In the FC Tucson’s men’s first season back in USL League Two, the team has turned to veteran leadership that’s more experienced than your average college player.
Defender Marco Costa, FC Tucson’s captain, scored the winning goal in a 2-0 victory over Capo FC on Saturday in the team’s first regular-season home game. He won Player of the Match honors.
The 26-year old has been playing in the United States for less than a year, and it was his first goal stateside. In the fall he played for Lynn University in Boca Rotan, Florida, as a junior.
FC Tucson coach Mark Biagi said Costa has been great for FC Tucson so far.
“He had a successful season at his college back in Florida, but he’s played professional soccer back in Italy, so obviously he’s quite experienced in a variety of levels,” Biagi said. “I think that doing things like playing in USL Two over the summer is going to continue to help him in his experiences and help him develop as a player versus going back to Italy for the summer and taking a couple months off.
“Coming and playing college here but then pursuing soccer in this country in every avenue possible is really gonna help him, and this summer is gonna be massively beneficial for him in his development.”
FC Tucson returns to action Friday when it hosts the Southern California Seahorses at 7 p.m.
“My teammates, they’re really cool with me,” Costa said. “I think we are making a really good relationship inside the locker, and for me that’s really important.”
Costa played for the Italian U18 team and is from Vaprio D’Adda in the Milan area.
He said moving to the U.S. wasn’t that tough, partly because he’s played with a lot of Europeans here.
“I lived alone for two years back home in Italy so stay(ing) away from my family wasn’t a big problem,” Costa said. “The most difficult thing was to switch my mentality because here it’s more physical. Sometimes you have to think in a different way so that’s a big difference, but I got used (to it) pretty fast.”
League Two players are predominantly active college players.
“Most of the players are from college, but in the USL Two you can find the best player (at a) college so the quality is very high,” Costa said.
In Italy, Costa played for Ponte S. Pietro, Borgosesia, Caronnese, Monza, Giana Erminio and Monza Giovanili in Serie C and D.
Biagi said Costa’s consistency earned him the captain’s armband.
“He’s a voice in the locker room, he’s a voice on the field, whether things are going great or things are going not so great — because it’s not always gonna be great. It’s how you respond to the difficult moments that make you a leader,” Biagi said. “So he’s been great, he’s experienced with the younger players, he supports, he comes out and watches the academy games, he coaches within the community. He’s been fantastic.”
Costa said he didn’t expect to be a leader with FC Tucson.
“But I know myself, and also back home in Italy I played for like eight years as a pro,” Costa said. “So I know how to be a leader ... help other guys, young guys building relationship(s) and stuff like that that can help the team to be successful and reach our goal.”
Biagi raved about Costa’s versatility and expects him to continue logging lots of minutes. Costa has enjoyed the experience so far.
“I was surprised about the organization and the team because I was looking for a professional environment, and I think I’ve done the right decision because we have everything,” Costa said. “It’s really, really professional, and I really like to play for FC Tucson.”
Italian players have played significant roles for FC Tucson before, such as Roman defender Luca Mastrantonio, who played for the club the last two seasons. Mastrantonio, who was FC Tucson’s Defender of the Year in 2022, plays for Union Omaha now.
“We’ve had a couple Italians over the past couple of years that have really done well in League One, and they continue to do well in League One,” Biagi said. “So it’s always nice having a fellow Italian in the locker room with me.”
