Outdoor soccer: Florida improves lineup, signs former Dallas Sidekicks' midfielder Julio Varela

A late postseason run by former Dallas Sidekicks midfielder Julio Varela caught the eyes of Florida Tropics head coach Clay Roberts. Now, Varela is a part of the Tropics.

Varela this past week signed a two-year deal with the Tropics. Varela last Major Arena Soccer League season was the third-leading scorer on the Dallas and pushed the Kansas City Comets to a knockout game before falling.

Roberts said he is in joy that Varela will be starting his fourth season of play with the Tropics.

“In our recruitment of talent over the past few years, we’ve had this good balance of veterans and up-and-coming young players. He’s that,” Roberts said. “I love his skill set. He’ll be a second forward, midfielder for us. But his technical ability, his one vs. one, his creativity is something that is desirable, as is his overall energy for the game.”

Overall, Varela appeared in 39 career regular-season and playoff games, scoring 23 goals and tacking on 16 assists. He started his MASL career with the Turlock Express before playing for the Sidekicks the last two seasons. He competed in the midfield and on defense for Dallas.

Varela is a native of Watsonville, California and went on to play at Hartnell College for two years. In all, he started 34 games in two seasons, while also playing one year for Holy Names University and a campaign with Cal State Monterrey. Additionally, he has played one season with the Santa Cruz Breakers of USL 2.

Thanks to his skill set and experience, he has been invited this summer for a tryout with the U.S. Soccer Men’s National Futsal team, which is in preparation for the next FIFA World Cup in 2024. Tropics forward Zach Reget was also invited to tryout this summer after earning a spot on the 2021 U.S. National Futsal team  — a squad that competed in the World Cup in Lithuania, which is the ninth total futsal World Cup event.

After advancing for the first time in team history to the MASL championship finals last spring, the Tropics will being a seventh season in the fall at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: outdoor soccer