San Diego Boca FC is in need for change.
Change on the filed, change on the scoreboard.
The National Premier Soccer League club needs a win. A victory could change the recent struggles by coach Eliseo "Papo" Santos' team.
Boca FC is coming off a two-game road trip that resulted in back-to-back loses against the Santa Ana Winds FC and FC Hasental. That's five loses in the last six games.
It is a situation Santos is not used to and doesn't want to be part of. That is why the team has tried some recent changes to its roster. Its latest move is the signing of veteran international player Zé Roberto, whose birth name is Jose Roberto Gomes Santana.
Boca FC announced the signing of the midfielder earlier this week and he should be available to play Saturday against Rattlers FC of Lancaster at Balboa Stadium.
Roberto joins Boca bringing more than a decade of experience playing with small North American clubs, most recently with Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact of the North American Soccer Leagues.
Roberto first signed with a club from outside Brazil in 2000 when he played for the Hershey Wildcats of the USL A-League. Roberto played for prestigious Brazilian clubs Palmeiras and Corinthians prior to coning to the United States.
But Roberto, not to be confused with the Zé Roberto who played for German Bundesliga powerhouse Bayern Munich and Spanish club Real Madrid, is better known in San Diego as a defender when he played for the San Diego Sockers, an indoor team. Roberto helped lead the Sockers to two consecutive league titles.
"I am excited to be able to stay in my adopted home city with my wife and children," Roberto said. "I am looking forward to the challenge of the NPSL and helping out San Diego Boca in the second half of the season."
And the help is much needed.
Boca signed a handful of local players earlier this month to try and fill some weaknesses in the midfield and be able to move some players to other positions. The club added defenders Sergio Bojorquez and Jose Coronado, midfielders Abiel Coronado and Francisco Diaz.
The move appeared to have paid off and that it would continue to do so but the team is 1-2 after the changes.
A win against Rattlers FC will come at a good time for Boca FC. Santos' team has a bye week coming up before returning to action June 5th against the Scramento Gol and cross-town rival the San Diego Flash (June 11). Both teams are regarded as two of the best in the league.
Roberto should add some versatility to Boca FCs midfield. The team could try to use him as the player who can steer an attack and feed strikers much needed balls to create scoring chances.
"We are thrilled to sign to Boca an international name like Zé Roberto," said Boca General Manager Travis Chesney in a team release. "He has proven his ability on the field time and time again with his success at clubs like Montreal and Rochester. His ability in the center of the field will have an immediate impact on Boca's play and will lift the quality of all our players."
Boca can only hope that is the case if there is going to be some kind of change on the field and more importantly, on the scoreboard.
ivan.orozco@sandiegored.com
