How new MLS franchise San Diego are creating history

How to create your own, organic identity is one of the first questions posed when creating a new football club.

For many, it takes years to develop. However, for Major League Soccer’s newest club, San Diego Football Club, there was a simple answer.

It was already present.

The Right to Dream football network, which was founded in Ghana as an academy before acquiring FC Nordsjaelland from Denmark and expanding into Egypt after being acquired by the Mansour Group, is what gave the team its culture.

The ever-expanding system of clubs and coaching schools was followed by San Diego, who would become the next one to join.

Head coach Mikey Varas stated to the boys at the beginning that while we might be an expansion team in the MLS, we have a lot of rich history with Right to Dream and it is our responsibility to carry on that legacy.

Every first-team coach’s job is about winning, but how we win and who we win with matter, Varas said, and I believe I was hired because we fully share that vision.

With a record-breaking tally of points, wins, and away wins for an expansion team, Varas led the Californian side to the top of the Western Conference during his first season as a men’s head coach.

And he did it all while adopting a Barcelona style that was influenced by Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova.

Varas once said, “I adore football. Football is the best thing to do in life, in my opinion. The next best thing to do is to work in football if that’s not possible. And if that’s not enough, I believe having a strong football fan is the next best step.

And I am aware that there are many different ways to play football, and I respect each of them because they are of great value and allow you to win any way.

We experience this kind of exciting football deep within our hearts and DNA, which makes playing this game even more special.

A group of 30 strangers bonded under the influence of this style, which made them superior to Western Conference giants like the Seattle Sounders, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and both Los Angeles clubs.

However, the fresh start for staff and players seemed advantageous despite everyone having to form relationships with team-mates during the pre-season, frequently through card games and the odd trip to watch the San Diego Padres play for Major League Baseball.

Anders Dreyer, a midfielder, said: “It was nice to enter a dressing room where everyone wanted to be.

“Sometimes you come to a club with history, and there is stuff left over from the previous season,” says one player who wants to leave.

However, there was a group of players who would only desire to travel with us.

One of the players who was aware of Right to Dream was Danish midfielder Dreyer, who had previously played for Anderlecht and faced Nordsjlland there.

His involvement with the San Diego team in his native country influenced his decision to join the MLS club despite having no idea what it was like to play there.

I’ve always played Nordsjaelland, and I’ve always thought, “That would be nice to play like this.” And I adore playing that kind of game.

“The Right to Dream approach to the way we play just makes it easier to perform and to join the team and show your self.”

Because having a certain style makes everyone on the team more successful because they are aware of what they must do when they have a chance, in my opinion.

Dreyer appears to be one of the players in this model who has most accomplished. Lionel Messi is the only midfielder at Inter Miami with more goals this year than Lionel Messi’s 39.

It is this opportunity to write brand new history that has appealed to so many of San Diego Football Club’s staff and players, in a city that is one of the most passionate about football in the whole country.

San Diego Loyal, a USL team that disbanded in 2023, and the NWSL team San Diego Waves, both of which were in the Californian city, have given the area a sense of community.

We have everyone arriving in a parking lot before games, people are bringing beer, and we kind of throw this party, according to Steve Cabrera, chairman of Frontera SD, a San Diego supporters’ group.

“That’s when people see that, and they then see that it transfers to the game where we’re all as one, singing and chanting for the club, and bringing energy to the club.”

The fan base will grow as the team pushes the boundaries and aims to surpass Chicago Fire as the only expansion team to win the MLS Cup.

However, Right to Dream and San Diego are long-term hopefuls and want to make a long-term commitment to MLS’s elite.

According to Varas, “it’s crucial that we develop a sustainable project.”