Early in his career, Dani Rovira was a lonely Colombian living in a foreign city. Instead of missing his culture, he helped build a new one.
When Dani Rovira arrived in the United States at age 17, he barely spoke a word of English. Living thousands of miles from his native Colombia in a small New York apartment with his father, the young midfielder was inspired by a deep-rooted love for the beautiful game.
Encouraged by the unwavering support from his family, Rovira’s upbringing was fueled by fútbol. That passion and support drove him to make a life-changing move across continents, chasing an opportunity to continue playing the game he loved all while pursuing an education in biomedical engineering. Rovira knew that hope was his only guarantee, and passion was his only drive. He didn’t know what opportunities awaited him, but he knew they existed, which was enough for him to continue pushing for more.
Rovira values his faith highly in his career. During some of his first weeks in the U.S. while attending their church, his family was first introduced to Carlos Ruiz – a coach, mentor and then-Boston University player who gave Rovira his first taste of soccer at the collegiate level. As Ruiz gave Rovira his first tour of Boston University’s facilities later that year, he became inspired to chase what he now knew was a tangible goal. What once felt like a distant dream inspired by childhood passion was now reality, and Rovira knew he could get there.
First Opportunities
Through Ruiz, Rovira found his first training opportunity with Massachusetts-based academy club FC Blazers, where Ruiz played at the time. The Blazers trained at Boston University, and that summer, Rovira joined them.
“That experience for me, training at Division I facilities for the first time, is what showed me that there’s opportunity out there,” Rovira said. “It was just how bad I wanted it, and that I believed that it could be part of that. I used to think if I just kept playing soccer, I would get there. And then I started learning that it’s a lot about a lot more things, not just school, but being a good teammate, but there’s other sacrifices I had to make.”
After moving to Lynn, Massachusetts, and joining the club, Rovira and his father did not have a car. Rovira’s daily commute to training involved a long walk to a bus stop, where he would ride into Boston and catch a train, all before hitching a ride from one of his teammate’s parents to eventually make his way to the field.
While finishing his final year of high school in order to earn his degree, Rovira made a daily commute to training that was nearly three hours long each way. The early mornings and late nights were long, tiring and lonely at times, but it was a price Rovira and his father were willing to pay. Rovira recognized that the exposure he received at a D1 university was rare, and he remained grateful for the ability to play the sport he loved at a higher level.
“My father always said nothing comes easy in life,” Rovira said. “If you really want something, sometimes you have to be ready to suffer. I always kept in mind that, thinking, ‘let’s suffer, let’s learn and absorb as much as I can.’”
Although Rovira still spoke minimal English, he found other ways to communicate through his desire to learn and improve.
“When our coach would be screaming at us, I understood nothing,” Rovira said. “Feeling his anger towards the team makes you just want to play more. That communication and body language really was something special. There was a lot of learning, and that part of my life showed me a lot about living alone, setting my goals and setting the standard that I want for myself.”
After playing with FC Blazers, traveling to national tournaments and helping it become one of the top-ranked club teams in the country, Rovira made his first move towards a professional contract when he earned the opportunity to try out for the New England Revolution’s academy in 2015. Braving the even longer commute to Foxborough, Massachusetts for an intense tryout session of more than 200 players hungry to take the next step in their careers, Rovira ended up earning one of only three selections to the Revolution’s U-18 roster.
It was here where he first developed a relationship with current Rhode Island FC Head Coach and General Manager Khano Smith, who worked as an assistant coach for the Revolution Academy at the time. During his time with the Revs, he shared the field with current RIFC players Zach Herivaux, Isaac Angking, Amos Shapiro-Thompson, Joe Brito and Kevin Vang.
After impressing with his Academy team, Rovira’s next major challenge was the complicated and confusing world of college. Luckily for him, one of his coaches, Ruben Resendes, was making a transition to the head coaching role at nearby Dean College, and invited Rovira to follow him. Still piecing together English as a second language, Rovira struggled mightily with the transition to higher education. Resendes was there the whole way, helping Rovira secure applications and scholarships and believing in his abilities as a player. The midfielder eventually suited up for his first collegiate season with the Bulldogs in 2016.
