In the 82nd minute of the Real Monarchs match on Wednesday night against Portland Timbers 2, a 19-year-old Paraguayan got his first taste of life at 4,449 feet.
After signing with Real Salt Lake on July 22, Pedro Baez arrived in Utah on Saturday after finalizing all of his immigration and transfer documents. After a few training sessions with Real Monarchs, he made an appearance with the USL club on Wednesday night in a 2-1 win over Portland’s USL squad at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Baez was all smiles, even though he was a little bit gassed from his short stretch on the field.
“I’m going to keep learning with the Monarchs and keep moving up,” Baez said after the match. “It was difficult to breath. I was in there for a few minutes, but I felt like I could have done more.”
Baez has time to adapt to his surroundings with RSL and with the Monarchs, he can cut his teeth at the USL level before making the adaptation to the MLS level. Coming from Paraguay, the hope is that some of that adaptation will come quickly because of similarities in the aggressive natures of the two leagues.
Already he has mixed in well with RSL’s players and coaches in the short time he spent with the team before seeing his first game action on Wednesday night.
“He’s got a great build and he’s a kind young man. I think he’s going to fit in well in our locker room,” RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar said on ESPN 700 on Tuesday. “In a brief time seeing him, he’s got a really good touch on the ball. Good ideas.”
Real Monarchs Head Coach Freddy Juarez saw a lot of that adjustment
“As soon as he went in, you could see his savviness. His field awareness was good and that created a little more havoc for the opposing teams,” Juarez said. “He handled his minutes well and was clearly a factor.”
His runout on Wednesday was as much about getting his feet under him as it was about how Baez played, but he did make an impact. When he entered the match, it was tied 1-1 and not long after the Monarchs earned the game-winner on an own-goal, Baez not far from the man to put it into the net for Portland.
While those opportunities to play will clearly have an effect for Baez as he transitions to his new life in America, he signed with RSL to make an impact at the MLS level. With a veteran core on the first team, those opportunities will not come easy, but that’s a challenge he embraces and hopes to learn from.
“This team has very good players. If I can jump in and play with them I will gain some experience and get better,” Baez said. “I look forward to playing and having a great experience in front of the fans here.”
