Phoenix Rising signs former LA Galaxy II midfielder Iván Gutiérrez

Phoenix Rising FC announced on Monday that the club has signed midfielder Iván Gutiérrez to its 2021 roster.

Gutiérrez will turn 23 in February and was most recently with fellow USL Championship side LA Galaxy II for each of the last two seasons.

The midfielder is coming off of the best season of his career after scoring one goal and leading Los Dos in assists with four over the course of 17 appearances (10 starts).

“I’m excited to join Rising because my playing style matches the team’s tactics very well,” Gutiérrez said in a press release. “They’re a team that loves to attack.

“They go at teams and I feel like other teams are forced to defend a lot. That’s my game. I love to run at defenders and get everyone involved in the attack.”

Prior to his USL days, Gutiérrez joined Chivas USA’s youth academy in 2012 where he would play four seasons in Los Angeles before transferring to Guadalajara in 2016.

PRFC’s newest signee also represented Mexico’s U-17 National Team in that span, having won the 2015 CONCACAF U-17 Championship and finishing fourth at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.

“Every time we played against Ivan, he was very dangerous,” manager Rick Schantz said in the release. “I like his attacking skills and his forward-thinking movements.

“He has the quickness and technical ability to beat defenders and help create goal-scoring opportunities. In our system, he will be isolated often out wide. I expect him to develop into one of the top players in this league.”

Phoenix Rising now has 13 players signed to its roster ahead of the 2021 USLC campaign:

Goalkeepers: Zac Lubin

Fullbacks: Darnell King and Joey Calistri

Center backs: Joey Farrell and Tobi Adewole

Midfielders: Jon Bakero, Kevon Lambert, Sam Stanton, Aodhan Quinn and Iván Gutiérrez

Forwards: Solomon Asante, Rufat Dadashov and Santi Moar

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