Seattle Sounders forward Fredy Montero has lauded experienced teammates Kasey Keller and Freddie Ljungberg.

The 22-year old says the former US goalkeeper and the ex-Arsenal star provide so much for the young players at Qwest Field and are constant inspirations for the entire squad.

"We feel constant support from them at all times, especially us younger players that are a part of this short history of the Seattle Sounders," he said in an interview with mlsnet.com.

"We all know about their careers and the number of international games they have under their belts, both with their club teams and with their national teams

"This experience makes it easy to understand them, easy to know how they play and, of course, we have to show them great respect.

"On the field we know that everybody is giving their best effort for the team; we are like brothers, always defending the same jersey."

Montero also commented on the impact the Sounders have made on the competition in just their first season.

"Well ... people were not expecting it," he added.

"I've asked my teammates who were on expansion teams before, and more experienced teams always thought that playing the new teams assured them three points beforehand.

"Seattle has shown throughout the season that it has good players that want to keep on surprising the other teams, and what better way to do it than by winning the Open Cup."