FC Tucson midfielder Louis Perez started late, but he’s making up for lost time.
Perez helped lead FC Tucson to a comeback 3-2 win at then-first place last weekend, earning USL League One Player of the Week honors. Perez registered assist and then scored a goal against the Red Wolves.
“I’m feeling better, I’m feeling better,” Perez said. “I’ve been playing a little bit on the wing, a little bit as a midfielder, as a 10, so I’m starting to feel good, to feel better in terms of spacing and moving, so hopefully I’m getting better and better so we can play as a team better.”
Perez and FC Tucson (1-1-1) will look to continue that momentum on Saturday, when they host the South Georgia Tormenta (1-1-1) at 7 p.m.
Perez attended Central Florida and played for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC of USL Championship before joining FC Tucson. The Parisian is the first-ever French player to suit up for FC Tucson. He played for Paris Saint-Germain, CO Vincennes, AS Poissy and ESTAC Troyes as a youth before coming stateside.
FC Tucson coach Jon Pearlman said he’s been happy with Perez’s play so far.
“He’s coming in late, so this is really preseason period for him,” Pearlman said. “He came in basically a week before the season started and has been able to play, took great care of himself in the offseason and I think he’s going to get stronger and I think he’s going to continue to be dangerous throughout the season.”
Pearlman, who also serves as the club’s technical director, said he looks more for than just talent when considering players who used to play in USL Championship, a tier above League One.
“You gotta have guys coming from the Championship that want to showcase themselves, that aren’t disappointed about moving down, don’t see it as a move down,” Pearlman said. “I explained to Louis what my expectations for him were, what our system of play is, how I can showcase him further up the field than Pittsburgh was, and he bought into it.”
Perez said he and Pearlman “got on the phone a few times” before he decided to sign. The club announced the deal on Feb. 3.
“He talked to me about the opportunity to come here and everything he told me about the team, about the players, about the city,” Perez said. “I really liked what he said, so I just decided to come here.”
Corner kick
In addition to Perez, FC Tucson defenders Jacob Crull and Luca Mastrantonio also were selected to the USL League One Team of the Week.
