For more than a year, San Diego’s expansion franchise in Major League Soccer has been a tantalizing dream and then a name and then a chrome-colored logo.

On Thursday, it got a face.

San Diego FC formally introduced Mexican star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, its marquee signing from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven, at a morning news conference at Snapdragon Stadium in Mission Valley, followed that evening by a public welcome at the Rady Shell on the downtown waterfront.

“It’s an honor to join San Diego FC,” Lozano said in English before answering questions in Spanish. “I want to win championships for San Diego and to leave my mark on this league. I’m excited (to start) the season.”

He won’t start until next February.

The four-year contract with Lozano for a reported $12 million transfer fee allows him to remain at PSV Eindhoven for the first half of the 2024-25 European club season before joining San Diego FC for training camp in January.

When he arrives, the SDFC roster will be filled with additional transfers, free agent signings, trades and players selected in the MLS expansion and college drafts.

But no one figures to embody the ethos of the club more than the 5-foot-9, 28-year-old winger simply known as “Chucky” (pronounced CHOO-ke