This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Jeff Cassar used to dial up Daryl Shore and talk shop. During Cassar's assistant coaching days with Real Salt Lake, he'd scout domestically — both in college and the minor leagues — and each time he'd call Shore, then the head coach of the NASL's Fort Lauderdale Strikers, one name kept being brought up.

Well, there were two. One was Luke Mulholland, an English attacking midfielder then starring with Tampa Bay. The second was a young Brazilian midfielder named Wellington "Pecka" Paeckart who played for Shore, now an RSL assistant coach.

"We always were in communication about players and Jeff would call quite a bit about NASL guys," Shore explained Friday. "When they [Cassar and former general manager Garth Lagerwey] called about Luke, we spoke about Luke. I had said to them of all the guys I thought was ready to make the jump besides Luke, I thought Pecka was that guy."

On Friday, RSL made the signing of the 25-year-old versatile midfielder official after SI.com writer Liviu Bird initially reported the signing on Christmas Eve. Pecka, like Mulholland before him, is now part of RSL, and reunited with his coach of three years in Fort Lauderdale. He played in 55 career games with the Strikers in four years before making the jump to MLS. Pecka is expected to join the club this week ahead of next weekend's entrance physicals, which serve as a precursor toward RSL's training camp and preseason.

So who is this guy?

Luckily Shore helped out with that part.

Pecka, a former U-18 national team player with Brazil, joined Fort Lauderdale at the tail-end of the 2011 NASL campaign. He was a late add to the Strikers' run to the 2011 NASL Finals. While his minutes were sparse in his first year stateside, he came into his own in 2012 and 2013, Shore said.

"He's a very good passer, he has a really good soccer IQ, and as far as the way he plays, he can probably play in three different spots in the diamond [formation]," Shore said. "Just his whole pedigree and his whole demeanor and approach every day at training, his approach to games, his determination and his grit … he was the one guy when games weren't going well, he was the guy who would try and turn things around."

Shore singled out Pecka's passing ability as one of the premier parts of his skill set, an obvious necessary to be able to play in various parts of RSL's midfield formation. Shore also said he expects Pecka to learn the ins-and-outs of the base of the diamond from captain Kyle Beckerman this preseason.

"He'll compete with other guys in the midfield because he's capable of doing that," Shore said. "His passing ability is as good as the guys we have on our team."

When asked to make a comparison to an existing player — or players — in MLS, Shore said Pecka's approach and style reminds him of L.A. Galaxy midfielder Juninho as well as recently-departed RSL midfielder Ned Grabavoy, off to New York City FC.

"He's not as deadly on set pieces as Juninho is, but I think Juninho is a very good passer and has a little bit of kick to him when you need him to," he said. "Pecka is a little bit like Juninho. Now, is he going to be the heir apparently replacement to Ned? Jury's still out. But he can play. He's overall, a very good soccer player."

Shore also often mentioned "bite." Meaning, Pecka doesn't play all that timid, his former coach explained.

"He's got bite to him," Shore said. "He's not afraid to kick someone, he's not afraid to get into tackles. We're kind of lucky with a special player like Kyle, who can make tackles and make plays. Pecka's probably our closest thing to that. When you need a little bite to mark [Diego] Valeri or some of the guys that are pretty special players, Pecka won't back down from anybody.

Before his tenure at Fort Lauderdale, Pecka began his professional career in 2009 with Brazilian club Flamengo and also spent time on loan to PFZ do Rio before his move to the U.S. He also went on a brief loan to Madureira Esparto Clube in 2014. According reports, Pecka was on trial at D.C. United in 2012.

"Pecka is a very solid midfield presence. He is athletic, ultra-competitive and clean on the ball.  He does a great job in the holding midfield role of breaking up passing lanes and finding options to connect the game," RSL technical director Craig Waibel said in a release. "I'm excited to bring him in.  He gives us some depth for when Kyle Beckerman is gone on international duty and he's also a guy who can push at a couple other positions.  He's also another guy who can be here a while and be effective for a long time."

Pecka's signing comes on the heels of RSL re-signing defenders Aaron Maund and Abdoulie Mansally earlier this week. The club also signed defender Phanuel Kavita to a Homegrown deal as well as drafted UNC defender Boyd Okwuonu with the 27th pick in Thursday's MLS SuperDraft.

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani