One of Allan Juarez's favorite moments of the past year came in an Argentine stadium packed mostly with opposing fans.
 
A midfielder on the California men's soccer team, Juarez was competing in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup for Guatemala, which was making just its second appearance in the quadrennial youth tournament. 

"Even though the result didn't go our way, playing against Argentina was one of my favorite memories," he said of the May 23 game in Santiago del Estero. "That atmosphere was just crazy. It was useful for me to see what a professional environment was like. That was one of the best experiences that I've had with soccer.   

"And just singing the national anthem as well was pretty emotional not just for me but for my family and the players on the team. We all got pretty emotional singing the national anthem."

 

Juarez was a substitute in Guatemala's Group A matches vs. Argentina and Uzbekistan and played all 90 minutes in the opener against New Zealand. While la azul y blanco lost to the host nation, 3-0, and fell to New Zealand, 1-0, and Uzbekistan, 2-0, Juarez found a lot to like about his experience.
 
"I was very proud and it was a great joy to represent Guatemala in the U-20 World Cup," he said. "Just playing in a World Cup in general was something I dreamed about as a little kid. It was super special. It was special for me and my family. Both my parents, Ronnie and Gilmar, are from Guatemala, and since I was little my Guatemalan roots were instilled in me."
 
A product of the San Jose Earthquakes Academy, the 19-year-old Juarez hails from San Francisco.
 
Now back in Bay Area, his focus has shifted to the Blue & Gold and to Cal's upcoming season. He is excited to take the field in the fall after he played in just one match in his first year with the Golden Bears in 2022. Juarez came off the bench to play 24 minutes in Cal's season opener at Cal State Fullerton, which beat the Bears, 3-1.
 
He injured his groin in practice midway through the season and initially tried to play through it. But the injury sidelined him the rest of the way, as the Bears posted a 3-8-6 record.
 
"It was frustrating not being able to help the team," Juarez said. "When you're not getting the results you want, it's more frustrating. This season I'm motivated to stay healthy and help the team in the best way possible. I just want to win games, compete for the Pac-12 title and make the playoffs. Those are big goals, but we as a team have put our mind to it that nothing can stop us. It's about that belief."
 
"We missed him," Cal head coach Leonard Griffin said. "No player wants to miss games. But he was extremely positive for his teammates, and then this past spring it was cool to see him back on the field and assert himself back on the team.
 
"His World Cup experience was extremely important. Playing against that level of competition will allow him to grow and see how much more he can develop. It also shows him he's able to play with some of the best players in the world."
 
A winger for Guatemala, Juarez plays more centrally for the Bears and prefers to play as an attacking midfielder.
 
"He can play in multiple positions in the midfield, as an attacking player but also as a box-to-box No. 8 if needed," Griffin said. "That's where he's probably most suited.
 
"Allan is an extremely hard-working individual. He's one of those first-on-the-field and last-off-the-field soccer junkies, if you will. He's very serious about his craft and wants to get better. He's soft spoken but has a strong personality and competes hard, which is what we want."
 
Juarez says playing for his national team will only help him and the Bears moving forward.
 
"We were underdogs and nobody expected us to be at the World Cup," he said. "When we went through qualifying last summer, we just had that underdog mentality, and I can bring that mentality back to Cal. We're coming off not a good season, but that doesn't matter. I can show them if we work hard and are willing to make sacrifices for each other, we can accomplish good things at Cal."