Anderson Rosa squares up a kick while in the Colorado Rapids organization. Provided picture.

When Anderson Rosa was 15 years old, he made a jump. The athletic defender moved from his home country of Brazil to Florida, where he’d attend Montverde Academy, shining on the prep school’s soccer team before going on to have an illustrious career at the University of Central Florida (UCF). “I moved from Brazil to the United States without knowing any English, without my parents or anybody that I knew from back home,” says Rosa. “It was not scary at any point, but it was challenging to leave behind everything that I knew. That experience shaped not only who I am as a person, but my mentality as an athlete—everything that has happened to me outside of football made me into who I am on the pitch.”

Rosa, now 24, is set to make another jump in 2026. On December 18, the Sarasota Paradise announced the signing of Rosa to a professional contract ahead of the team’s inaugural USL League One season, which kicks off this March. “I am very excited to be here on the first professional roster in the club’s history,” says Rosa. “I am a left back, but I like to go forward and help the team on the build up as well. I’m very comfortable with the ball—obviously my role as a defender is the first priority—but I like to help the team attack, score goals and win games as well.”

Two things stand out when examining Rosa’s soccer career: availability and productivity. In his five-year career at UCF—where he earned first team all conference honors twice in the American Athletic Conference and once in the Sun Belt Conference—Rosa failed to miss a single match, breaking the UCF all-time career games played record. “I take really good care of my body. I eat healthily, I prioritize sleep and on my days off I like to rest,” says Rosa. “I’d love to play every game possible this season with Paradise, stay healthy and help the team win.”

In 2023, Rosa was drafted by the Colorado Rapids in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft, electing to return to UCF for his fifth-year before joining the organization in 2025. Rosa competed in two MLS games for the Rapids before making 29 appearances for Rapids 2—Colorado’s developmental team—in MLS NEXT Pro, helping the team win the MLS NEXT Pro Western Conference title in 2025. His time in the Rapids organization, Rosa attests, opened his eyes to what it takes to play the sport at the highest level. “I played games with the first team before I even met players from Rapids 2, which was great for my development,” says Rosa. “I understood what it took to play at the MLS level and I was able to translate that mentality into my time with the second team.”

Anderson Rosa squares up a kick while in the Colorado Rapids organization. Provided picture.

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