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May 29, 2018 |
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VANCOUVER, B.C. - When you think the New England Revolution, there's one player that quickly comes to mind. Diego Fagúndez is face of the New England Revolution. He's the first homegrown player the Revs produced, and he's showing exactly what they saw in him as a teenager. He's accomplished a lot, and he's not even hit the prime of his career.
"I don't know if I'm the face of the Revs," Fagúndez told RedNation Online in Vancouver, "But I think that I've been here for so many years now that, I guess I'm viewed as a player of the Revs. Everybody says that, but I'm just here like every other player, trying to do my job, and earn the respect."
Fagúndez made his professional debut on April 26, 2011 in a U.S. Open Cup match against D.C. United. He made his MLS debut later that year in August. Eight seasons later, and Fagúndez has made an astonishing 195 MLS appearances for New England.
It's easy to forget that he's still only 23 years-old with a bright future ahead of him. Occasionally we see young players given too much, too soon. They quickly burnout, and bid us adieu. Fagúndez isn't anything close to that, and he's only going to get better.
"Started young." Fagúndez said, when asked about his appearances total. "It's great to see all these games I've been playing are up there, but I think that stats, are just stats. It doesn't matter how old you are when you play, you just have to go out there, and make sure if the coach wants you, they're going to put you out there. You just have to be out there, train hard, and whenever you get your chances, prove to them that you want to be in there."
As he nears 200 MLS appearances, Fagúndez has scored 44 goals and 33 assists. His best season was in 2013 when he scored 13 goals and contributed 7 assists, as an 18 year-old. He's logged over 13,000 minutes, and has never picked up a red card.
Fagúndez is a creative winger, with vision, discipline, agility, and his game sense is off the charts. He makes himself, and the players around him better. He was instrumental in setting up Teal Bunbury's 3-3 goal against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday afternoon.
"He's a very good player," Revolution teammate, Gabriel Somi said. "He's helped us a lot. He's a guy that's very good on the ball, creates a lot of chances for us, so of course he's important."
The Montevideo born, and Massachusetts raised Fagúndez, is a prime example of an athlete that took full advantage of his opportunity. He wanted to show everyone that he was well worth the investment the Revs put into him. He's continued to flourish in New England. Most importantly, he hasn't got an ego, with saucer sized eyes set on Europe.
"Maybe someday, but right now I'm very focused on the Revs," Fagúndez explained. "I'm very happy where I am, especially with this coaching staff, and all the players. Right now, I just need to focus on this team. It's going to be quite a long ride this year. If the chances ever come, then we can talk about it."
While his play does his talking on the pitch, he's recently become a first time father off the pitch. Fagúndez, and his partner, Paige Walton, welcomed a baby girl Maria Florentina, into the world on May, 23. Nevertheless, the proud papa didn't miss a beat as he started and played a full 90 minutes against Vancouver.
"I feel good, especially being back with the team." Fagúndez told reporters post-match. "It's an amazing feeling to see the birth of your child, but at the end of the day, you still have a job. As much as I would like to stay home with the baby, and my girlfriend. It's nice to be back with the team, starting the game, and give them as much help as I can."
The 5-4-3 Revolution don't have time to dwell on a draw. The Revs are in action tomorrow as they host Atlanta United FC at Gillette Stadium. New England isn't a team like their Foxboro counterparts, that can turn up, and flick a switch. The Revs have to put forth a solid game plan with everybody focused. That didn't happened in Vancouver.
"I think we have the right players for everybody to be talking about us." Fagúndez said of the Revs. "It's games like this we get mad at each other because it's not what we usually do. We just have to go out there. People can talk about our team, and not talk about our team, we don't care. We're going to go out there and prove to them that we have a good team."
Every visiting team that travels to New England knows they're going to be in for a tough challenge in a difficult environment. Diego Fagúndez is quite clearly the face of the Revolution, and anytime he's on the pitch, the offence is revved up, and ready to go.
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