FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution has completed a trade with Chivas USA that sees the Revs add U.S. National Team forward Juan Agudelo (ag-goo-DELL-oh) in exchange for allocation money. Agudelo is expected to join the Revolution later this week.
Agudelo, 20, is in his fourth MLS season after making his professional debut in 2010 as a New York Red Bulls Homegrown player. In 59 career appearances (33 starts) with New York and Chivas USA, Agudelo has scored 11 goals and added six assists. So far this year, he’s made six appearances for Chivas USA, scoring two goals and adding one assist.
Agudelo has 17 career caps with the U.S. Men’s National Team. He made his international debut on Nov. 17, 2010, and scored a goal in his first senior national team appearance ever.
“We’re very pleased we were able to complete this deal with Chivas USA,” Revolution General Manager Michael Burns said. “While Juan is a young player with tremendous potential, he also already has a lot of experience both inside our league and internationally with the U.S. National Team. We believe Juan will improve our attack and make us a better team.”
The Barnegat, N.J., product entered MLS through the New York Red Bulls’ Academy, making his MLS debut on Oct. 9, 2010, and becoming the first-ever Red Bulls Academy product to join the first team. After making two appearances as a rookie in 2010, Agudelo made a career-high 27 appearances – with 12 starts – in 2011, scoring six goals and recording two assists for the Red Bulls. He made four appearances for New York in 2012 before being traded to Chivas USA in exchange for defender Heath Pearce on May 18. He finished the year making 20 more appearances – including 16 starts – for Chivas USA, scoring three goals and adding three assists.
Agudelo has come up through the U.S. Youth National Team system, first debuting for the U.S. with the Under-17 team, with whom he made two appearances at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Nigeria. He also made six appearances with the Under-20 team, before playing with the Under-23s in 2012 Olympic qualifying.
He made his senior debut against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup in Cape Town on Nov. 17, 2010 – and scored the game-winning goal in the 1-0 win. Agudelo then made a career-high 14 appearances in 2011, scoring one goal and adding two assists. He was a member of the United States’ 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup team, where he recorded both of his assists, both on Clint Dempsey game-winning goals against Canada and Jamaica.
Agudelo was limited to one national team appearance in 2012 because of injuries, but earned an assist on Michael Bradley’s game-tying goal against ninth-ranked Russia in Krasnodar on Nov. 14 in his only appearance. This year, he’s also made one appearance, in a 0-0 draw against Canada on Jan. 29, in Houston.
Born in Manizales, Colombia, Agudelo moved to the U.S. when he was eight years old. He is the first-ever product of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy – as a member of the Red Bulls’ Academy – to make an appearance for the U.S. National Team. Agudelo also played three semesters (Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009) with the U.S. Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla.
The Revolution returns to action tomorrow, May 8, when the team hosts Real Salt Lake at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. Comcast SportsNet will televise the game live, while 98.5 The Sports Hub will have the game on its HD2 channel.
TRANSACTION: New England Revolution (MLS) – Acquired F Juan Agudelo from Chivas USA in exchange for allocation money.
JUAN AGUDELO
Pronunciation: ag-goo-DELL-oh
Position: Forward
Date of Birth: November 23, 1992 (Manizales, Colombia)
Hometown: Barnegat, N.J.
Height: 6-1
Weight: 180 lbs.
Previous Club: Chivas USA (MLS)
Youth Club: New York Red Bulls Academy
Nationality: U.S.
Status: Senior Roster
Jersey Number: TBA
