Miami teen Konrad, who plays for FC Barcelona, on U.S. roster for two November games
Konrad de la Fuente’s rise from Miami youth player to international phenom continues as the 19-year-old Haitian-American, who plays winger for FC Barcelona, was named to the U.S. national team for two upcoming games.
U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter on Tuesday announced his 24-player roster as the USA prepares to gather in Wales for its second camp of 2020. The players will begin reporting Sunday to Cardiff ahead of the team’s friendly match against Wales Nov. 12 in Swansea.
Four days later, the U.S. team will face Panama on Nov. 16 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. Both matches will kick off at 2:45 p.m. and will be broadcast live on FS1, UniMás and TUDN.
Konrad, as he is known in the soccer world, in July became the first American to play for FC Barcelona’s first team when he played the second half of a preseason match against Gimnastic Tarragona. He has appeared in several friendlies under new coach Ronald Koeman.
He signed a contract extension with Barcelona through 2022 this past June and has reportedly generated interest from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Girona. Konrad has played mostly for Barca’s Under-19 team and B team. He has seven goals and three assists in 21 matches this season.
“We have a connection with the Barcelona coaching staff of the first team, and one thing they’re amazed at is what Konrad gives them on the field, which is verticality, this ability to stretch the opponent,” Berhalter said Tuesday on a video conference call. “He is always making the opponent move backwards, and when you can do that, you create space between the lines. He’s relentless with his running behind the back line. It’s something he’s really worked on.”
Berhalter said the teenager’s game has evolved quite a bit in the past year.
“If you look at his progression from the Under 20 World Cup, he wanted ball to feet all the time, but he’s had this evolution in his game where he realizes to be successful, he’s going to have to use the timing of his runs and his movement behind the back line,” Berhalter said. “That’s what he’s been doing non-stop. It’s been a real pleasure to watch. He’s a guy we’re real excited to work with and get in camp to add that element to our game also.”
Konrad’s career began at Kendall SC. He also trained at Schulz Academy in Boca Raton.
When Konrad was 10 years old, his father, Conrad, took a job as a commercial attache with the Haitian Embassy in Madrid and the family relocated there.
“It was a big move to leave Miami, where I still have a lot of friends, aunts, uncles, cousins, and I loved the Heat and LeBron James,” de la Fuente told the Herald by phone last year from Poland, where he was playing for the United States in the U20 World Cup. “But I knew they take soccer really seriously in Spain, so that was exciting. I spoke some Spanish from living in Miami, so that helped.”
Shortly after arriving in Madrid, he was spotted by a scout and invited to try out for Marcet Football’s Tecnofutbol club in Barcelona. He made the team, and moved to Barcelona with his mother, Jennifer, a self-employed accountant who graduated from Barry University, and his brother. He was then noticed by an FC Barcelona scout who invited him to join their famed “La Masia” youth academy, where he has trained and moved up the ranks for five years.
“We picked him up when he was 12, and he is a very interesting player we hope to keep in the club as long as we can,” Denis Silva, Barca’s U19 coach, said by phone. “He has been performing very well, and is always in our first 11. He is the typical Barca wing, can play left or right, has speed and good crossing passes, and is very brave 1-on-1, trusts his skills. That is very difficult to find. He has the combination of the American work ethic and the Spanish soccer mentality.”
In addition to Konrad, the U.S. roster for the Wales and Panama games will include eight other players who are on clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, the most in team history.
The roster is exclusively made up of players playing professionally outside the United States, as Major League Soccer is about to start playoffs and COVID-19 makes travel more complicated. Berhalter has coached in MLS and said he didn’t want to disrupt the league at this critical part of the season, but said next year, as World Cup qualifiers get underway, he won’ be able to be as flexible.
“We are excited about getting this group back together,” said Berhalter. “I’m proud of the way the players have handled the challenging times — they really stuck together. We have built a solid foundation, and now we get a chance to continue our work together ahead of what is going to be a critical 12 months for our team.”
A total of 10 players will be playing their first match with the senior national team, including Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna, the 17-year-old son of former U.S. star Claudio Reyna.
DETAILED ROSTER
▪ Goalkeepers (3) : Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge), Chituru Odunze (Leicester City), Zack Steffen (Manchester City)
▪ Defenders (7): John Brooks (Wolfsburg), Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona), Matt Miazga (Anderlecht), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Bayern Munich), Antonee Robinson (Fulham)
▪ Midfielders (6): Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Richard Ledezma (PSV Eindhoven), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Owen Otasowie (Wolverhampton)
▪ Forwards (8): Konrad de la Fuente (Barcelona), Nicholas Gioacchini (Caen), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Uly Llanez (Heerenveen), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen), Sebastian Soto (Telstar), Tim Weah (Lille).
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 11:45 AM.