Page 11 - Soccer360 - Issue 103

THE BOYS
David Villa is another former Barcelona star to play in MLS, becoming a legend for New York City FC
FROM
BARCA
WITH THE ARRIVAL OF MESSI, ALBA AND BUSQUETS IN MLS, MARCO D’ONOFRIO LOOKS BACK AT FIVE FORMER BARCELONA PLAYERS WHO ALSO OPTED TO PLAY IN NORTH AMERICA
BOJAN KRKIĆ
One of the most talked about prospects
to ever come out of the famous La Masia academy, Bojan made 104 appearances with the Barcelona first team. Ultimately, it never worked out the way the club nor the player had envisioned, and he eventually left for Italy. However, in August 2019, he found himself in Canada signing with the Montreal Impact. He played with the club until the end of the 2020 campaign before the club decided to decline the option for another season.
GIOVANI DOS SANTOS
The Mexican international only made 28 appearances with the Barcelona first team between 2007 and 2008, not quite panning
out the way the Blaugrana had hoped. They did sell him to Tottenham Hotspur though before he would for toil around Europe playing for various clubs. He eventually did make the move to MLS though with the Los Angeles Galaxy, where he spent three and-a-half seasons between 2015-2018. He scored a respectable 29 goals in 88 appearances for the California club.
THIERRY HENRY
The Frenchman made the move to Barcelona from Arsenal where he helped the Catalan club when an historic treble in 2009. Following the 2010 La Liga campaign, Henry opted to join the New York Red Bulls where he ended up playing four and a half seasons, scoring 52 goals in 135 appearances across all competitions. While he did help the club win a Supporters’ Shield in 2013, he was never able to lead them to an MLS Cup triumph.
HRISTO STOICHKOV
Besides a loan spell at Parma during the 1995- 96 season, the Bulgarian international had been with Barcelona between 1990-1997. He would eventually end up in MLS in 2000, playing three seasons with the Chicago Fire and one with D.C. United. He won a U.S. Open Cup in 2000 but would have his heart broken later that year when the Fire were downed 1-0 by the Kansas City Wizards in the MLS Cup final.
DAVID VILLA
The 2010 World Cup winner was the first player ever signed to New York City FC, who began MLS play in 2015. He quickly became a legend in New York, having an immediate impact with the club and showing his commitment to the league. He played with the expansion side for four seasons, making 126 total appearances and scoring an outstanding 80 goals during that time.
Thierry Henry
Bojan Krkic
Giovani Dos Santos
“MLS HAS AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY FOR INTERNATIONAL GROWTH THAT THEY’VE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE”
from the Argentine, it was another inspirational moment when the ball flew into the back of the net. It was just like a scene out of a movie, with the entire stadium stunned at the magic they had just witnessed.
“It’s a movie that we have seen before,” Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino said.
Martino knew Messi well considering that he coached the Argentinian national team for two years from 2014 to 2016, leading them to back- to-back Copa America finals. He wasn’t surprised by anything the diminutive star did anymore. “It’s common for him, you know,” Martino said. “It looks absolutely normal, but it’s not... we’re speaking about the greatest of all time.”
It didn’t stop there though as Messi continued to amaze during his first few days in Miami. He had
an incredible eight goals from his first five games, including braces in three successive matches. Indeed, his influence has completely transformed Inter Miami, who had not won for 11 successive games prior to Messi’s arrival but have become a formidable and free-scoring force almost overnight. This dramatic turnaround has proved any critics
of the move wrong before they even had time to admit it.
“I personally think that this club is not ready for Messi’s arrival,” former Inter Miami goalkeeper Nick Marsman told ESPN prior to Messi’s arrival. “We have a temporary stadium, people can just walk on the pitch, there are no gates. We also leave for the stadium without security. I think they aren’t ready. But I hope he comes.”
Marsman’s words weren’t well received within the club, and he eventually had his contract terminated by Inter Miami in August. His comments also didn’t
Hristo Stoichkov
After spending his entire professional career in Spain with Barcelona, Sergio Busquets opted to join his former teammates in Miami
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