SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Sacramento Republic FC announced on Monday it had reached an agreement with Finnish veteran Petteri Pennanen. He will be added to the roster pending league and federation approval and receipt of his P-1 Visa and ITC. Per club policy, the terms of the contract were not disclosed.

“Pete is a big-time player, and it was clear from our research and from our conversations with him that he epitomizes the indomitable mentality that our club is built upon,” said Republic FC General Manager Todd Dunivant. “We are confident that his experience and leadership will drive our team forward and raise the level both on and off the field.”

The 30-year-old midfielder joins Republic from Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) of the top-flight Finnish Veikkausliiga after building 16 years of senior team experience in Finland, Indonesia, Poland and the Netherlands. He has featured for Finland’s youth and senior national teams. Through his career, Pennanen’s diverse skill set and field vision allow him to contribute primarily at three positions: attacking midfield, left winger, and central midfield.

Through nearly 350 career matches, he has featured in 97 percent of his club’s contests, tallying more than 26,000 minutes, 60 goals and 43 assists, including marquee appearances in the UEFA Europa League and Champions League qualifying matches. In 2020, he was named to the Veikkausliiga August Star team, and in 2018 and 2019, he earned Midfielder of the Year – as voted on by the players throughout the league – as well as to the Veikkausliiga All-Star team.

In 2019, he led KuPS in minutes played during in their Veikkausliiga championship run and lead the league in assists (9). In the 2017-2018 season, Pennanen finished second on the club in goals scored with 17 while tallying over 3,300 minutes played.

Rising FC Brings in Gutierrez from Los Dos

Phoenix Rising FC announced on Monday it had signed midfielder Iván Gutiérrez, pending league and federation approval. Gutiérrez most-recently played with LA Galaxy II in the USL Championship. He led Los Dos in assists last season with four in 17 appearances.

“I’m excited to join Rising because my playing style matches the team’s tactics very well,” said Gutiérrez. “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.”

Gutiérrez began his youth career with Chivas USA in 2012, playing four seasons in Los Angeles before transferring to Guadalajara. During that time, he represented the Mexican U-17 National team in the 2015 Concacaf U-17 Championship. Mexico won the tournament that season to advance to the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, where they finished fourth. Gutiérrez joined LA Galaxy II in 2019, scoring one goal in six appearances.

“Every time we played against Ivan, he was very dangerous,” said Rising Head Coach Rick Schantz. “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.”

Hartford Brings Back Lara for 2021 Season

Hartford Athletic announced on Monday the club had exercised its contract option on defender Alex Lara, who will return to the club for the 2021 Championship season.

“I want to say thank you to Hartford Athletic for welcoming me back for the 2021 season,” said Lara. “My first professional season was one I will never forget. I am excited to continue to grow as a player and help us make a deep playoff run next year.”

Lara appeared in 13 matches in his rookie season, making six starts. He recorded his first professional assist on September 5th against Loudoun United FC, delivering a beautiful cross to Gabriel Torres for the game-winning goal. A few weeks later, Lara ran uncovered to the back post to tap home a Mads Jørgensen corner kick for his first professional goal. He finished in the top four on the team in Clearances, Blocks, Interceptions, and Tackles Won despite playing just 750 minutes.

Lara is the first defender returning from the 2020 squad. Midfielders Danny Barrera and Gabriel Torres have also been announced as players returning for next season.