Omaha, Nebr. (Sept 24, 2026) – When Diego Gutiérrez pelts shot after shot at opposing goalkeepers, he knows what it must feel like for those in net.
“My brothers would always put me in goal and just kill me with some hard shots,” laughs Gutiérrez, recalling an unceremonious introduction to soccer beginning at just four years old. “I still have vivid memories of playing with them, how they would make up these plays and different stuff you would do in a game, which was always cool to me. But when you’re the youngest [brother], you try to take those special qualities that each of them have.”
With one brother being “super athletic, really fast up and down, really good on set pieces” and the other a more technical goalscorer, Gutiérrez becoming like his brothers combined proved a potent combination.
It was enough that he was playing in his father’s Sunday league matches by the age of thirteen. (In the field this time, not in net.) That crucible of taking on grown adults in Omaha’s Latino community made it far easier to play with people his own age, and so it bore out with Gutiérrez setting a state high-school scoring record of 112 goals that still stands a decade later.
He stayed an Omaha local all through college, attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University. To him, Omaha is a true hidden gem.
“Every time I tell people from other clubs that I’m from Omaha, they’re like, ‘What’s there to do in Omaha? Isn’t it just corn?’” he says with a grin. “I’m like, ‘You know what? It’s a really nice city. If you ever come to Omaha, I’ll help you out and hook you up with some good spots to go to.
“At the end of the day, I was born here and I grew up here, so it’s home. I got my parents, I got my brothers, my sister, a whole bunch of my friends, cousins, uncles, aunts…”
Gutiérrez could have been a Búho even earlier than 2026. Jay Mims, his former coach at UNO, had returned to Nebraska after a stint in Real Salt Lake’s organization in Major League Soccer. With Gutiérrez entering his junior year, Mims had a proposal: be not just one of Union Omaha’s first signings, but their first local signing.
“I ended up saying no because I wanted to finish college,” says Gutiérrez. “I wanted to be the first one in my family to graduate from a four-year university. That was always a dream of my parents, was one of their kids doing that. So I decided to stay in school, and at the end of the day, it worked out.”
Gutiérrez would soon not only graduate with a degree in healthy lifestyle management, but graduate to the professional game. He was selected 70th overall by Portland Timbers in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, and in 2022 joined up with them for preseason.
“It was honestly crazy, because there were some players that I grew up watching on TV that I was teammates with now,” says Gutiérrez of that winter in Oregon. “But it was kind of easy for me, because I had a long talk with my dad before heading up to Portland. He just told me to do my thing and be super confident in yourself, because you have nothing to lose. You’re just trying to earn a contract, so just play your game.”
Full of confidence from his performances back home and the high of being drafted, Gutiérrez, in his words, “absolutely killed it.” The Timbers clearly felt the same, signing him to a first-team contract. He would go on to make ten appearances in MLS, though a foot surgery derailed that momentum in his rookie year.
After two years with the Timbers and two more in USL Championship, though, it was time to return to his roots.
“I keep my family in the loop all the time. So when I told them that [Union] Omaha reached out, they were super excited for me to just be home for a while,” he says.
It makes sense, then, that his impact at his old stomping ground was immediate. In his first home match on March 22nd, Gutiérrez was substituted on against Athletic Club Boise in the 66th minute. Seven minutes later, he’d found the back of the net to put the Owls ahead. After Boise found an equalizer, Gutiérrez hit back in the 84th minute with a game-winning goal he describes as “unreal.”
“It was my first home game here since I played at Creighton, but it just felt so natural. And just coming back and seeing my family and friends in the stands, that gave me the extra boost that I needed. When I came onto the field, the mindset was to just go out there and use my killer instinct to try to help the team win, whether it’s giving an assist or having a game-winning goal. Luckily I got two goals, and I helped the team win.”
2026 has been a renaissance for Gutiérrez, who said he had to find his confidence again after years of inconsistent game time had him questioning himself. He has eleven goals and three assists in all competitions, and the 1,833 minutes he’s logged is the most in his professional career.
The importance of this “full circle moment” is something he’s truly grateful for. Family and friends show up for him every matchday at Morrison Stadium, and whether it’s a good day or a bad one, Gutiérrez can return home and see his family at the end of it. For him and those closest to him, he says, it’s been an easy transition and a fun time.
He says he also wants to help the club grow and reach its goals, and with moments like his goal on last Saturday’s Hispanic Heritage Night match, that’s certainly bearing fruit.
“My family comes from Mexico, and most of my family are immigrants, so I think it’s just a super cool moment for me to score on a special night like that. It’s where people who may not know the culture can see it and see what we provide as a community, especially with the music, the mariachi band, the food, and just having a big fan base that we can reach out to.”
Gutiérrez has been a part of Omaha’s Latino community, and its soccer community, for almost his whole life. When he speaks about it, he can’t keep a smile off his face. Now, on the professional stage, he’s happy to be home and excited to continue to be part of the community’s growth.
“Soccer is such a huge part of the Latino community. I’ve seen it since I was a kid. Fans bleed and die for their clubs, you know? We’re just so passionate about the game, and having them out there and having a night like this, I think that’s super special. That soccer community has grown a lot, especially having Union here now. If we can let people know more about the team, I think it creates a cool fanbase and community that we can bring together.”
ABOUT UNION OMAHA
Union Omaha, the 2021 and 2024 USL League One Champions, is the premier professional soccer team in the state of Nebraska. USL League One is a United States Soccer Federation-sanctioned professional men’s soccer league that occupies the third tier of the American soccer landscape, below USL Championship (tier two) and the newly announced top-tier USL Premier, launching in 2028. Union Omaha will play its 2026 USL League One home matches at Morrison Stadium in downtown Omaha. The team is led by Chief Operating Officer Alexis Boulos in the front office and by Head Coach Vincenzo Candela on the pitch.
