After moving from Mexico as a child, Las Vegas was where Lights FC midfielder Julian Portugal both learned the game of soccer, and then thrived at every stop along the way to a professional playing career.
From a club soccer career, to Palo Verde High School, to UNLV and now as a member of the inaugural Las Vegas Lights FC roster, Portugal has experienced success at every level locally.
Now, in his spare time, he’s looking out for the next generation of talent in Las Vegas.
“Vegas is very untapped in talent,” he said. “There’s a lot of talent that just is not promoted or goes unseen, so I do feel a responsibility to get it out more.”
Working with players from the youth ranks, all the way up to current collegiate and professional players, Portugal spends a few nights a week training others at Phase 1 Sports.
In passing down what’s worked for him along the way to a professional career, Portugal hopes his knowledge of not just the game, but also the system will help others get the opportunities they’re chasing.
“Being at UNLV gave me a bit of an edge, but now being on the Lights, it just shows that my work helped me get on the Lights,” he added. “I documented how I prepared, how I trained, and I showed them – And I even involved some of the kids in my training. They’re like ‘OK, that worked for him, it can work for me a couple years from now.'”
