While there's a certain weight to carry as a team's first marquee player signing, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is tackling his role at San Diego FC with enthusiasm.
Lozano is the star on Major League Soccer's 30th team, which kicks off its first season Sunday with a match on the road against the defending league champion LA Galaxy.
Lozano said he's looking forward to seeing where San Diego is at to start the season, measuring his club against one of the league's top teams.
“I think it’s a great game to see what we have to improve, what we have to put in a little more. But I think that personally, and from what I have seen, I think we are going to get there. I think we are working very well, we are working on the details and I think we are on the right track,” Lozano said.
Lozano was signed as the team's first designated player last June, but he remained with PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands until his formal transfer at the beginning of this year.
A 29-year-old Mexico City native, Lozano has also played for Pachuca in Liga MX and Italian top-tier club Napoli. He also has 18 goals in 70 appearances with the Mexican national team and played in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
He said San Diego FC has exceeded his expectations so far.
“I am super happy here in San Diego, both in the club and in the city, right?” he said. “But well, personally I think I’m going to try to be at my highest level. I am preparing very hard to get to the season in the best way and compete in the best way.”
Lozano will be helped in the team's first season by midfielder Luca de la Torre, a San Diego native on loan from Celta de Vigo in LaLiga who also plays for the U.S. Winger Anders Dreyer, acquired from Belgian club Anderlecht, is also a designated player.
Other notable players on the team's eclectic first roster include midfielders Emmanuel Boateng, acquired in a trade with the New England Revolution, and veteran Aníbal Godoy, also captain of Panama's national team.
“We're focused on three buckets: Making sure that we’re healthy and fit as an expansion roster that’s growing, make sure the game model style of plays is clear and then make sure we develop a fighting team spirit amongst the team,” said coach Mikey Veras. “I think we’ve had a very successful preseason in terms of maximizing every second that we’ve had together and doing those three things.”
San Diego stands out among the league's teams. It is owned by Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour and the Sycuan Tribe, the first Native American tribe in the United States to have an ownership stake in a professional soccer team. The ownership group also includes San Diego Padres star third baseman Manny Machado and actress/producer Issa Rae.
Mansour also owns the Right to Dream Academy, which started in Ghana in 1999 and has since spread to Denmark, Egypt and now, San Diego. Right to Dream's goal was to develop young players from underserved markets. One of the academy’s graduates is Mohammed Kudus, who plays for West Ham United and scored for Ghana in the 2022 World Cup.
San Diego unveiled its Right to Dream Academy on Sycuan tribal land in El Cajon in October. The MLS team trains at the 28-acre facility alongside young academy prospects, who live on the campus and attend school there.
The addition of San Diego balances the league at 15 teams per conference. It's likely that MLS will stand pat at 30 teams for the foreseeable future.
