Jon Pearlman is in his second stint as FC Tucson’s coach. He first led the club in the 2017 season.
When Phoenix Rising FC bought FC Tucson last week, it might’ve confused a non-soccer follower. Here’s what it meant:
FC Tucson is in the Premier Development League, which is like baseball's Cape Cod League. Phoenix Rising is in the United Soccer League, which is like Triple-A.
If Phoenix soon gets a franchise in Major League Soccer, it’s likely FC Tucson would grow up and become a USL team, and begin playing against teams from San Antonio, Tulsa, Sacramento, Oklahoma City and other major markets.
FC Tucson has been superb in the PDL; it is 82-28-19 in its history.
The behind-the-scenes connection between Phoenix and FC Tucson is one of Tucson’s top soccer families: Salpointe Catholic grad Mark Leber, a Phoenix hand surgeon and UA medical school grad, is one of Phoenix Rising’s owners. He is the brother of Scott Leber, who was possibly the top soccer player in Tucson history while at Salpointe.
Their father, Larry Leber, a Tucson orthodontist, led Salpointe to the state basketball semifinals in 1962, and married a Salpointe cheerleader, DeDe. Another of Larry’s sons, Eric Leber, helped Salpointe win the 1994 state volleyball championship.
The key to the Phoenix/Tucson partnership is the retention of general manager Jon Pearlman, a co-founder of FC Tucson who has become the face and personality of the organization.
In all, this was a very good move for the future of soccer in Tucson.
