Photo courtesy of Logan Bowles/Jacksonville Armada FC

By FRANCO PANIZO

The Florida rivalry that exists in NASL is about to be taken to a whole new level.

Jacksonville Armada will join the league as an expansion team in 2015, giving NASL its third club in the Sunshine State after the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers and Tampa Bay Rowdies. Jacksonville has no intention to play second fiddle to those clubs, however, as the Armada have built a roster that boasts plenty of NASL, European and South American experience.

Making the club even more interesting is that it has not one, but two head coaches entering their first year in the league. Argentines Jose Luis Villarreal and Guillermo Hoyos are both attempting to create a winning identity for the club in a unique situation that will see both of them have major input in how the Armada plays from week to week.

With experienced veterans like former Colorado Rapids player Jaime Castrillon and playmaker Marcos Flores on the squad, the Armada figure to be one of the more interesting teams in the league this season. How they’ll come together and perform is still a big question mark, but it should be a heck of a ride as the Armada bring professional soccer to Jacksonville.

Here’s a closer look at the 2015 Jacksonville Armada:

JACKSONVILLA ARMADA SEASON PREVIEW

2014 FINISH: INAUGURAL SEASON

HEAD COACHES: Jose Luis Villarreal, first year, and Guillermo Hoyos, first year

KEY ACQUISITIONS: G Miguel Gallardo, F Jemal Johnson, F Akeil Barrett, M Nico Zaldana, M Jaime Castrillon, D Jordan Gafa, M Lucas Scaglia, M Marcos Flores

NEWCOMER TO WATCH: Jemal Johnson. The veteran forward has a bevy of experience playing in both the United States and England, and will be leaned upon to help out a team that is still coming together. Johnson, 29, will also need to do his share of scoring if the Armada are to be successful, which is something he struggled with the past couple of seasons with the New York Cosmos and Ft. Lauderdale Strikers.

PRESSURE IS ON: Miguel Gallardo. Expansion teams still trying to figure things out and mesh tend to give up chances, and Gallardo will need to perform from the onset and help limit how many goals Jacksonville concedes. The 30-year-old Gallardo has spent the last four seasons helping Orlando City win several championships in USL, but will now need to adjust to NASL’s style of play quickly and perform if the club is to have a shot at coming out of the gates quickly.

OUTLOOK

As if coming together as an expansion team was not hard enough, imagine having to do so under two head coaches.

Former teammates and longtime friends Jose Luis Villarreal and Guillermo Hoyos are leading the charge for Jacksonville Armada in a unique situation that will see them both split coaching responsibilities. Villarreal was appointed first back in 2014, but he had Hoyos join him this past winter in an effort to strengthen Jacksonville’s chances of avoiding a rough first year.

The two Argentines, whose major claim to fame is helping discover Lionel Messi, are entering the season with a squad filled with players ranging in experience. Some have played in NASL already, others have spent time in MLS, and a few come from other parts of the world.

Like with any expansion side, the key for Villarreal and Hoyos will be how quickly they can get their players to come together as a unit. Right now, that’s a work in progress.

“It’s difficult. It hasn’t been easy, and it won’t be,” Villarreal told SBI. “Little by little they’ve understood the style of play, the work we want them to do, and they’ve also been getting to know each other. The good thing about this team is that there are five or six players that are big-time players – and when I say big-time players, I mean in terms of age and their track record – like (Alhassane) Keita, like Jaime Castrillon, like Marco Flores, like Miguel Gallardo. Those are the biggest names on the roster as well as the other goalkeeper David Sierra.

“Then there’s a mix of players with experience and players with youth, but I think during this time, the players have gotten to know each other well, and we’ve been able to, maybe not become a family, but become a very unified group.”

While jelling on and off the field is important, so too is learning Villarreal and Hoyos’ system. Villarreal has scouted NASL teams and followed their offseason moves closely since signing with the Armada last year and has built a roster he believes can play an attractive, possession-oriented game.

It’s a style that demands the players to move the ball fast and regain possession quickly when it’s lost, and the front six constantly interchange positions while the fullbacks push forward into the attack. Still, it is all subject to change.

“The style of play will vary, surely, because it will depend on how our opponents play us, but we’re going to try and make the way we play the same,” said Villarreal. “We want to be an offensive team, defending with four at the back, playing with three in the midfield and three up top. That will change depending on what our opponents throw at us, but the idea is to always be an offensive-minded team, a team that has the ball often.”

With attacking soccer being stressed, veteran players like Castrillon and forward Jemal Johnson will need to shoulder a lot of responsibility. They have to lead by example on the field with hardworking and impressive performances, and also help set the tone in practice sessions and in the locker room.

That is especially key with the Armada being an expansion side, one that is still working out all the kinks that come from having so much unfamiliarity. Still, being the unknown quantity has its benefits.

“Other teams are coming to play against you, and they don’t know much about the team, they don’t know much about how you play, they don’t know much about the players you’ve got,” Johnson told SBI. “It’s sort of like you’ve got an advantage over teams in some ways.”

Even so, Johnson and the Armada know that the season will provide plenty of challenges. That’s just the way things go when you’re an expansion team, especially one with two head coaches that are still in the process of learning about NASL and all of its intricacies.

Jacksonville’s pragmatic attitude toward its inaugural season is still not stopping the club from thinking big. The Armada know they have much to work on, but believe they have as good a shot as any team in the league to claim some silverware in 2015.

“I think some time is going to need to pass (for us to really get going), but we have dreams, and we want to win the championship,” said Villarreal. “I know it won’t be easy, and we respect all of our opponents because, but we want to do a good job, and we want to win the league.

“I think for being a new team with a city that’s behind it, we’re going to really try to win over the fans’ attention. From there, we’ll go game by game and know that it’s a short spring season, and we have a chance to win it like any other team.”