Another former Cardinal from the University of the Incarnate Word men's soccer program has signed on to play professional soccer with the San Antonio Scorpions.
Former UIW midfielder Ljubomir “Lubo” Kocic has come back to San Antonio after letting the sport of soccer take him all around the United States and even to Europe – and playing for the first-year NASL franchise was something that Lubo “wanted to be a part of the moment I heard about the team starting in San Antonio.”
A native of Serbia who came to the United States back in 1994, Lubo lived in New Orleans and played for Grace King High School before signing with Incarnate Word under former head coach John Smith (now an assistant coach at Stanford University).
After college, he heard about a tryout, of sorts, happening in Houston that, unbeknownst to him, would take his career in a very dramatic path.
The event was a tryout for a soccer-themed reality show that would be known as “Soccer Aces” in the Americas. Going in with little expectations, the former Cardinal found himself being asked to continue trying out again and again until he was one of 50 players who actually made it on to the show.
“It was like Big Brother meets American Idol,” he explained, “—with a contract to play with the soccer club Athleico Madrid as the prize.”
Lubo was part of the 17 players who made it to Spain to meet and train under soccer legend Zinadine Zidane (someone that Kocic has listed as an inspiration to him both on and off the soccer field) and advanced into the top ten before being cut.
But, his time on the show developed into two benefits for Lubo – becoming fluent in Spanish and making his name known in soccer circles all over the world.
“Everywhere I have gone since then, people have asked me about the show,” he said.
Kocic was the lone representative of the United States on the show and found himself bringing an old textbook from his days as an Incarnate Word student with him to help him learn the language he was constantly surrounded by while competing in front of the cameras.
“When I went there, my Spanish wasn't great. But in four months, I became completely fluent in Spanish.”
Being on the show and being fluent in Spanish made the next step of his career easier, as he found himself in Puerto Rico (where fans recognized him from the show) and contributing on the field for two different teams, including Puerto Rico United.
Sadly, because of the economic issues plaguing the country, the soccer teams Lubo had played for both folded.
“That was tough because I played every minute of every game,” he said. “It really was a shame. We had good players and would have done well.”
After Puerto Rico's opportunities disappeared, Kocic found himself back in San Antonio in August of last year, where he heard about a group planning on bringing a North American Soccer League (NASL) franchise to the city – something that interested him greatly, as he felt that San Antonio was always a second home.
The team, however, was still in the early stages of the development process, and Lubo's agent, Joey Serralta, was able to get him into a professional combine where he was signed by the Rochester Lancers of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
As a rookie, Lubo was one of the league's top scorers with the third-most points on his team (and tied for 15th-best in the whole league) with 19 goals and 8 assists for 49 points. His skill on the field earned him a spot on the United States Futsal National Team – a 5-on-5 variation of soccer that has World Championship tournaments – which, he said, was “a huge honor.”
But during all this, Lubo made sure his agent knew that he wanted to get back to San Antonio.
“I knew I wanted to come back here to San Antonio because I knew they would have a great program,” he explained. “I knew from the moment I heard they were getting a team. I told my agent 'I want to get back to San Antonio and be a part of this.' He made it happen.”
After the Lancers' season ended in mid-March (a first-round playoff elimination from a squad in Baltimore), Lubo was able to come back to the area and play in front of the Scorpions' coaches who, because he had been up north and playing indoor, hadn't had a chance to see him play in-person.
Those sessions with the team, however, kept being interrupted by his commitment with the Futsal team and Kocic found himself on the road in places like Los Angeles while the Scorpions were preparing to play their first games as a franchise.
Lubo admitted a sense of frustration and some worry that the Scorpions wouldn't sign him because the season had already begun and they had already filled their roster with a talented pool of players.
That doubt diminished after he was able to return to San Antonio and spend about three weeks working with the team… and when the Scorpions signed him earlier this week.
“It is so exciting to finally be back,” he said. “It's so wonderful to be back where I went to college.”
He joins a team that has already proven to be a legitimate soccer force in the region – having gone into the U.S. Open Cup and defeated the Major League Soccer franchise, the Houston Dynamo, 1-0, last week.
Watching the Scorpions play and getting a chance to spend time with the people who make things happen on and off the field has only helped confirm to Lubo that his hunch that the team would be successful was correct.
“I really like the way they're doing things,” he said. “I feel like this club that has a lot of potential and has players with a lot of experience. I think getting chemistry is the most important thing right now – but this team already beat the Dynamo!
“I know great things are going to happen for this club and soon they'll be in the MLS and be competitive at that level too.”
But looking a little closer into the future (and not at the franchise's long-term goals of being a member of the country's top soccer league), Kocic says that he has quickly learned that with every level you rise as a professional soccer player, one thing stays true – the speed gets faster.
“The game gets quicker at every level… and more physical,” he explained. “You deal with players who know how to use space better and are better at controlling the ball. It's hard work and overall, it's really just a faster game. Sometimes you have to minimize your touches and simplify to one or two touches.”
Already on the team is a former UIW teammate of Lubo's in Esteban Bayona. Bayona was named to the squad prior the start of the season and was quick to welcome Kocic to the field when he tried out.
“Me and Esteban have been good friends and I have known him since college,” Lubo said. “We hadn't see each other in about a year, so it was great that when I got there that playing on the same team again was so natural.”
As an interior midfielder, Lubo knows that Bayona will be expecting his former teammate to pass him the ball up top (where Bayona usually plays) constantly.
“Oh yeah,” he said with a laugh, “He's going to want that ball up top as soon as I touch it.”
Kocic expects to continue playing in the midfield with San Antonio, but knows that isn't under his control.
“I'm pretty sure right now I'll continue to play midfielder,” he said. “But any day, a player has to be ready to play anywhere the coach wants you to.”
Right now, he's just focused on practicing and waiting to hear from the team if the NASL has gotten his paperwork completed so he can start contributing to the team as soon as possible – maybe even this weekend as the Scorpions host the Silverbacks at 7:30 p.m.
“Hopefully by Saturday, I can be cleared to play for the game against Atlanta.”
