Rodrigo López Alvarez (born May 10, 1987) is a professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who plays as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

Sacramento Republic Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, th ...

. Born in Mexico, he represented the United States national under-20 team.

Career

Youth

López grew up in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, and began his career in 2003 when he joined the

Chivas de Guadalajara Club Deportivo Guadalajara (); often simply known as Guadalajara () and their nickname ''Chivas'' (), is a Mexican professional football club based in Zapopan, Jalisco. Guadalajara is one of the ten founding members of the Mexican First Divisi ...

youth system, where he played for a year and a half.

Professional

López turned professional when he was signed to a developmental contract by

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

on July 7, 2005, and remained with the team until he was waived in 2007 having made eight MLS appearances. López dropped down a level to play a season with

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on the ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

in 2008, and then played for both Cuervos Negros de Zapotlanejo and

Querétaro Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...

in Mexico, before returning to Ventura County in the summer of 2009 to help the Fusion win the 2009 PDL Championship, receiving MVP honors. Following the conclusion of the PDL season López signed with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

, helping them to the 2009

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

regular season title. On March 17, 2011, Lopez was added to the Portland Timbers MLS roster, along with Chris Taylor and Spencer Thompson. Following the 2011 season, the Timbers announced that they would not be bringing López back for the 2012 season. Lopez entered the

2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 5, 2011 (Stage 1) and December 12, 2011 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs participated. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the traditional Waive ...

but was not selected and became a free agent. On December 2, 2013,

Sacramento Republic FC Sacramento Republic FC is an American professional soccer team based in Sacramento, California, that plays in the Western Conference of the USL Championship, the second level in US soccer. Co-founded by Warren Smith and Joe Wagoner in 2012, the ...

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

announced López as their first signing. Was a USL PRO MVP finalist and a First Team All-USL PRO Selection. Was named to the USL PRO Team of the Week in weeks 9, 14, 19 and 24 and was the Player of the Week in week 14. Was also named USL PRO Playoffs MVP. On October 8, 2015 López announced that he would not be returning for

's 2016 season. On January 3, 2020

announced the return of López for the 2020 season. Following his release from Sacramento at the end of the 2020 season, López moved to

Rio Grande Valley FC Rio Grande Valley FC, also known as RGVFC or Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, is an American semi-professional soccer team based in Edinburg, Texas operated by Lone Star, LLC. They joined the USL Championship in the 2016 season. The team served as a ...

on April 15, 2021. On January 18, 2022, López was transferred back to

Personal

Although born in Mexico, López's family moved to the United States when he was two years old, and he holds dual-citizenship with Mexico and the United States. He also has a brother and sister, Carmen López and Álvaro López.

Honors

Ventura County Fusion *

Champions:

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Orlando City *

USL Professional Division The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

Commissioner's Cup:

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Sacramento Republic *

USL Cup The USL Championship Final is the post-season championship match of the USL Championship, the second tier of professional men's soccer in the United States. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North American sports lea ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Individual *

All League First Team (2):

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

All League Second Team:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Rodrigo 1987 births Living people American soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Association football midfielders Chivas USA players Footballers from Jalisco Major League Soccer players Mexican emigrants to the United States Mexican footballers Orange County SC players Orlando City SC (2010–2014) players People from Harbor City, Los Angeles Portland Timbers players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Querétaro F.C. footballers Sacramento Republic FC players C.D. Veracruz footballers Soccer players from California United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players USL Championship players USL First Division players USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players Ventura County Fusion players Rio Grande Valley FC Toros players