San Diego Loyal President Ricardo Campos was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule on Tuesday, which included volunteering at Ronald McDonald House Charities of San Diego, to discuss several topics including the upcoming match with the top team in the USL Championship standings, San Antonio FC, on Saturday evening at Torero Stadium.
Campos is a native of São Paulo, Brazil and officially took over the reins with San Diego Loyal in January of 2022 after having served as interim president for six months with his previous position being vice president of operations and general manager.
San Diego Loyal currently sits in second place, having played one more match than San Antonio FC, which currently has a seven-point lead over the team led by head coach Landon Donovan. The two clubs already faced each other in the 2021 playoffs with San Antonio coming out with a 2-0 win and will play each other again at Toyota Field on Sept. 10, making this upcoming match on Saturday of even greater importance if San Diego wants to clinch the top spot in the conference along with a first-round bye in the playoffs.
“The team we played in San Antonio last year in the playoffs on the road is a different team,” said Campos. “It’s a different team for both sides playing this weekend. I like to think that we perform at our best when we play the best.
“If you look at some of the results we’ve gotten on the road against some of the tougher teams, we have done well. I believe in our boys and what they are going to put together this weekend.”
The top seven teams from each conference qualify for the postseason with a current logjam existing for the final three spots in the Western Conference that includes Sacramento Republic sitting in fifth position, a team that has already qualified for the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final.
“It’s the beauty of soccer and those 90 minutes. What USL is doing with the number of teams that are investing in the product on the field, it speaks a ton to what Sacramento has done,” he added. “It’s amazing not just for Sacramento but for what the league is doing. They were not the only ones to beat MLS teams and I think we also had a fair chance if it wasn’t for a congested schedule, but we’re excited about the future.”
San Diego beat Sacramento 2-0 on March 19 with the two teams facing each other to end the regular season on Oct. 15. Barring an unforeseen debacle that could prevent San Diego from making another postseason appearance, the team and its passionate fanbase will have a much clearer picture of who the playoff opponent will be or if they get to enjoy a first-round bye.
“When I first started, I was very soccer-focused because that’s where my day-to-day was,” said Campos. “The challenge that I took on at (San Diego Loyal) was more on the game experience and fan side of things. What I love about my current role is that I have to find the balance of both.”
The fan support has only increased since San Diego Loyal played its first match back in early 2020 and the fact that there are other professional soccer teams sharing the limelight has not been a detriment in terms of keeping its original supporters and bringing in new ones. Among those teams is San Diego Wave FC, which currently sits in first place in the National Women’s Soccer League standings and will be moving from Torero Stadium to Snapdragon Stadium on Sept. 17.
“The Wave joining San Diego is great, we couldn’t be happier about it. We all want more soccer and they’ve done a phenomenal job on and off the field to build their community,” Campos concluded. “We need more stadiums and this type of high-end facility, so this is a super exciting project for the city itself.
“I truly value the game experience and customer experience being a reflection of the community, so what I love the most is finding that balance and staying true to building a team that represents that community but part of that representation is being successful on the field and putting a quality product.”
