Sometimes the soccer gods know exactly what you need. Sitting here fresh off of Arsenal dropping points, all I could say was that I need RIFC back in my life. A mere few moments later and the club gift us with their second signing in a week.

Fresh off of the announcement that Taimu Okiyoshi has joined the club, Rhode Island FC keep the reinforcements rolling, adding defensive depth by way of Dani Rovira.

Who is Dani Rovira?

Hailing from Bogotá, Columbia, Dani Rovira started his youth career with none other than the New England Revolution when he came to Massachusetts as a 17 year old before taking his talents to Dean College. After two seasons in Franklin, MA where he earned USCAA All-America Second Team honors as a sophomore, Rovira joined the current national champions, UVM.

After racking up 33 appearances with the Catamounts, Rovira made his professional debut with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in 2019.

What does he bring to RIFC?

Experience

Making 138 appearances in Pittsburgh, Rovira brings significant USL experience to a locker room where many players just featured in their first USL campaign.

Depth

Primarily serving as a RWB, Rovira will be able to absorb minutes behind Stephen Turnbull. It’s likely that the days of Frank Nodarse hugging the touchline, as fun as those were, are behind us. Sorry Matt Hands.

When looking at his stats on a per 90 basis, he profiles well in terms of assists, accurate long balls, tackles and interceptions. Sounds a bit like Stephen Turnbull to me.

Locker Room Presence

If you read anything about Dani’s time in Pittsburgh, there is always a mention of who he was as not just a player, but a person and teammate. In a team where Coach Khano emphasizes the player’s personality over anything, Dani should fit right in with a fantastic group.

When you ask the players about Rovira, they laugh and mention that their teammate knows how to have fun.
“He’s a good team guy, good locker room guy. I mean he’s a very jovial, Spanish guy. He likes to have fun sometimes when we go on the road. He’s a fun man,” midfielder Kenardo Forbes said.

https://www.riverhounds.com/news/2024/07/24/dani-rovira-feature/

Where does he fit in?

As mentioned above, this acquisition screams depth piece. With the team bringing back almost 100% of the core from last year’s Eastern Conference Champion squad, as well as adding star midfielder Maxi Rodriguez, the rest of the offseason additions was always going to realistically be depth signings.

Looking at his stats, Rovira has never lit it up in the USL, starting just 10 matches in the league last season for the Riverhounds. But during his time on the pitch, he showed the ability to make things happen on the offensive end while holding his own on defense. This should give Coach Khano Smith the confidence that he can come off of the bench and make a difference in a match that Rhode Island FC is chasing or close out a match that we are winning (which should be MANY).

All in all, the signing of Rovira gives Coach Khano yet another tool to integrate into his toolkit in a season where RIFC will hope to make deep runs in multiple competitions.

Up the Tide!