BRADENTON, Fla. — Allan Cruz rejoined FC Cincinnati on Monday after playing 90 minutes for the Costa Rican National Team in a 2-0 loss to the United States Men’s National Team in Saturday afternoon’s friendly.
Cruz, who signed with Cincinnati in the offseason from Herediano in Costa Rica, departed from training on Thursday to practice with his national team. After returning late Sunday night, Cruz rested during Monday morning’s training session, but took part in the team’s on-field strength and fitness session in the afternoon.
“I think it was good for me, personally,” Cruz said of the opportunity with Costa Rica, via a translator. “Like every other player, you always want to be there. I felt good with the new teammates. I felt like we played well in the first half. We struggled a bit in the second half. We started to knock the ball around back and forth and that is where we started struggling.”
FCC Head Coach Alan Koch only watched the first 45 minutes — he was in a meeting in the second half — but offered similar sentiments from what he saw.
“I was quite happy with how Allan did,” Koch said. “Little worried he got whacked a couple times. He flew back in late last night so I didn’t even see him this morning. I told him to sleep in and take it easy and I’d catch up with him this afternoon. …Of the 45 minutes I watched, I was happy, particularly considering he flew on Thursday all the way across the country to get to California and then went and put in a good shift.”
Cruz, 22, has seven appearances for Costa Rica. By joining FC Cincinnati ahead of its inaugural MLS season, Cruz will be one of the prominent “Ticos” in MLS, just like FCC center back Kendall Waston.
“It gets me excited to be kept in mind and to see all the good comments coming out of here in United States,” Cruz said about his introduction to American soccer fans. “For me, it’s an honor… to continue in that road, to keep learning a lot from the great players that surround me here. They have helped me a lot and I feel like that will help me a lot in my career.”
Now back with Cincinnati, Cruz could play for the club on Thursday night in its third preseason match against D.C. United. He played in the club’s 1-1 draw with the Montreal Impact last Wednesday, but missed Saturday’s match against the Colorado Rapids to play for Costa Rica.
“I have felt it’s gone great,” Cruz said of his time with FCC. “I have adapted well to the team. I feel that we have been working well. I was on the field for the first [friendly], I wasn’t on the field for the second since I was with the national team, but I followed along. The team has been doing well and we won 1-0. I feel like we are on the right path.”
