Juan Sebastián Agudelo (born November 23, 1992) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

club

Birmingham Legion Birmingham Legion FC is an American professional soccer club based in Birmingham, Alabama, that competes in the USL Championship, the second division of American soccer. The team was established in August 2013 and played under the name Birmingh ...

. After moving from Colombia to

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

at an early age Agudelo began his career with the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

and made his Major League Soccer debut in October 2010. After scoring six goals in 2011 he was traded to

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. G ...

in May 2012. Agudelo spent a year in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

before he was traded to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

in May 2013. He joined English side Stoke City in January 2014 but a failure to gain a UK work permit saw him loaned out to Dutch side FC Utrecht. Internationally, Agudelo has represented the United States youth program at the Under-17, Under-20, and Under-23 levels. He made his debut for the senior national team against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

on November 17, 2010, scoring the only goal of the match.

Early life

Agudelo moved with his family from Colombia to the New York area at the age of seven. He grew up and played soccer in Barnegat Township, New Jersey, before moving to

Kinnelon, New Jersey Kinnelon () is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, located approximately west of New York City. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 9,966, a drop of 282 (-2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 10 ...

to live with his godmother. He attended

St. Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic Church, Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school h ...

for one year, in 2007.

Club career

New York Red Bulls

Agudelo began his career with the New York Red Bull Academy a member of the

U.S. Soccer Development Academy The U.S. Soccer Development Academy (DA) was an American soccer league. Formed in 2007, the league features youth academies and youth clubs from various organizations, including Major League Soccer and the United Soccer League. The DA's mission ...

and quickly established himself as one of the more skilled prospects at the club. In 2009, he was offered a chance to join the junior team but decided to accept a trial with Colombian side

Millonarios Millonarios Fútbol Club is a professional Colombian football team based in Bogotá, that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at the El Campín stadium. Millonarios was initially created in 1937 by students f ...

in 2010. Although it was reported that he had signed with Millonarios, he returned to the United States to join Red Bulls during their pre-season. While with

, Agudelo played with the youth side, including a match against Independiente Santa Fe on January 17, which served as a tribute match to Brazilian great Pelé. On March 26, 2010, Agudelo officially joined the New York Red Bulls. He made his professional debut on April 27, 2010, in a U.S. Open Cup game against Philadelphia Union. Agudelo made his MLS debut against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

October 9, 2010, entering in the 85th minute in a match that ended in a scoreless draw. He scored his first professional goal on March 19, 2011, in the Red Bulls' 2011 MLS season opener, a 1–0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC. As directed by US National team manager

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

, that all off-season US MLS stars should train with European clubs, on November 16, 2011, Agudelo started a two-week training period with

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

. On December 1, 2011, Agudelo started a similar two-week period at

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

Chivas USA

Agudelo was traded to

on May 17, 2012 in exchange for defender

Heath Pearce Heath Pearce (born August 13, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a defender for teams in Europe and North America. He represented his national team on 35 occasions. Pearce is currently the host of "The Mixer", ...

, allocation money, and future considerations. The latter was reported to be a portion of any transfer fee that Chivas USA receives from selling Agudelo. Following the

2012 Major League Soccer season The 2012 Major League Soccer season was the 100th season of FIFA-sanctioned soccer in the United States and Canada, the 34th with a national first-division league, and the 17th season of Major League Soccer. The regular season began on March ...

, Agudelo was invited to train with Scottish club

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

. Following his training stint with Celtic, Agudelo joined

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

for a training stint also. He scored four goals for Chivas in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

as they had a poor campaign finishing bottom of the Western Conference. Agudelo began the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

well scoring against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

and Chicago Fire before he was transferred to the

on May 7, 2013.

New England Revolution

Agudelo was traded to

in exchange for allocation money on May 7, 2013. Agudelo made his New England debut in a 2–0 win over Houston Dynamo and he was credited with their second goal which was originally given as an own goal. He then scored against

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

and the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...

before being ruled out for a month with a knee injury. In August 2013 Agudelo began to attract interest from English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...

side Stoke City. Agudelo returned from injury on August 17, against Chicago Fire and scored a spectacular back-heel goal in a 2–0 victory.

Stoke City

On August 9, 2013 it was announced that Agudelo had signed a pre-contract agreement with English club Stoke City and will join the Potters on January 1, 2014 once his contract with the

has expired. However the move fell through after he was denied a work permit. Despite this Stoke completed the signing of Agudelo on January 21, 2014 and loaned him out to Dutch side FC Utrecht for the remainder of the 2013–14 season. He scored his first goal for Utrecht on February 6, 2014 scoring against

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

in a 2–1 defeat. Stoke re-applied for a work permit for Agudelo in May 2014 but were again unsuccessful. Following this Stoke mutually terminated his contract leaving him a free agent.

