One of FC Tucson’s most recent signees is also the club’s youngest at 17 years old.
And he’s also a Tucson product.
Goalkeeper Rafael Guerrero signed with FC Tucson on June 12 and made the jump to pro from the Crossfire Premier Development League in Redmond, Washington. Before that, he was in Utah with the Real Salt Lake Development Academy, where he logged 17 career starts.
Now, Guerrero is excited to play for a team he’s watched grow since its inception in 2010.
“I’m just so grateful and proud,” Guerrero said. “Growing up, I played for TSA, the local club here. I got trained by some of the best coaches in Tucson, and now they’re like family to me. And just being able to grow into this community and just grow as a soccer player, as a person and to be able to represent my hometown on a larger scale means the world to me.”
Guerrero didn’t grow up in an athletic house — none of his family members are athletes. But at a young age, Guerrero wasn’t the type to stay inside and always wanted to play with a ball, so his parents put him in soccer.
From there he was hooked.
“I think I was drawn to the need for intelligence of the game,” Guerrero said. “I wasn’t gifted athletically as a kid, so I just worked on being more intelligent and being a smarter player. Then I grew into my body and the athleticism came. I just love it.”
Because Guerrero was always one of the bigger kids on his teams, he was immediately put in at keeper when he first started playing and grew to love his role.
With FC Tucson, Guerrero has been taken in by starting keeper Carlos Merancio, a 20-year-old from Hermosillo Sonora. Even though Merancio is only a few years older than Guerrero, he’s using his experience in the Liga MX, the top professional league in Mexico, to help the newcomer.
Really, he’s making sure to learn from all of his teammates.
“I take a lot from the older players because I’m still inexperienced and they have that experience playing professionally,” Guerrero said. “They teach me, not only how to play faster, but how to play smarter. I’m just growing more intelligent as the days go by.”
Because the season continues until October, Guerrero decided to withdraw from Catalina Foothills High School and will instead finish his last year of high school online with Primavera. The team practices in the mornings, so there was no way Guerrero could make it to both.
Ultimately, Guerrero would like to play in Europe, but he knows that’s shooting big. Short term, Guerrero would like to play Division I soccer.
But no matter which route his soccer career goes in, Guerrero is grateful for having found an outlet that has allowed him to find himself.
“I’m not the most social person — I’m more of an introvert,” Guerrero said. “Whenever I’m on the field, I just feel free and I feel like that’s where I’m supposed to be. That’s where I belong. The sport provides that for me and I love it.”
