The stadium was empty when FC Tucson’s AJ Valenzuela scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute of Saturday’s season opener against Fort Lauderdale CF.
But Valenzuela was far from alone.
Back in Tucson, Valenzuela’s tía was hosting a watch party that made sure to include Valenzuela in the festivities as best as his family could.
“They sent me videos of when I scored, and they were all screaming and yelling,” said Valenzuela, who turned 22 on Wednesday. “It felt amazing. I don’t know how I can explain how good it felt.”
There was no more fitting hero for Game 1 of FC Tucson’s shortened season. Valenzuela was born in Tucson, graduated from Desert View High School and played soccer for Pima College before transferring to San Diego State. Valenzuela and the Men in Black will play at the Chattanooga Red Wolves on Saturday before hosting Union Omaha on Aug. 8. Tucson’s home games will be closed to fans, though the team is planning to host drive-in watch parties.
Valenzuela played for FC Tucson in 2018 when it was part of the USL Premier Development League. He returned to the club in February, weeks before the start of the 2020 season was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The league is back in full swing, with pandemic protocols put in place.
The lack of fans hardly registered, Valenzuela said. He was too busy looking at the new, 19,000-seat Inter Miami CF Stadium, which doubles as Fort Lauderdale’s home.
“It didn’t even matter. Just to be able to play at that stadium and with a new franchise, it was amazing. It was Inter Miami’s stadium, so I was nervous in a way,” he said. “To be able to go from something with no locker room to something like that was impressive.”
The past month has been something of a struggle for Valenzuela, as the team has basically been sheltering in place in their shared apartments.
Before the pandemic, Valenzuela was able to easily spend time with his 4-year-old daughter, Adris, even bringing her to training when his child-care plans fell through.
Valenzuela was able to see his daughter regularly during the pandemic. But once USL League One announced plans to resume play at the end of July, FC Tucson players began quarantining together in their shared two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments with outside activities limited to only those deemed essential, like practice and grocery shopping.
“At first I was just FaceTime-ing her and seeing her that way, and it was really hard,” Valenzuela said. “Sometimes I’ll drive to her mom’s house and say hi and see how she’s doing (from a distance).”
Valenzuela said the socially distant visits are a challenge, as Adris wants to hug her daddy.
“A couple of times, I just can’t resist and I had to give her a hug,” Valenzuela said. “I’ve been talking to the (team) president and coaches and we’re trying to figure things out so that I can spend time with her. It’s a work in progress.”
So, too, is FC Tucson. Now that the team is back together and the season is underway, Valenzuela is playing more than just soccer: He’s also taken up playing cards in the locker room with newly signed defender Tommy Silva, another native Tucsonan.
“AJ, what a great guy,” said Silva, a 2020 graduate of the Real Salt Lake–Arizona Academy. “From the first days that I started training with the team, he’s always greeted me with a smile.”
And while he’s all business come game time, Valenzuela is happy to provide his teammates with a little bit of comic relief during practice.
“He always pulls up his shorts high during training, so I give him a hard time and joke that he looks like Sergio Ramos from Real Madrid,” Silva said.
Valenzuela and the rest of the team will be wheels-up again Friday when they depart for Tennessee, and they’ll be traveling a little lighter, now that much of the uncertainty surrounding travel is behind them.
“It was odd and definitely different, because everyone was wearing masks,” Valenzuela said of the team’s first trip last weekend. “But the coaches really took care of us and made sure that everything went well.”
Valenzuela said that he and the rest of FC Tucson are determined to have a successful season and bring home the trophy, but adds that the biggest priority right now is making sure everyone stays healthy.
“Our coaches and everyone have been very intent on keeping us safe. To be able to have someone other than your family care about you so much is an unbelievable feeling,” Valenzuela said, adding that he hopes fans are doing their part to stay healthy and keep their loved ones safe. “We just want them to know that we appreciate that they’re supporting us as much as they can through all this.”