The Summer that Started It All
After an undefeated first season at Dean, Rovira continued to earn opportunities with the Revolution. One of the most inspiring moments of his career came the summer after his first season, when he earned the opportunity to train with the Revolution’s U-23 squad at just 18 years old. That summer, the 2016 Copa America Centenario was taking place, and the Argentina National Team needed a place to train ahead of its semifinal game in the historic tournament. Rovira was selected as one of 11 players to practice in a scrimmage against Argentina, alongside the world-famous Lionel Messi – one of the best players to ever grace the field.
“Stepping on the field, and then looking to my left and Messi is right there, it was just a shock,” Rovira said. “I speak Spanish, so I said, ‘hey mago,’ and he looked at me and laughed. Even getting to speak a couple words with him was a dream come true. Seeing one of the best players in the world next to me on the field was an amazing motivation. I will never forget it.”
When Rovira called his father to deliver the news of what had just happened, his disbelief was so strong that Rovira needed photo proof to convince him that it was real. That brief, but powerful moment helped inspire Rovira to pursue the sport professionally.
Following another successful season at Dean, Rovira was gearing up for the 2018 spring semester when he got a call from his coach at the Revolution. The team had invited Rovira, along with another one of his academy teammates, to train with the Revolution’s first team during its preseason ahead of the 2018 Major League Soccer season. With help from his coaches at Dean, Rovira made arrangements to postpone school and join the squad. For the first time, he had the opportunity to train with fully-fledged professionals.
“I enjoyed that process,” Rovira said. “I got to meet Brian Wright, a guy that had just been drafted. He told me, ‘wow. with the quality you have, you shouldn’t be at a junior college.’ As a former University of Vermont player, he said he would be able to help me to go to Vermont to play Division I soccer.”
Inspired by Wright’s words, Rovira took the entire semester off from Dean to explore his future. By the time preseason ended, Resendes made another career move, taking his coaching talents to Division I University of Vermont as an assistant. As soon as he got the call from his former Dean coach, the pieces all fell into place for Rovira, who once again followed Resendes. The move officially turned a Division I dream that was six years in the making into a reality.
New Cities, New Culture, New Challenges
Rovira’s transfer to Vermont moved him farther from what little family he had in the United States and introduced him to an entirely new culture. Although he had accomplished his Division I dreams, his two seasons in Vermont tested him more than ever before.
“Even though everyone was very welcoming, it was a very tough time for me,” Rovira said. “The experience, the culture was way different than Massachusetts, and so it was very hard. I was still working on my English. My father was going back and forth to Colombia to see my family. It was very tough.”
Eventually, after making 33 appearances in the midfield over two seasons in Vermont, Rovira caught the attention of agent Edward Gonzalez, who came to an away game at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Although Gonzalez was there to scout the home team, Rovira’s ability on the ball immediately caught his eye. The two met after the game, and not long afterward, Rovira had his first shot at a professional contract.
“I’m so grateful and thankful for Eddie, because he’s the first person that really believed in me, in what I could do, and could help me to get my chances,” Rovira said. “After the game, I talked with him, gave him my number, and he said, ‘hey, let’s get some highlights. We can open up opportunities for you.”
It wasn’t long before professional teams came looking for Rovira. In February 2019, Rovira got an invite to try out for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Once again starting over in an entirely new city on short notice, Rovira impressed in his two-week trial, eventually receiving his first professional offer for the Riverhounds, where his professional career blossomed. He would go on to make nearly 140 appearances in six successful seasons in Pittsburgh.
Building a Culture
Rovira’s transition to Pittsburgh took him even farther away from his family. In the midst of a difficult adjustment to professional life during his first season, Rovira turned to the community to help. He began making regular visits to Casa San José, a local Latino immigrant support organization which brought in displaced children and helped provide them with essential services.
