Desert Showcase: Pablo Mastroeni returns to Tucson, where he ‘learned what it takes to be a pro’

A player for the Tucson Amigos of the United States Indoor Soccer League from 1995-97, Mastroeni has blossomed into one of the best minds in the game. At the time, Mastroeni said, the league was a blend of college players who had big eyes and bigger dreams and of experienced pros who had spent much of their time playing indoors and were finishing up their careers. Major League Soccer would kick off its inaugural season in 1996, Year 2 of Mastroeni’s three-year run with the Amigos, and “there was a lot of excitement for those young players (at the time),” he said, “It felt like a trial for the MLS career I’d end up having.”

The Amigos played most of their home games at Rincon High School, usually in front of a few thousand fans, a contrast to Mastroeni’s collegiate career, as he starred for North Carolina State. Without many viable options stateside, the USISL — which would go on to develop into what is now the USL Championship League — provided a summer soccer outlet for players like Mastroeni.

“For someone who wanted to make a go of the MLS, this was the next-best scenario,” he said. “There were so many American players who didn’t have a home. Now you look at it today — MLS, USL Championship, USL League 1 — and it’s a different world.”

The Amigos trained a few times a week, with Mastroeni commuting from Phoenix when he could. Older teammates eschewed practice entirely. They’d seen everything there is to see in soccer.

“The older guys just showed up for the games,” he said. “They could just pick up their gear, and they wouldn’t miss a beat. They had so much experience. They just used their heads.

“Us younger guys had to put in more physical work. It’s kind of like back in the day, those golfers who aren’t on the tour, but they’d have money games with tourney players and win everything.”

Mastroeni was college-aged at the time, soaking in the tricks from old vets whose best days were long before them. Was he learning about the perfect angle of a corner kick? How to bang it off a shin to create a scoring opportunity? Not so much. He learned how to hold his own against veterans with families. He learned about how to take care of a body that is long on years and short on muscle twitch.

“I learned what it takes to be a pro from a lot of those guys, guys like Wes Wade and Vince Bianchi,” Mastroeni said. “I learned how to handle certain situations. It was a step in (a) positive direction for me personally. These guys pushed me to be a player every day.

“Those learning moments for a younger player were incredible opportunities. What’s your status within this team? How do you conduct yourself on away trips? There was a great deal of learning, and it paid dividends when I got to the MLS as a rookie. I knew how to conduct myself.”

The biggest lessons Mastroeni learned as a player in Tucson nearly three decades ago are bearing fruit in his coaching career now.

At a recent RSL practice, a young player eager to prove his bona fides was getting a little feisty on the field. He was going to the ground and taking guys with him, including older players who were none too happy.

“The younger guys are trying to prove something,” he said. “I had to explain to him, ‘I love the energy, I love the commitment, I love the work, but you have to understand these guys are trying to preserve themselves.’ ”

Mastroeni played for the Miami Fusion, Colorado Rapids and Los Angeles Galaxy in a long and productive 15-year career — the majority of which he spent with the Rapids, for whom he starred from 2002-13. He experienced both sides. He was once that young, hungry buck in Tucson, just trying to make a name for himself. And he was also that savvy veteran, just trying to hold on for one more season.

“The experience I’ve had as a player prepared me to be able to speak to these young players,” said Mastroeni, who also played on the U.S. men’s national team from 2001-09, including the 2006 World Cup. “To be fair, this group has a really good understanding of humility and really respects the older generation that came before them. It’s about making sure they’re not hurting the older guys because they’re not trying to show out too bad.”

Mastroeni is happy that some of RSL’s old bones will get a reprieve in Tucson, where they’ll play on the immaculate natural grass of the Kino Sports Complex. Even if a few vets take a stumble, they should emerge unscathed.

“We’re in the midst of a long preseason, six-plus weeks, and the majority has been on turf,” Mastroeni said. “That’s why this opportunity to go to Tucson is so invaluable. The older guys understand what a long preseason feels like, and having been an older player myself, I say if you have to take a day or two, please do that. You know how to gauge yourself.”