El Paso Locomotive fans got a surprise Saturday night. A familiar face — or at least a familiar voice — stepped onto the pitch for the closing minutes of a USL Cup match against New Mexico United.
Cristo Fernández, the actor who played the relentlessly upbeat Dani Rojas on Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, made his professional soccer debut. He subbed in at the 79th minute, swapped in for striker Rubio Rubin, wearing No. 91. The 35-year-old forward picked up a yellow card during his time on the field. El Paso lost 2-0 at home in front of 5,000-plus fans, but that wasn’t the story of the night.
The story was Fernández actually doing the thing his character just talked about for three seasons. Football is life, and on Saturday it was his life, in an official USL Championship game.
From TV to Real Contract
Fernández signed with El Paso Locomotive back in May. That came after a two-month trial that sounded grueling. The club put him through real evaluations, not the kind of thing that happens because you were on a popular show. They wanted to see if a 35-year-old who played a soccer player on TV could actually play soccer.
Apparently he could. Or at least enough to earn a roster spot. The USL Championship is the second tier of American pro soccer, behind MLS but still a legit professional league. Guys make careers there. Some move up. Some finish their playing days in it. Fernández is just starting his, at an age when most pros are thinking about retirement.
The actor is Mexican-born but grew up in Texas. He played college soccer at Baylor before turning to acting. So the soccer background was real. The Ted Lasso role made him famous, but the footwork was already there.
What’s Next For Fernández
El Paso has more games this season. Fernández will likely get more minutes as he adjusts to the speed and physicality of competitive play. Coaches said he showed well in training, which is why they gave him the chance. The trial wasn’t charity — it was a real evaluation of a guy who hadn’t played professionally in years but still had something in the tank.
Meanwhile, Ted Lasso Season 4 is coming. Apple TV confirmed a summer 2026 premiere. Jason Sudeikis’ character is moving over to coach the women’s second-division team at AFC Richmond. New cast members are joining. Fernández could theoretically juggle both worlds — acting and actual soccer — if the schedules align. That would be a strange but kind of wonderful career arc: famous for playing a soccer player, then becoming one for real, while still playing the guy on TV.
For now, though, he’s an El Paso Locomotive player. He made his debut. He got a yellow card. And somewhere in Richmond, Virginia or whatever fictional London pub the show used, Dani Rojas is probably screaming about how football is life. Turns out he wasn’t just acting.
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