FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution midfielder Diego Fagundez has been included in the Uruguay Under-20 National Team’s final 23-man roster for the upcoming South American Youth Championship. Fagundez, who became the first Homegrown player in Revolution history when he signed with the club in November 2010, had been training with the U-20s since late December before officially being named to head coach Fabian Coito’s final squad. Originally born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Fagundez and his family moved to Massachusetts when he was a child, settling in Leominster. He joined the Revolution Academy for the 2009-10 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season and established himself as one of the brightest young stars in the country before signing his first professional contract with the Revs.
The South American Youth Championship will be played in Uruguay from January 14 through February 7. The top four teams in the tournament will qualify for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, while the competition will also serve as South American qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“I am excited for the opportunity to represent Uruguay at the U-20 Championship and to have the tournament held in the country that I was born makes it that much more special,” Fagundez said. “I will give everything that I have to try and help my team win a championship at home in front of our fans.”
The 19-year-old, who is currently a U.S. permanent resident, has never represented Uruguay in an official competition, though he was called into camp with the U-20s on three separate occasions before being officially named to the squad for the U-20 Championship. Fagundez first trained with Uruguay in October 2012 before appearing in two friendly games against Peru on August 4 and August 6 of this year. After being one of 27 players called up by Coito last month, Fagundez has made the most of the opportunity. He scored two goals and added two assists during a series of scrimmages against local clubs in Montevideo.
Since making his professional debut as a 16-year-old on August 6, 2011, a game in which he scored the first goal of his MLS career, Fagundez has been an attacking star for the Revolution, scoring 22 goals and adding 14 assists in 88 regular-season appearances. The all-time MLS leader for goals scored by a teenager, Fagundez enjoyed his best season in 2013, tallying a team-best 13 goals to go along with seven assists in 31 games to help the club end a three-year run of failing to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs. In 2014, Fagundez finished tied for second on the club with five goals while adding four assists as the Revolution won the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time since 2007.
Fagundez will join up with the rest of his Revolution teammates and begin preparations for his fifth season as a professional upon completion of the U-20 Championship in Uruguay.
