Rafael Czichos joins Phoenix Rising, eager to lead

PHOENIX – With the USL playoffs on the horizon, Phoenix Rising FC utilized the transfer window to bolster its squad ahead of the run-in.

Looking to inject experience and quality into their backline, Rising recently signed defender Rafael Czichos on a contract that runs through the 2026 season.

The 35-year-old arrived in the Valley as an established veteran, having spent most of his career in multiple tiers of German soccer, notably making 71 appearances in the Bundesliga, 63 in the 2. Bundesliga (second division) and 168 in 3. Liga.

Without a club before joining Rising, the defender last played for MLS side Chicago Fire FC from 2022 to 2024, serving as a captain for his first two years with the team.

With much to consider before deciding the next stop for himself and his family, Czichos was meticulous when considering his options. He talked with two fellow Germans who had played for Rising, both of whom spoke glowingly of the club and urged him to consider it heavily.

Now capable of reflecting on his decision-making process, it appears this diligence has paid off.

“I’m very happy to be here,” Czichos said. “I think I said in my first video with the team that I felt really comfortable from the beginning. I felt welcomed here.”

Czichos is a pleasant addition for Rising coach Pa-Modou Kah, who was quick to underscore the value the veteran will bring to the 7-9-7 club as it attempts to secure a playoff bid.

“Obviously, Rafa brings a wealth of experience, playing-wise and guidance,” Kah said. “He is somebody that has been in tough moments, which I think our players will benefit from.”

Czichos’ thoroughness when choosing a club extended to discussions with potential coaches, and he believes he will be a seamless fit for how Kah approaches the defensive side of the game.

“For me, it is very important to have the ball. I like to have the ball on my feet,” Czichos said. “I like to control and dictate the game, and I think that is why it is a good fit here, because the coach is the same. He wants ball possession. We want to control how the game goes, and that’s probably my biggest strength.”

Now over halfway through the season, Rising currently sit in fifth place in the Western Conference. Though this would be enough to secure a playoff spot, as the top eight from each conference make the playoffs in the USL Championship, things are very tight near the cutoff line, with only six points separating fifth and 12th place in the Western Conference.

Through 22 matches, Rising have scored the third most goals in either conference, but have struggled defensively, conceding the second most goals in the entire league and keeping the third fewest clean sheets.

The signing of Czichos is a step toward the defensive improvements Kah believes are achievable for his team as it pushes for the postseason.

“It is the collective,” Kah said. “When we all collectively do what we need to do, I think we will shine on the defensive side, as we haven’t had as much success with it, but we have had success scoring goals. I think it is something that, with the playoffs approaching, we will be able to do.”

For as much as Czichos’ presence and abilities will benefit Rising for at least the remainder of this season and the next, the reverberations of his time in Arizona will be felt long after he departs.

After Czichos, Rising’s next oldest outfield player is 29. They are a group that can benefit greatly from someone like Czichos, who has experienced numerous ups and downs while playing at the highest level and is eager to impart all he can on his new teammates.

“I’ve been through a lot in my career,” Czichos said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, and I know how painful it is. I just want to help the players here so they don’t have that same experience. I have had a lot of painful moments. When you play the ball straight into the forward and he scores and 50,000 fans start booing, it is a feeling you don’t want to feel, and that is what I am here for.”

Being a leader is hardly new to the defender, and he is looking forward to witnessing the impact he can have in Phoenix in helping nurture the young team’s development.

“The club wanted me as a mentor, as a leader on the field,” Czichos said. “I feel very comfortable in this situation, in this position. I think, almost in every club, I have been a captain, so let’s see how much I can help the kids here.”

Evidently, Czichos and Kah aren’t the only ones enthused by his arrival.

“I feel like everybody was excited to have me here, and that is a really good feeling for me, personally,” Czichos said. “Everybody is willing to learn. They all listen, and I can feel that they want to know what I have to say, and that they want to learn and want to get better. That’s probably the most important thing as a young player, that you’re willing to listen to more experienced players.”

Though having only made one start for his new club, Czichos’ impact is already palpable among his teammates, particularly those he constantly communicates with on the field.

“He is someone who can calm down the game, someone who can lift someone up, someone who maybe sees something that’s going to happen,” Patrick Rakovsky, Rising goalkeeper, said after last Friday’s scoreless draw against Las Vegas Lights FC. “Maybe pressure is coming, and instead of playing through it, he is someone who can say, ‘Let’s go up. Let’s not risk it.’ I feel like that’s something that we have been maybe missing a little bit, and he is definitely bringing that.”

Perhaps even more importantly, the younger players that Czichos vows to prioritize are already benefitting, too. This is huge news for a manager and a club in alignment regarding the importance of prioritizing the development and platforming of the young talent at their disposal.

“I am really thankful he is here because he has come in and he has coached me on a lot of different things that I haven’t even seen before,” said Pierce Rizzo, an 18-year-old Rising Academy graduate who made his debut this season. “I’ve already felt his impact. It is in practice, too. He is telling me little, tiny details that I don’t even realize. If he wasn’t here, I probably wouldn’t have even understood those.”

Rizzo, a natural midfielder, has featured solely with the first team at right-back, a position that is entirely new to him. It’s a challenge that Czichos has helped him navigate.

“It’s little details that I didn’t know because I haven’t played a defensive position like this,” Rizzo said. “He is always trying to coach me and help me get better, not only for my benefit but for the team’s benefit, which I think is way more important. Rafa has been very helpful.”

When American soccer clubs bring in older players who have spent their careers primarily in Europe, much of the instant attention and coverage is devoted to their immediate impact on the field and any subsequent jolt in fanfare their arrival may cause.

In Czichos’ case, Rising have found something even more valuable: a leader still capable of marshalling a defense who is also determined to usher in the next generation of Rising players who will long outlast him at the club.