Assembling an almost entirely new roster comes with obvious challenges. So with twenty-odd players joining the squad for 2026, Tampa Bay Rowdies Rowdies Head Coach Dominic Casciato knew he had his work cut out for him heading into preseason. High up on his preseason to-do list? Ensuring every player coming in understood the legacy they were inheriting as part of the Rowdies.
Fortunately, Casciato had no shortage of club legends to call upon in helping the crop of Rowdies newcomers learn what it means to represent the Green and Gold. Throughout the preseason, icons from some of the most successful teams in the club’s 50-year history were invited to meet with new players and offer their wisdom.
“There are not many clubs in this country that have a history as rich as ours, so tapping into that, along with the experiences and lessons our championship winning teams of the past are able to share was something that I felt was vital coming into the 2026 season,” said Casciato. “With an almost entirely new squad, getting these new players to understand they’re now part of something much bigger than themselves was the first objective. In the process of meeting and connecting with our former players, we have all learned more about our history and how other players and teams have been successful here.
Among the first to visit were members of the Rowdies inaugural roster that lifted the club’s first championship trophy in 1975. Eddie Austin, Mike Connell, Mark Lindsay, and Farrukh Quraishi all came in to share their stories and advice. Each legend was paired with a current Rowdies player, who had the opportunity to speak with the former player and learn about their career before introducing them to the team.
Midfielder Marco Micaletto had the privilege of introducing Connell, the Rowdies all-time appearances leader.
“I was very committed to trying to understand Mike and learn from him. But throughout our conversation, he never made it about him,” said Micaletto. “…He’s an amazing man who’s had such an amazing career, yet he was so intent on hearing from and trying to get my opinion, when really all I wanted to do was listen to his opinion. That really stuck with me a lot. I think for me and all the other lads, it was great to hear what it meant to be a Rowdies player from the lads that started this club, the ones that won championships at this club. Mike was such a pivotal figure in that 1975 squad.”
Not everyone in this year’s locker room needed a crash course on the club’s history. Longtime midfielder Lewis Hilton, who has worn the captain’s armband in the first three matches in 2026 and is one of the few holdovers from last year’s roster, played on the 2021 squad that set a new standard of excellence with a club-record 71 points in the regular season to claim the USL Championship Players’ Shield. Three of Hilton’s 2021 teammates – Sebastian Dalgaard, Forrest Lasso, and Zach Steinberger – came into camp in February to share insights from that record-setting season and their time with the club.
As the longest tenured player on the roster, Hilton relishes any chance to connect with past Rowdies players, as he did with Eddie Austin this preseason.
“You can just see Eddie’s passion for the game, and passion for soccer in Tampa Bay,” said Hilton. “It was great getting to know him personally and hearing stories about his playing days and the unbelievable opportunities he’s had to play against world superstars. It’s inspiring and it also makes you feel grateful to be a part of this club, that there’s guys from the early days still in the area that represent. It just shows the history of the Rowdies is alive and well.”
Legends from the 2012 championship team also came through during the two-month preseason camp. Andres Arango, Evans Frimpong, JP Rodrigues all visited along with Perry Van der Beck, a legendary Rowdies player in his own right from the ’70s and ’80s who served as technical director for that memorable season.
It wasn’t tough for Jeff Attinella, the staring keeper from the 2012 championship season, to make himself available to the new squad. Attinella, a Tampa Bay native that directly benefited from the Rowdies introducing the sport to the region back in the day, recently joined the front office as Director of Content and Development.
“For me, I think it was important to let these new guys know that there is a lot of history here and so many people that care deeply about the club,” said Attinella. “This club helped build soccer in this region, and everything has come a long way since the ’70s and even since I played here. As crucial as having an appreciation for that history is, I think it’s just as important that all these new players are ambitious to leave their mark and add to the legacy in their own way. If we have guys that are eager to do that, it’ll help this club keep moving forward.”
With three straight wins to start off the season, the hard work put in by the players in the preseason is already showing early paying off on the field. What may prove equally valuable down the road is the fellowship that has formed within the group as they take in the lessons of the past and forge the next chapter in Rowdies history.
“This whole process has helped reconnect some of our former players with the club, strengthening the bond between the past and present Rowdies, and what we learned from these meetings will stand us in good stead for what’s to come this season,” said Casciato.
