JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Armada FC, Jacksonville's new North American Soccer League team, announced on Wednesday the signing of local and regional standouts Nurdin Hrustic, Tommy Krizanovic and Nico Zaldana to its roster.
The signings mark the launch of a long-term strategy by Armada FC Owner and CEO Mark Frisch and General Manager Dario Sala to stock the club with an abundance of Northeast Florida and greater Florida talent for years to come.
"We are excited to announce the signing of Nurdin, Tommy and Nico," Frisch said. "This is a great day for our club because it signifies the launch of our long-term vision to have much of our roster come from the Jacksonville area and greater Florida."
Sala, who himself was discovered at an open tryout before signing with Argentinian first division powerhouse San Lorenzo in 1995, believes in discovering talent through tryouts and developing a strong local talent base.
"I believe in the importance of finding and developing local talent," Sala said. "We want to eventually have a talent pipeline like FC Barcelona where a good portion of our roster is local talent. When you have players who are from your team's region, they will have a stronger sense of pride and play harder for the jersey they are defending."
The Armada FC expects to round out its roster over the next several weeks and plans to announce additional local signees.