Think back to the start of the season. There was a renewed optimism around the sport here in the Valley. The newly-rebranded Phoenix Rising meant business, and they were keen to prove it. They did so by brining in two big names for their side: Shaun Wright-Phillips, and of course, the Mexican star Omar Bravo.

The early season saw Bravo get his fair share of chances – making 11 starts, and picking up a goal and two assists. But lately, things haven’t been going so well for the man with 66 international caps. The last time he appeared in the matchday squad was as an unused substitute against San Antonio. Questions appear on Twitter each game, and are often met with comments from other fans about how Bravo ‘hasn’t done anything this year’. So, has he fallen out of favor in Phoenix?

Bravo may be a striker, and he may be Chivas’ all-time leading scorer. He’s also 37, and at that age, you have to be realistic about what to expect from a player. It isn’t reasonable to expect him to run a defence ragged and score for fun. What an ageing star brings to your team is their head, more than their legs. While he has been far from a flashy player, one thing is apparent: his positioning shows that he has played at a higher level, and he knows when to make the right pass to teammates. A player like Bravo could have been incredibly useful to help steady the Rising team that found themselves playing short against Rio Grande or Orange County, but he wasn’t even on the bench.

Bravo just doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the first team.  He’s not currently listed in the 27-man squad on the USL website. Perhaps even more telling, he has also mysteriously disappeared from the Rising TV commercials. With limited local media coverage and no official word from the club, fans can only speculate.

So what’s happened to Bravo? We may never really know, but as it stands, nobody seems to be willing to explain what has happened to this “international superstar”.