After a little mid-season rest and relaxation, it’s back to work for Louisville City FC this week.
The boys in purple kick off this month’s Global Games Series with their first international friendly of the 2025 campaign, hosting CD Leganés of Spain. Kickoff at Lynn Family Stadium is set for 8 p.m. on Saturday.
The time away for LouCity was well earned. The club finished grueling stretch of games last Friday with a 1-0 win at the Colorado Springs Switchbacks. The victory ended a stretch of 13 games in 64 days, including seven games in the last 17 days, which saw LouCity crisscross the country multiple times, with games in all four continental time zones.
“My hope is that (the players) could get away mentally, physically (and) recharge the batteries,” LouCity head coach Danny Cruz said. “We talked about it again this morning, making sure we came back as hungry as we were for the start of the season here for the second half.”
LouCity returns from the break for the chance to take on a team in Leganés that competed in one of Europe’s “Big Five” leagues last season, Spain’s La Liga. The club is on a three-game North American tour to begin its preseason.
Though Leganés was relegated from the Spanish top division, “Los Pepineros” landed several marquee wins last campaign, including triumphs over FC Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and Sevilla.
“A lot of the guys are excited to play and to see where the level is compared to them over there in Europe,” LouCity defender Amadou Dia said.
For tickets and more information on Saturday’s contest, visit LouCity.com/leganes.
It’s the first of a trio of prestigious international friendlies at Lynn Family Stadium this summer, all featuring major European clubs.
On July 26, Louisville will host an English Premier League club for the first time as Aston Villa faces Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga. Then, three days later, LouCity will take on Frankfurt, a club that will take part in the prestigious UEFA Champions League this season.
For tickets and more information on how you can see these historic exhibitions, visit LouCity.com/globalgames.
Follow Along
• ESPN+ will have streaming coverage of the game. Local radio coverage will air on ESPN Louisville’s AM 680/FM 105.7.
• For Starting XI and in-game updates, follow @loucityfc on Twitter. Also, find the club at louisvillecityfc on Instagram and Louisville City FC on Facebook.
Story Lines…
A June to remember: Louisville City reeled in two significant awards this week. Coach Danny Cruz was named USL Championship Coach of the Month, while forward Phillip Goodrum was voted as the league’s Player of the Month.
A century of Serrano: Louisville City’s Ray Serrano made his 100th USL Championship regular season appearance for Louisville City in the 1-0 win over Colorado Springs. Since Serrano joined the club in 2022, only Sean Totsch (111) has recorded more regular season appearances.
The kids are alright: Louisville City figures to offer several LouCity Academy players the opportunity to take part in the game. “I just want them to enjoy it,” Cruz said. “I think any time you’re able to put the Louisville City crest on your chest and be out in front of thousands of people, it’s a privilege. I know these kids. I’ve seen them quite a bit this year already, and I know they’re going to go out and leave everything they can on the field and that’s all I ask.”
Not so friendly: LouCity first faced an international opponent in 2023, falling to Germany’s FC Kaiserslautern 2-1. All told, LouCity is 1-3-0 in exhibitions against foreign opponents, with the lone win coming last season against Cancun FC of Mexico.
Cucumbers: Leganés goes by the nickname “Los Pepineros” which translates to “the cucumber growers.” It’s a reference to the agricultural history of the community in which the club resides, located just outside the Spanish capital of Madrid. Get up to speed on LouCity’s Saturday opponent.
