FC Tucson kicks off the 2023 season with a friendly against Guanajuato Celestion XI at Keno North Stadium on Friday.

Fans who have followed Los Tucsonenses over the past two seasons will see some differences. The team was fully professional from his 2019 through the end of last season, playing in USL League One. At the end of last season, the team announced that he would be returning to the USL League 2, the semi-pro ranks.

Football geeks can forever debate what this means for the quality of on-field products: college players who are very likely to play top-notch football in a couple of years, and professional ranks In any case, coach Mark Biagi promises a similar philosophy to last year.

“I think it’s a very possession-based and aggressive style,” he said after practice Wednesday. “We want to have the ball. We want to create chances. We want to be dynamic.”

Friday’s opponents are a collection of the best players from Tucson’s Guanajuato AZ Soccer League. Many of their players have played against local FC Tucson players.

“I think they will be hungry,” Biagi said of Guanajuato XI. “I think they’re very ambitious and they’re going to do a show for Tucson…we’ve already heard some that it’s going to be a very interesting environment.”

Among the local players signing for FC Tucson this year is midfielder Jerod Allen. Allen just finished his freshman year at Utah Tech, where he made 12 appearances and his five starting appearances with the Trailblazers. He’s from across the county line, but FC Tucson is familiar to him. He went through the team’s academy and played a few matches on the professional side last year. He has cultivated loyalty to the team.

“Every time I wear[the badge]it’s special,” he said. “I went to preseason games as a kid and was a ball boy. It means everything.”

This Friday’s game is scheduled to kick off at 7pm at Kino North Baseball Stadium. The team is scheduled to play a friendly against his NPSL side, FC Arizona, at home next Wednesday.

dry heat

Pima Aztecs are playing under the lights these days. But it wasn’t that long ago that the team’s West Campus Field game had to be played mid-afternoon. He had to do it in September and he in October as the summer heat hadn’t left.

FC Tucson goalkeeper Nils Roth played for the Pima from 2018 to 2020, so he knows a little bit about managing the heat. FC Tucson games are played at night, but the summer nights are still hot, so the team practices during the day. He credits Pima coach Dave Cosgrove with the ability to deal with the heat and use it.

“He really gets an advantage from it,” he said. “Recovery is everything. Cool off with an ice bath and get plenty of sleep.”

“The bad thing is that we’re playing games back to back,” he added. “You have to rotate and take care of yourself like a pro.”