Return to New England

On January 29, 2015 Agudelo re-signed with the New England Revolution after tweeting out "I am extremely happy to officially sign minutes ago and be back with the best teammates and coaching staff #NERevs". On December 3, 2019, Agudelo was selected by

in Stage Two of the

2019 MLS Re-Entry Draft The 2019 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on November 26, 2019 (Stage 1) and December 3, 2019 (Stage 2). All 26 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The priority order for the MLS Re-Entry Draft was reverse order of finish in 2019, ...

, however, they were not able to reach a contract agreement.

Inter Miami

After not reaching an agreement with

, who had acquired Agudelo's rights, Agudelo joined expansion side

Inter Miami CF Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, known as Inter Miami CF or simply Inter Miami, is an American professional soccer club based in the Miami metropolitan area. Established in 2018, the club began play in Major League Soccer (MLS) in the 2 ...

. Miami opted to decline his contract option following the 2020 season.

Minnesota United

On March 2, 2021, Agudelo signed as a free agent with

Minnesota United Minnesota United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Saint Paul, Minnesota that plays in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. The club began play in 2017 as the league's 22nd club, and replaced the North American So ...

on a one-year deal.

Birmingham Legion

On March 31, 2022, Agudelo signed with second-tier side

who play in the

International career

Agudelo represented the United States at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. In 2010, he also debuted for the United States Under-20 side. On January 23, 2010, he scored the equalizing goal for the United States Under-20 national team in a 1–1 draw with Brazil. On November 11, 2010, Agudelo was called up to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

senior national side for the first time as part of an 18-man roster for a match against South Africa on November 17 in Cape Town. He made his debut for the team coming on against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge wearing the number 17 shirt. Agudelo scored the only goal of the game on a volley that went in off the underside of the crossbar. In doing so, he became the youngest player in national team history to score in a senior game. On January 22. 2011, Agudelo drew the penalty that led to the U.S. only goal of the match in a 1–1 draw against Chile. In an international friendly on March 26, 2011, he scored the equalizer in a 1–1 draw against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Style of play

Most of his key traits involve a precise style of dribbling and ball control. This has often resulted in him being fouled easily and winning free-kicks.

Personal life

On February 6, 2015 his first child was born, a daughter named Catalina Bella Agudelo. On January 18, 2019 he married his long-time girlfriend, Vanessa Agudelo Gomez. The couple have two daughters: Catalina and Alina from Vanessa's previous relationship. Agudelo enjoys playing chess, hiking, and golf. Agudelo remains on a strict eating schedule and workout schedule. Off the field, Agudelo volunteers as a mentor for local non-profit organizations.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

:''Score and result list United States goal tally first.'' , - , 1. , , November 17, 2010 , , Cape Town Stadium,

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, South Africa , , , , 1–0 , , 1–0 , , rowspan="3", Friendly ,

, - , 2. , , March 27, 2011 , ,

New Meadowlands Stadium MetLife Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 5 mi (8 km) west of New York City. Opened in 2010 to replace Giants Stadium, it serves as the home for the New York Giants ...

East Rutherford East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

, United States , , , , 1–1 , , 1–1 ,

, - , 3. , , April 16, 2015 , ,

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 mil ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, United States , , , , 2–0 , , 2–0

Honors

United States *

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup ( es, Copa de Oro de la CONCACAF, french: Coupe D'or CONCACAF) is the main association football competition of the men's national football teams governed by CONCACAF, determining the continental champion of North Ameri ...

Runner-Up: 2011 *

Winner:

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...

References

External links

* *
Juan Agudelo
at ''

Voetbal International ''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running. History and Profile ''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but le ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Agudelo, Juan 1992 births Living people People from Barnegat Township, New Jersey People from Kinnelon, New Jersey People from Manizales American soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's under-23 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players Colombian footballers Soccer players from New Jersey Association football forwards New York Red Bulls players Chivas USA players New England Revolution players Stoke City F.C. players FC Utrecht players Inter Miami CF players Minnesota United FC players Birmingham Legion FC players Major League Soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars Eredivisie players Colombian emigrants to the United States Naturalized citizens of the United States African-American soccer players 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup players American expatriate soccer players Expatriate footballers in the Netherlands American sportspeople of Colombian descent American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Sportspeople from Ocean County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Morris County, New Jersey CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni Homegrown Players (MLS)