Chucky Lozano

The status of Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano for playoff availability remains uncertain. News broke, per Tom Bogert (The Athletic), that Lozano had a verbal altercation in the locker room after being subbed off at halftime during San Diego’s match against the Houston Dynamo on October 4. Reports are saying Lozano was extremely unhappy with the decision to pull him from the game.

Lozano did not travel to Portland with the team for San Diego’s last game of the season. When head coach Mikey Varas was asked about the reason, he replied, “We had a situation we’re dealing with internally,” leaving many fans in question about the cause of Lozano being left out of the squad.

Other sources have reported that Lozano needs to prove his commitment to the locker room if he wants a chance at being selected for the playoff roster.  

As @sandiegofc heads into its 1st @MLS playoffs, there r questions on the status of Irving “Chucky” Lozano & injuries on defense. Talking w NBC 7 HC Mikey Varas addressed the Lozano issue and possibly playing w a roster in flex. pic.twitter.com/R2rTQppv7K

— Todd Strain (@TODDSTRAINNBCSD) October 23, 2025

The news comes at the worst possible time as SDFC is celebrating a lot of success and looks poised to make a deep run into the playoffs. Lozano is extremely important to San Diego’s team and the fanbase. While he started 22 games and missed the rest due to injuries, he’s produced nine goals and 10 assists on the season. Some of those goals, game-winners.

A transfer fee of around $12 million was spent to bring Lozano to San Diego, which represents the fight-highest salary in MLS. San Diego’s large Hispanic community embraced Lozano, many of whom made it their number one reason to come see a match. A fan-favorite, Lozano constantly stays after the game to sign autographs and give interviews. He never shies away from interacting with fans.

Mikey Varas has always been a proponent of no one being larger than the club. Players do not get preferential treatment; that is something Varas established at the beginning of the season. The family culture that Varas built in the locker room saw San Diego FC set a new expansion team record with 63 points and first place in the Western Conference, earning SDFC the number one seed going into the playoffs.

Luca de la Torre

Contractual talks remain ongoing between SDFC midfielder and San Diego native, Luca de la Torre, and the club, per sources.

San Diego FC would like to keep de la Torre and is ready to trigger the purchase option. For that to happen, the club is looking to agree on an amount that would fall in line with the grandeur plan when it comes to the salary cap. De la Torre’s cap hit this season was $1.54 million, per the MLSPA. San Diego would like to come to terms on a new, lower cap hit before winter.

Although de la Torre’s form fluctuated throughout the season, he’s been an important player for the club. The U.S. international made 30 regular-season appearances. Some say that the greatest ability is availability, something that de la Torre has been consistent in.

Sources report that there is still interest in de la Torre in Europe, which makes it a bit more difficult for SDFC to negotiate a deal that is favorable to their financial books.

Luca Bombino

Perhaps the biggest young contributor to this team, apart from Manu Dua,h has been Luca Bombino. The 19-year-old has made 24 starts and also represented the U-20 U.S. men’s national team at the World Cup.

The club is without a doubt picking up the trade option from LAFC in exchange for $200,000 GAM to keep Bombino in San Diego. Bogert reports that the only reason that option wasn’t picked up earlier was “to not start the clock on performance-based payments.”

LAFC will retain a sell-on clause, which means that if SDFC later sells Bombino, LAFC will get a cut of the sale.

Bombino is the latest example of how a team that is willing to give talented young players a shot can benefit in major ways. The left back role is cemented by Bombino, and he puts in a great performance every time he’s out there. Many speculate that European teams will show interest in Bombino if he continues playing great into the playoffs and beyond.

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Dmitry Anisimov

Dmitry Anisimov is a San Diego native who played soccer up to the college level when he represented the SDSU Men’s Club Soccer team. Growing up in San Diego, Dmitry is a fan of all the home teams but he specifically couldn’t wait until San Diego got an MLS team. Once that dream became reality, Dmitry married his love for writing and the game of soccer to portray a voice of the San Diego soccer community. There is a deep-rooted love of soccer culture in San Diego and Dmitry hopes to bring it to light through his pre and post-game coverage of all things San Diego FC.