Photo credit: Luis Navarro
Puerto Rico FC is nearing its debut in the NASL, a July 2 clash against Spring Season Champion Indy Eleven. The club has built its roster with a mix of NASL-experienced players and up-and-coming talent.
United States U-23 defender Ramon Martin Del Campo, on loan from Costa Rican side Saprissa, hopes the club mixes a bit of romance with direct, attacking play.
“Saprissa was awesome because I learned a new way of seeing the game,” Martin Del Campo told NASL.com. “I grew up around American soccer coaches – the American style, English style which is very direct. Latino soccer is very romantic – moving the ball side to side, making it look pretty.”
Martin Del Campo feels the club’s English coach, Adrian Whitebread, will bring the right blend of both styles to the field.
“I feel he has a balance of both,” Martin Del Campo said. “He’s a very direct coach, but he understands that you have to play the game to win – you have to keep the ball. He understands when there is a need to go to goal or keep the ball and tire out opponents. So far, in training, we’ve seen a good balance with it.”
Spending time with Saprissa, which has won 32 league titles in its history, has aided Martin Del Campo’s development. While normally a center back, he has increased his ability to play out of the back, making himself more comfortable in other positions on the field.
“It has helped me a lot in my technical abilities,” he said. “I’m a center back, but with being over there I feel I’m technical enough to play in the midfield and here I’ve been used an outside back. I feel I’m technical enough and I know what is expected from an outside back or center back and not only the athletic part and position part, but technically as well.”
Martin Del Campo, 22, signed with Costa Rican powerhouse Saprissa in 2015 after not latching on with the LA Galaxy of the MLS. With Whitbread and Neil Sillett, Puerto Rico FC’s technical director, looking to assemble the club’s roster, the pair traveled to Costa Rica to watch the U.S. youth international.
It’s an opportunity to get regular minutes, and, if he has success, a chance to put himself back on the radar of the national-team setup. Martin Del Campo has the experience of one camp with the U-23s under his belt, traveling with the team down to the Bahamas in 2014.
“Playing with the U-23s was awesome,” he said. “Being able to represent my country is more than an honor. I got my first cap and my first assist in the Bahamas. I thought I had a really good camp.
“This team plays in a good enough competition, which has been proven by Miguel Ibarra and others. I think it’s going to show the quality of this team and the quality of my talents. If there’s an opportunity of course there’s no way of saying no to that. I have to keep playing, have to win, have to get their attention, and we’ll see if they call me back up again.”
First, there is the matter of settling into Puerto Rico FC as the club embarks on its debut season. Not just Martin Del Campo, but Puerto Rico FC will try to avoid a prolonged adjustment period to a new league.
“One thing that this team has done very well is it has opened up immediately,” he said. “No one was reserved. We understood that we’re a new team and that we’re hopping into a season where teams are hot and already have rhythm, and we knew we needed to get on the same page. Immediately people were open about their weaknesses and strengths and that’s helped us jell.”
First-year clubs often need time to find their footing, but Martin Del Campo has high expectations that the club will hit the ground running.
“I know a lot of people see it as difficult, but my expectations for this team are pretty high. I see us winning, competing for a championship, even though we are coming in midseason. The Cosmos did it, so I don’t see why we can’t do it. Anything can happen in soccer, right?”