Sacramento Republic roster: Coach Mark Briggs tells us what to expect for each player
Sacramento Republic has just three players this year that were on the opening-day roster two years ago. Who are the new guys and what should we expect from them? We turned to coach Mark Briggs, who broke down the roster off the top of his head. All comments are quotes from Briggs, who is in his third year coaching the Quails.
FORWARDS
Douglas Martinez: He is, for me, the best player in this league. … (He’s) somebody that has fantastic movement, very good in front of goal, positive energy in the locker room. Just a top-level striker.
Luther Archimède: He also can be a very, very good player in this league and he can score goals. He’s left-footed is a slightly different profile, but somebody that we believe is going to be very effective in this league.
Midfield
Keko Gontan: He’s had an unbelievable career, got a lot of experience, played at the highest level. The narrative about him is his transfer, adapting to the game in America. It takes time to adapt when you move to a foreign country. ... So I think it’s about us being patient with him and allowing him to adapt and allowing him to show his quality.
Rafael Jauregui: I want him to try and break into the lineup, try and become a starter, try and grab these opportunities by the scruff of the neck so to speak.
Emil Cuello: A fantastic footballer with technical ability. He’s one of the highest in this league. … His physical attributes make him a high-caliber player and we didn’t see the best of him last year.
Rodrigo Lopez: Everybody knows about Rodrigo again. Fantastic history here. Fantastic career. High-level footballer. Just been so impressed with RoRo since he’s come back. He’s been a breath of fresh air, leadership, and then quality in games, doing the things that we’ve asked of him, holding his teammates to a high standard, making them accountable and making himself accountable.
Maalique Foster: Over 10 yards, I don’t think there’s anyone faster. But we’ve just got to try and maintain his fitness. (Foster was injured in a collision during preseason and is out four to six weeks.)
Zeiko Lewis: He’s known as a good player, a high-level player. He can play anywhere across the front three. … Left-footed, shorter guy, explosive, technical ability and can score goals. Another player who’s gonna get the fans excited to get the fans on the edge of their seats.
Matt LaGrassa: Matt’s shown leadership since coming back. And he’s quality, he’s quality. We all know the quality and having his leadership and having his experience and having his pride to represent his hometown is really important. It transmits to the players.
Luis Felipe: The ceiling for Luis is wherever he wants to take it. He can score goals, he can defend, he covers ground, he can tackle.
Nick Ross: A really highly intelligent footballer. He’s one of those guys that you don’t necessarily notice when he’s on the field because he does everything to a high level. He does all the basics to a really high level.
Mario Penagos: There’s a reason Mario’s still here. We think he can play, we think he can affect the team in a positive way. Now for Mario it’s go and grab the opportunity, go and show that you deserve to play.
Defenders
Jack Gurr: Just love his tenacity. He’s nasty.
Ferrety Sousa: He’s very quick, good on the ball, can beat people on the dribble, he’s got great feet.
Dan Casey: We’re really pleased we’ve got Dan back because he was a solid performer for us last year. One of our most consistent guys and I think now with different personnel around him, we’ll see we’ll see an even better Dan, which is good.
Conor Donovan: He’s got good leadership, good experience and he’s an old-school defender. He wants to defend, he wants to attack the ball and you need those guys in your squad.
Lee Desmond: He’s just a high-level player. Left-footed, good on the ball, quick, aggressive, communicates well. So again, add some stability and some leadership and quality to the backline.
Damià Viader: Very good with the ball technically, a very exciting player going forward who can score goals, can get assists. Someone we’re excited to have here.
Tiago Suarez: A local kid who’s come through our academy is only 16 years old, but he’s going to be you know, he’s going to be on the roster. He’s going to be competing for a starting spot, along with the other five academy guys that we’ve signed.
Duke Lacroix: A very solid defender, attacks well and pushes the ball up the field.
GOALKEEPERS
Carlos Saldaña: He won the starting position. And again, he’s back with us this year. His preseason has been very good. Very good with the ball, good communication.
Danny Vitiello: He was goalkeeper of the year last year. Very explosive. Very good shot-stopper, good in one vs. one scenarios, has good feet and good communication.