Soccer <\/p>\n
MLS’s newest club took a historic step from concept to reality on Monday as San Diego FC<\/a> held their inaugural training session, the expansion side welcoming players and staff for the opening day of their first-ever preseason.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That provided some simple, sensory joys for the chief architects of the fledgling organization to savor.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s nothing like smelling the grass,\u201d CEO Tom Penn told reporters with a smile. \u201cWhen you’re in a conference room, or when you’re in the initial phases of conceptualizing this, when you can get out and smell the grass, the real grass, and be on it with players \u2013 that’s a shifting into a new gear.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving the players here for the first time, seeing what we got, and hearing the action and witnessing this whole thing being born, it’s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n For SDFC head coach Mikey Varas, who is at the helm of a professional first team for the first time, it was the sight and sound of star winger Hirving \u201cChucky\u201d Lozano<\/a> and his new teammates pinging a ball across a manicured grass pitch at the Sharp HealthCare Performance Center, the club\u2019s 125,000-square-foot training ground and residential campus.<\/p>\n \u201cFootball is our passion,\u201d Varas said of his most visceral opening-day sensations, \u201cso just to hear the football rolling, and then being around the energy of players, seeing them do their thing, seeing them get to know each other.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s kind of unbelievable, right? Like, it’s a \u2018pinch yourself every single day\u2019 moment, it\u2019s an incredible honor.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n First touches. pic.twitter.com\/AhIZOoEmSa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) January 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n While Varas and his staff shift their focus to on-field matters, sporting director and general manager Tyler Heaps continues to build out the roster ahead of San Diego\u2019s MLS debut, a visit to near-neighbors and defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions LA Galaxy<\/a> on Feb. 23 (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>).<\/p>\n Two additions, Onni Valakari<\/a> and Alejandro Alvarado Jr.<\/a>, were already announced this week, and more are expected imminently, with Heaps pointing to a few key areas in need of reinforcement.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there’s still three to five players that we\u2019ll bring in,\u201d said Heaps, whose club was linked to a move for US international and San Diego native Luca de la Torre in Tuesday media reports.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are still a few pieces. We’re still probably missing a right winger, still probably missing another midfielder, another right back, and probably another center back. So those are kind of our key priorities right now, but we’d like to see the team [first]. So maybe it\u2019s not going to come in the next couple of days, but over the coming weeks I think you\u2019ll see a few more announcements.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201c???????????????? ???????? ???? ???????????? ???????? ????????????????????????????????.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/MhYRE2TGW4<\/a><\/p>\n\n
Roster takes shape<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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