophone press pack, his welcome was no less warm. Given the occasional bouts of grumpiness that plagued several Sounders stars in 2009, we asked him about the whether the smile was an indication of how he played his football. He found en even better answer:

“The smile you see on my face is the happiness I have coming here to Seattle. It’s a dream come true and I am so happy to be here so I can’t hide the happiness I have right now.”

It was a genial welcome conducted through Sounders new interpreter, who did a fine job of conveying the new arrival’s emotions, despite the poor lad having to answer broadly similar questions time after time.

Here are some highlights of the rest of the interview:

On first day training with Sounders FC

“Everything went very well today. I feel very comfortable. All of my teammates have been very helpful so far so today was a great day.”

On how he feels being in Seattle

“The smile you see on my face is the happiness I have coming here to Seattle. It’s a dream come true and I am so happy to be here so I can’t hide the happiness I have right now.”

On comparisons to Cristiano Ronaldo

“People compare me to Christiano Ronaldo mostly because of my haircut – the style of my hair. Ever since I was little, people said I looked like him. But everybody knows that Ronaldo is a unique player. He is one and only. I am happy to be compared to him but I know that Ronaldo is his own player.”

On his style of play

“I am a player that plays wide. I am an outside forward. I play on either the left or the right. My job is to shoot the ball across the field so that other players can get the goals in.”

On the opportunity to train with Sounders FC

“This is an incredible opportunity that I have been given and I want to take every opportunity when I am here, playing on this field with them [Fredy Montero and Jhon Kennedy Hurtado] as teammates. I want to take advantage of every moment I have here in this incredible stadium.”

On his family

“My mother has always been my guide through my whole life. Unfortunately, my father passed away when I was young but my mother has always been there supporting me, telling me to keep my head up and keep pursuing my dreams. [. . .] My mother has been telling me that she is very happy that I am coming here to the U.S. and she tells me to keep my head up and take advantage of every opportunity I am given here because this is not an opportunity that comes along to anybody my age. So she is very supportive and very happy that I am here in Seattle.”

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