As most Sacramento Republic FC fans know by now, David Estrada, who appeared in 20 games for the Republic, was released from the club by mutual consent on August 10th. It was a big surprise for many fans, as Estrada was originally billed as a big acquisition and appeared quite often under Preki. However, under new Head Coach Paul Buckle, Estrada did not see much playing time and did not even make the matchday 18 in the two league games he was still with the team.
In a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the Sacramento Republic subreddit, when asked about the rationale behind the club releasing Estrada, Paul Buckle had this to say:
I think we’ve got seven, eight strikers at the club. When you have some like David who’s a great lad, who’s trained very hard and well. However, when you look at the squad at general, David needs to be starting games and we couldn’t offer him that at this moment in time. It was a healthy decision for the club and him. Ultimately, we’ve got younger players we need to create a pathway for. We were very overloaded with strikers, and it was only fair to let him pursue a career somewhere else.
While there was little doubt that Estrada would pop up at another club, not many expected the turnaround to be as sudden as it was. Only 5 days after the Republic’s announcement of Estrada’s release, the forward was starting for USL Western Conference rivals Orange County Blues FC against Arizona United.
Here’s tonight’s lineup! Kickoff in less than 45 minutes! #AZvOC #OCB #USL pic.twitter.com/AugkOmejql
— OC Blues FC (@OCBluesFC) August 16, 2025
OC Blues coach Oliver Wyss was very happy with having picked up Estrada. After the match against Arizona United, Wyss said, “David, first and foremost is one of the best characters I’ve ever met. Every coach you talk to says he’s as good a professional as you’ll ever have.” He continued, saying “He fit in perfectly well. He gave us 60 today and we’re looking for much more for him to come. He’s been a fantastic pickup for us.”
In addition to chatting with OC Blues’s Coach Wyss, ICS also caught up with the man himself, David Estrada.
When asked about the decision to go to the Blues after leaving Sacramento, Estrada said “I got in contact with Mr. Wyss and he had approached Sacramento earlier in the year and they were kinda interested. So that’s the first team I contacted when I left Sacramento and thankfully they’ve given me confidence right away.”
On the subject of how things changed for him when Paul Buckle took over from Preki, Estrada said “I think it was business as usual. Preki was obviously the one who brought me there but I enjoyed my time there even when Buckle was the coach.”
“I enjoyed my time there,” Estrada continued. “I made great friends with some of the guys on the team so I have nothing but good things to say about the team, even at the end when I left.”
On the subject of what he brings to his new team, Estrada echoed the words of his new coach, saying “I just try to bring in that good character and hard work. Whether its in training or in games, I’m going to bring the same effort everyday and try to set an example… I’m a guy that leads by example and hopefully these guys see that.”
While he did not get on the scoresheet in his first game with the Blues, Estrada did help lead his new team to a 3-0 win over Arizona United. That win put them back into the playoff hunt at the expense of Sacramento Republic FC, who now sit below the playoff line with 34 points, 2 behind the Blues and 6 behind first-placed OKC Energy.
Sacramento next face Orange County Blues and their new addition in the second-to-last game of the Republic’s regular season on Wednesday, September 16th. That matchup, which was already looking to be important with playoff spots on the line, may end up taking on a special significance as the Republic confront a familiar face.
