\n\t\t\t\t\t\tRodrigo ‘RoRo’ L\u00f3pez was Sacramento Republic FC\u2019s first signing and led the club to its first \u2013 and so far only \u2013 championship since its inaugural 2014 season.As this year\u2019s season nears its end, the longtime Republic captain hopes to raise the USL Championship cup one more time before he retires. It would certainly be a capstone to a 22-season career that is expected to wrap with more than 400 professional soccer appearances for 13 clubs in the U.S. and Mexico. The milestones include 45 goals with the Republic and 49 assists, a club record, across seven seasons in Sacramento. L\u00f3pez, 38, spoke at a press conference on Thursday with just one game left to play at home on Saturday for the regular season. Sacramento already clinched the No. 2 seed in the West. Four must-win games are ahead in the post-season. \u201cGoing into Hughes Stadium with 22,000 fans to open up our season in 2014 was a very special moment in my career,\u201d L\u00f3pez said of his first match representing Sacramento. “I\u2019ve played in bigger crowds but just being the first player signed for a new club and seeing all the emotions and all the excitement and a city coming together to support our soccer team was truly special.\u201d He said his dream of winning another title this year would be a “perfect story.” \u201cThe ending I want and obviously not just for myself,” he said. “I think this club deserves another championship.\u201dL\u00f3pez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and his father left a professional soccer career there when L\u00f3pez was 11 months old in pursuit of a better life for his family, he previously told KCRA 3. L\u00f3pez said he\u2019s been on the field with a soccer ball since he was 3 years old growing up in Santa Barbara, and so becoming a professional wasn\u2019t \u201cthe hardest thing to do.\u201d The hardest part has been to remain a \u201cgood pro\u201d by maintaining consistency, he said. One of the lessons he said his father taught him was to always remember how hard it is for some fans to afford match tickets for their entire family. That meant he should \u201cmake it worth it\u201d by giving his all on the pitch for his fans. \u201cI hope I made people proud,\u201d L\u00f3pez said when asked about a message for the club’s supporters. \u201cI hope I was able to put a smile in people\u2019s faces every time they went out to the field.\u201d L\u00f3pez said that navigating how to wrap up his professional career has not been an easy process, especially as he recovered from a season-ending injury last year while one of his children was also recovering from open-heart surgery. \u201cI had been talking to my wife and my kids about it for maybe a year, or so, maybe a little longer. And obviously, you know, with what we went through last year it was just a lot harder to come in every day and see everyone smile, enjoy the game,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, you know, me having to come in and just rehab and run and put in all the work, which I love doing. But at the same time, it was definitely difficult. And obviously with what Roman was going through as well at home and, you know, all the work we had to do and my wife with the kids, it just became a lot.\u201dHe feels like now is a good point to retire with “a perfect team to finish with,” rather than risk getting hurt next year. \u201cIt\u2019s time to turn the page and see what\u2019s next for us,\u201d he said. L\u00f3pez has been tapped for a player-development role with the Republic that plans to bridge the team’s youth academy and first team.Asked how he wants to be remembered, he mentioned wanting to inspire not only professionals but also the next generation of players. \u201cAs a parent, I just want my kids, and not just my kids, but I have an academy that I run and so many kids that look up to me, especially my two boys. I just want them to see that every time I’m on the field, I\u2019m gonna give it my all,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not just for me. It\u2019s for the team. I want to inspire players. I want to inspire my kids, and I want to show them that with hard work, anything\u2019s possible.\u201d He said what he\u2019ll miss most are lacing up with his teammates in the locker room, competing with them in training and, \u201cjust being someone that leads, that can make someone\u2019s day better.\u201dL\u00f3pez became emotional toward the end of the nearly 30-minute press conference when asked for his closing thoughts. He mentioned the support of his wife and children, especially through the tough moments. \u201cIt definitely hasn’t been easy,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes I know that I was probably a pain in the ass to be around. It probably wasn\u2019t enjoyable, especially after losses. I\u2019m a very competitive guy. I want to thank them for everything they have done for me.\u201d He said they reminded him \u201cnever to quit and follow my dreams.\u201dSee more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tSACRAMENTO, Calif. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Rodrigo ‘RoRo’ L\u00f3pez was Sacramento Republic FC\u2019s first signing and led the club to its first \u2013 and so far only \u2013 championship since its inaugural 2014 season.<\/p>\n
