PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced on Thursday the club had re-signed defender Alejandro Fuenmayor ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Fuenmayor joined Rising FC last December and was the Championship title-winner’s most dependable defender, logging 2,986 minutes on the back line in across the regular season and playoffs while leading the club with 91 clearances and 32 tackles, the latter coming at a success rate of 68.1 percent. Fuenmayor played every minute (450) across all four matches during Rising FC’s run to its first league title.

“Ale was a fundamental piece of our success last season,” said Rising FC Head Coach Juan Guerra. “We’re grateful to have him back. It’s important to create a continuous idea, vision, and culture on and off the field within the organization. I cannot wait to get started working with him again in 2024.”

The 27-year-old arrived in the United States in 2018 with Houston Dynamo FC, with which he won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in his first season. He made six appearances on loan with Rio Grande Valley FC in 2019 while making 38 appearances in Major League Soccer before joining Oakland Roots SC for the 2022 season. Fuenmayor has now made 70 appearances in the Championship overall, recording 389 clearances, 386 recoveries and 107 interceptions.

“Phoenix is a great team,” said Fuenmayor. “It is a great organization. We finished as champions. It started as a team full of new players and little by little we got better. We have a great team and a great group of players. That motivated me to stay another year with the fans who have supported us all year and I believe it will be another great new year together.”

Analysis

Alejandro Fuenmayor was one of the players Rising FC Head Coach Juan Guerra recruited during his overhaul of Phoenix’s roster last offseason from former club Oakland Roots SC, and his fellow countryman proved a rock in the back line during the club’s ups and downs during the season. The native of Maracaibo, Venezuela delivered impressive numbers with 39 interceptions and 32 tackles won and continued to impress with his timing in winning aerial battles – 63 of 93 for a 67.7 percent success rate – despite his undersized stature at 5-foot-9.

Fuenmayor’s ability on the ball was also crucial to Phoenix. He ranked in the Top 20 players in the Championship’s regular season with 2,108 touches – almost 300 more than closest teammate Renzo Zambrano – while posting a passing accuracy rate of 85.6 percent on 1,766 successful passes for the possession-heavy side. Those qualities will make him a crucial part of the squad again in its title defense.