This Wednesday, July 5, the San Diego Loyal officially announced the signing of 29-year-old right-back Carlos Guzman.

Guzman has been playing professionally since 2011, and has played in Mexico’s top-flight league with Monarcas Morelia, Puebla, Club Tijuana, Leon, Necaxa, Toluca and Queretaro.

In his most recent season, “Hipster” played in 10 games with Queretaro but only started four in the 2023 Clausura campaign. Guzman’s last season being a regular starter for a club was in the Apertura 2018 season, where he started all 17 regular season games for Mazatlan FC. Guzman’s most successful years in Liga MX came with his hometown team of, Monarcas Morelia, where he debuted at 17 years old.

Guzman has been in the spotlight at a very young age and is more than used to the pressure that comes with professional soccer. The Michoacan native was part of the historic Mexico U-17 World Cup winning team of 2011 but has never represented Mexico at the senior level. The 29-year-old defender also represented Mexico at the U-21 level at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2015 Pan American Games.

Guzman will be rejoined with a familiar face, as he was teammates with Alejandro Guido at Club Tijuana in the 2015 Apertura season. Guido and Guzman will not be competing with each other for playing time, as “Hipster” will be competing with players like Elijah Martin and Camden Riley.

Nick Miller often uses a three-man backline with wing-backs, a position that Guzman can definitely play as his crossing ability is very decent.

With half a season still to go for the Loyal, the team is on a dismal six-game winless streak, coming off a 2-2 draw against Indy Eleven away from home. San Diego is in seventh place on the Western Conference and is in jeopardy of dropping out of a playoff spot if the negative results continue. The Loyal still have two more road games to play against Hartford Athletic and Colorado Springs before returning home to five-consecutive NWSL games and a friendly match against Borussia Dortmund.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.