Monterey Bay F.C. signs Mexico veteran Rafael Baca, aims to turn around season.

Monterey Bay F.C. has announced the highest-profile signing in the club’s young history—midfielder Rafael Baca, who joins from Cruz Azul of Mexico’s Liga MX with the hope of guiding MBFC’s season back on track and into the USL Championship playoffs.

Baca, 33, was unveiled at a press conference at the club’s Cardinale Stadium in Seaside on Thursday afternoon, July 27. He joins Monterey Bay after nine-and-a-half years and more than 300 games with Mexico City-based Cruz Azul, for whom he became a regular contributor in central midfield.

Baca—who was available on a free transfer after his contract with Cruz Azul expired this summer—has signed for the remainder of the 2023 season, with the club holding an option to extend his deal through the 2024 season. He will wear number 20 for Monterey Bay.

The Michoacán, Mexico-born veteran—who moved to California as a child, played high school soccer in Inglewood, and went on to star at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles—reunites with two men he knows well, Monterey Bay head coach and sporting director Frank Yallop and assistant coach Ramiro Corrales. 

Yallop signed Baca to his first professional contract as head coach of Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes, where Baca spent a successful two-and-a-half years before moving to Cruz Azul. While with San Jose, he developed a close friendship with Corrales—a Salinas native and Earthquakes legend 12 years his senior, who became a roommate and mentor of Baca’s. The move also sees Baca reunite with another old Earthquakes teammate, MBFC midfielder Simon Dawkins.

“When I spoke to Ramiro and then Frank about this opportunity, I didn’t think about it twice,” Baca said at the press conference. “I thought that what I had to do in Mexico with a big club, I did it, and it was time to come back to the States. This opportunity was big for me—knowing that Frank was here, Ramiro was an old teammate of mine. I want to win things; I want to do big things here.”

Yallop spoke glowingly about Baca and what he will bring to Monterey Bay, which is currently on a poor run of four defeats and one draw in its last five games that has dropped the team out of the USL Championship playoff picture. With 13 games left to play in the club’s second regular season, Yallop believes Baca will bring the quality and experience needed to get back in the playoff hunt.

“I think it’s a great occasion for us as a club and community to have someone of Rafa’s stature join our team,” Yallop said. “When he came to the Earthquakes while I was there, he was a young kid fresh out of college—and to see what he’s turned into and what he’s done in his career is amazing. He’s got a lot to offer, he wants to win things, wants to come here and do well for us, so we’re super excited to have him.”

“I know we’re on the border of qualifying [for the playoffs], and that’s going to be our first mission,” Baca added. “Once that happens, the playoffs is a whole new story.”

Yallop said that the club is still waiting for Baca’s work visa to be finalized, making it unlikely that he’ll play in the team’s next game against Phoenix Rising at Cardinale Stadium this Saturday, July 29. But the coach hopes to have Baca available for the following weekend’s match against Western Conference leaders and regional rivals Sacramento Republic, setting the stage for a big debut in front of the Union faithful in Seaside.

Baca began training with Monterey Bay on Wednesday, and both he and Yallop expressed confidence that he’s physically ready to instantly contribute to his new club—with Baca noting that he had been training with Cruz Azul over the summer. 

Yallop also looked forward to what MBFC’s younger players will be able to learn from Baca, given his experience in one of North America’s top soccer leagues. “What he’s done in his career is going to really help our younger guys—Adrian Rebollar and Walmer Martinez, guys like that are going to look up to Rafa for that experience that he has,” he said. “He’s just joined in training right away, and you’d think he’s been here for months. I just think his leadership qualities are there; you can already tell he’s a terrific character and a good person. I think that’s really going to rub off on our team.”

Baca himself sounded more than willing to play the role of elder statesman on the pitch and in the locker room. “I’m happy to see young kids that want to achieve big things…I feel that I can contribute to try to get the best out of them,” he said of his new teammates. “That's why I'm here—I’m going to try to teach them things that I learned throughout my years, so I can help them improve and get the best out of them for the benefit of the team.”

On a personal level, Baca noted that the move was also motivated by a desire to return to the U.S. with his wife and their three children, who are American citizens. “I think they’re at an age where it’s important for them to come back to the States and to start getting involved with the culture and what their lifestyle’s going to be,” he said. “It was time to come back home.”

And the Bacas are also excited about enjoying all that life in Monterey County has to offer. Baca mentioned how he and his wife will now be able to complete an unfinished bike ride they took down the coast together years ago. 

“When we toured [the area], she was like, ‘You still owe me that,’” he recalled. “We were supposed to be on a trail to make it to Big Sur—we never made it, so I still owe her that bike ride. She’s happy…It’s beautiful here.”