“In my first year, I enjoyed everything but I was lonely, and only wanted to spend time with my family,” Rovira said. “I started thinking, ‘who else feels like that? And I started wondering where I could start. The first time I walked into Casa San José, I didn’t walk in as a player. I walked in as a human being. We just wanted to share time with kids that 80 percent of them love soccer already. So to just give them a smile, to get to meet somebody else different, and connect with them was the most important thing.”
“The kids are just left alone before they come to Casa San José,” Rovira said. “I went there many times. I got to talk with them, play with them. It stuck with me. I was a kid once as well, and I had dreams, and these kids were even younger than me when I came to this country. I always reminded them that there is always more out there, and how it’s our choice whether to look at the bad or find the good in everything.”
Rovira’s deepening relationship with Casa San José eventually led to further inroads with the local Latino community. He made routine visits to Las Palmas Pittsburgh, a local Hispanic supermarket. He participated in meetings with the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and even met one of the owners of the popular language-learning app, Duolingo. In 2023, Rovria’s involvement earned him one of three finalist spots for the USLPA Player’s Choice Humanitarian Award.
Today, Las Palmas supermarket is one of the primary kit sponsors for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds, and sponsors the club’s annual Hispanic Heritage Night. Following Rovira’s lead, the team began to increase its Hispanic outreach with new promotions. After six years at the Riverhounds, Rovira recalled a club culture that had shifted dramatically from his first months as a professional in the USL Championship.
“At first, we didn’t have many fans,” Rovira said. “In my first couple years, 200-300 people came to our games. By the time I left last year, we sold out more than half of the games. I got to meet so many Latinos and I was able to make so many big connections there that helped the team grow a lot. A lot of people started coming to games, and when I was running I started hearing, ‘Dani, vamos!’ There was more and more Spanish.”
Some of the young children Rovira met during his first few visits to Casa San José were graduating high school in his final year with the club, and credited him for inspiring them to continue pushing towards their goals. Seeing them at his games, calling him out in Spanish and taking inspiration from the moments they shared together gave Rovira a strong sense of fulfillment.
“I always wished I had those moments when I was a kid and I never got the chance,” Rovira said. “Now that I’ve been in this position for the past six years, I’ve been really working on sharing that and making those memories for kids even more important.”
Back Where it All Began
After helping uplift a cultural shift in Pittsburgh, Rovira’s next chapter took him back to where it all began in the U.S. With his contract expiring in Pittsburgh and a newborn baby on the way, a return to New England gave Rovira and his wife a sense of home. Reuniting with Smith and several of the players whom he had shared the field with at the Revolution Academy made the decision of where to go next an easy one. After several positive and productive conversations, Rovira officially joined Rhode Island FC on Jan. 18.
After working to connect with the community in Pittsburgh, Rovira found the Ocean State club’s pre-existing, deep-rooted connections with local cultures attractive.
“When I came to play Rhode Island FC with Pittsburgh last year, I remember thinking, ‘wow, this isn’t even their own stadium, and the environment and the fans are amazing.’” Rovira said. “When I first heard La Banda chanting ‘vamos, vamos, vamos,’ and singing in Spanish, I was singing along and enjoying it.”
Despite an injury setback during preseason that saw Rovira miss nearly four months of the regular season, he finally made his Rhode Island FC debut during the club’s historic first-ever win at Centreville Bank Stadium, a dramatic 2-1 win over North Carolina FC on June 14.
“It’s been amazing to be out there,” Rovira said. “To look at just looking at the stands and see everyone happy, feeling the excitement of people coming and believing that we could win and that we could do it together with their support, their screams, with their chants, it’s amazing. I cannot wait to get my first assist, my first goal for the team. It’s something that I am really excited for. But those moments will come.”
Rovira is one of just a handful of Rhode Island FC players to surpass 130 league appearances, and has developed into a USL Championship veteran through his time in Pittsburgh. Despite his experience, the 28-year-old’s career is far from over, and his debut with RIFC has only further inspired the next chapter of what promises to be an exciting career in Amber and Blue.