As this year\u2019s season nears its end, the longtime Republic captain<\/a> hopes to raise the USL Championship cup one more time before he retires<\/a>. It would certainly be a capstone to a 22-season career that is expected to wrap with more than 400 professional soccer appearances for 13 clubs in the U.S. and Mexico. The milestones include 45 goals with the Republic and 49 assists, a club record, across seven seasons in Sacramento. <\/p>\n L\u00f3pez, 38, spoke at a press conference on Thursday with just one game left to play at home on Saturday<\/a> for the regular season. Sacramento already clinched the No. 2 seed in the West. Four must-win games are ahead in the post-season. <\/p>\n \u201cGoing into Hughes Stadium with 22,000 fans to open up our season in 2014 was a very special moment in my career,\u201d L\u00f3pez said of his first match representing Sacramento. “I\u2019ve played in bigger crowds but just being the first player signed for a new club and seeing all the emotions and all the excitement and a city coming together to support our soccer team was truly special.\u201d <\/p>\n He said his dream of winning another title this year would be a “perfect story.” <\/p>\n \u201cThe ending I want and obviously not just for myself,” he said. “I think this club deserves another championship.\u201d<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, and his father left a professional soccer career there when L\u00f3pez was 11 months old in pursuit of a better life for his family, he previously told KCRA 3<\/a>. <\/p>\n L\u00f3pez said he\u2019s been on the field with a soccer ball since he was 3 years old growing up in Santa Barbara, and so becoming a professional wasn\u2019t \u201cthe hardest thing to do.\u201d <\/p>\n The hardest part has been to remain a \u201cgood pro\u201d by maintaining consistency, he said. One of the lessons he said his father taught him was to always remember how hard it is for some fans to afford match tickets for their entire family. That meant he should \u201cmake it worth it\u201d by giving his all on the pitch for his fans.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope I made people proud,\u201d L\u00f3pez said when asked about a message for the club’s supporters. \u201cI hope I was able to put a smile in people\u2019s faces every time they went out to the field.\u201d <\/p>\n L\u00f3pez said that navigating how to wrap up his professional career has not been an easy process, especially as he recovered from a season-ending injury last year<\/a> while one of his children was also recovering from open-heart surgery<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI had been talking to my wife and my kids about it [retirement] for maybe a year, or so, maybe a little longer. And obviously, you know, with what we went through last year it was just a lot harder to come in every day and see everyone smile, enjoy the game,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, you know, me having to come in and just rehab and run and put in all the work, which I love doing. But at the same time, it was definitely difficult. And obviously with what Roman was going through as well at home and, you know, all the work we had to do and my wife with the kids, it just became a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n He feels like now is a good point to retire with “a perfect team to finish with,” rather than risk getting hurt next year. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to turn the page and see what\u2019s next for us,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n L\u00f3pez has been tapped for a player-development role with the Republic that plans to bridge the team’s youth academy and first team.<\/p>\n Asked how he wants to be remembered, he mentioned wanting to inspire not only professionals but also the next generation of players. <\/p>\n \u201cAs a parent, I just want my kids, and not just my kids, but I have an academy that I run and so many kids that look up to me, especially my two boys. I just want them to see that every time I’m on the field, I\u2019m gonna give it my all,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s not just for me. It\u2019s for the team. I want to inspire players. I want to inspire my kids, and I want to show them that with hard work, anything\u2019s possible.\u201d <\/p>\n He said what he\u2019ll miss most are lacing up with his teammates in the locker room, competing with them in training and, \u201cjust being someone that leads, that can make someone\u2019s day better.\u201d<\/p>\n L\u00f3pez became emotional toward the end of the nearly 30-minute press conference when asked for his closing thoughts. <\/p>\n He mentioned the support of his wife and children, especially through the tough moments. <\/p>\n \u201cIt definitely hasn’t been easy,\u201d he said. \u201cSometimes I know that I was probably a pain in the ass to be around. It probably wasn\u2019t enjoyable, especially after losses. I\u2019m a very competitive guy. I want to thank them for everything they have done for me.\u201d <\/p>\n He said they reminded him \u201cnever to quit and follow my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n See more coverage of top California stories here<\/a> | Download our app<\/a> | Subscribe to our morning newsletter<\/a> | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rodrigo ‘RoRo’ L\u00f3pez was Sacramento Republic FC\u2019s first signing and led the club to its first \u2013 and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21998,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[8523,14640,17660,17661,121,123,122,14618],"class_list":["post-21997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-retirement","tag-rodrigo-lopez","tag-roro-lopez","tag-sac-republic","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-sacramento-republic-fc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21998"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}