On Tuesday morning, donning a yellow vest over his new No. 19 jersey, Cristian Lobato looked like he had already played an integral role in Sporting Kansas City’s system for weeks when he participated in just his second practice with the team at Swope Soccer Village.
But Lobato, a 28-year-old Spaniard who agreed to a deal with Sporting KC on June 29, has only been in the United States since Thursday. His family has yet to join him in Kansas City and he’s still car-less, living in a hotel. He last appeared in a match a month ago for previous club Gimnastic de Tarragona, a second-tier team in Spain for which he scored twice in 45 games.