Artetasgirl Posted January 12, 2012 Visiting Supporter Share Posted January 12, 2012 17th overall pick by real salt lake! His agent was flabbergasted he was so low, but thought him being a foreigner counted against him. We do however think its a great fit for him! They play the right way and are great people from what I hear. So well done to the lad. Posting off the blackberry, will post more later. So were Taylor Twellman and Alexi Lalas! RSL seems a perfect fit for him as well. Ives Galarcep has been waxing lyrical about him and basically says it is criminal he was drafted so low and that RSL got THE steal of the draft. Congrats to him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PompeyVillan Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 When can we sign him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Ok, finally got back from Kansas City late last night, and wanted to post an update! An unreal thing happened at the draft, we had another player selected in the second round by Real Salt Lake!!! This kid is as good as Enzo, he just didnt get the breaks, here is the article below on him: RSL's latest Colombian export takes non-traditional route to MLS Velasquez proves worth in South Carolina after tryouts at Barcelona, Espanyol don't work out JANUARY 16, 2012 Edgar Acero FutbolMLS.com KANSAS CITY, Mo. – While Thursday’s SuperDraft was reaching its end, thousands of miles away in Medellín, Colombia, Sebastián Velásquez and his closest group of family and friends exploded with joy. The reason? The young attacker had just been selected by Real Salt Lake with the 36th overall pick, culminating Velásquez’s long and arduous journey to the professional ranks. “I started to cry,” Velásquez confessed to FutbolMLS.com in a phone call from Colombia just hours after being picked. “I was so happy. For me, it’s a reward for all of my hard work. Ever since I was a child I wanted to be a pro. “I’ve been following the draft from here,” he added. “I didn’t watch the ceremony, but I saw my name online and was shocked.” His reaction is justified, as his route to MLS wasn’t exactly the straightest, going from a small recreational club in South Carolina to a tryout with Barcelona’s famed youth academy, and finally a junior college in the US, where he was discovered by the RSL coaching staff. He’s not alone At RSL, Velásquez will have the pleasure of playing alongside childhood friend and teammate Enzo Martínez, whom Salt Lake chose with the 17th overall pick in the SuperDraft. “He lives like two hours away from my house,” Velásquez said. “He and I met each other as rivals. The games were always intense when he and his friends would play against me and my friends. I always wanted to play with him. We finally played on the same youth team and we won a national championship. … I went nuts when they picked him and was hoping they’d pick me, too.” An interesting journey As opposed to Martínez, who shone at the collegiate level while with North Carolina and followed a traditional route to MLS, Velásquez’s road was a little more unusual. The Colombian, who moved to the US with his mother when he was two years old, was a standout at the youth level in local clubs, even receiving invites practice with the US youth national team setups in Florida. However, because he was not an American citizen, he wasn’t able to continue. “They invited me to train, but when they realized I wasn’t a citizen, they couldn’t accept me,” Velásquez said. With that door closed, Velásquez dropped out of school aged 17, obtained a tourist visa, and traveled to Spain to try and latch on with Barcelona’s or Espanyol's academy via a tryout. “I went to try out for Barcelona and it went well,” he recalled. “But I only had a tourist visa and it was only for five days. I then went to Espanyol, but it didn’t work out there because they chose two others.” With that door also closed, Velásquez journeyed back to the US to finish his schooling at tiny Spartanburg Methodist, a junior college in South Carolina. He hoped to make enough waves there to get the attention of a bigger program. “No one knows where Spartanburg is,” joked Velásquez. “But they gave me a chance to play and I did well in my two seasons there.” Velásquez’s 35 goals and 16 assists last season were proof enough that he was a rising star, and that earned him a three-day tryout in December with Real Salt Lake, and he won the admiration of head coach Jason Kreis and his technical staff, who kept in touch with Velásquez while he visited his mother, who moved back to Colombia a year ago. “[RSL] told me they were interested in me and that maybe they’d pick me in the Supplementary Draft [next week],” said Velásquez. “Just a few days ago, they told me to keep an eye on the SuperDraft. I waited and waited anxiously, and when I saw my name, I went crazy.” Just the beginning With the dream of becoming a professional fulfilled, Veláquez turns the page on the end of an important chapter in his life. But with that, he begins a new one, one that promises to be long and tiring. “Professional players always say, ‘It’s easy to get here, but it’s hard to stay,’” Velásquez said. “Hopefully I can make my debut with Real Salt Lake and thus share my achievement with my loved ones.” While eager to join his new team and begin his new adventure, Velásquez will keep enjoying his moment and hopes his story serves as inspiration for others who dream of playing in MLS. “When you set your mind to something, you can accomplish anything,” he said. “You’ve just got to have faith and fight for what you want.” Here is my pic with Enzo: Uploaded with ImageShack.us Video from youtube: http://tiny.cc/un8eb Real Salt Lake’s interview: http://tiny.cc/gykco MLS Highlight Reel: http://tiny.cc/vsbqf Real Salt Lake Article: Draft pick Martinez a prototypical Real Salt Lake player Lagerwey giddy to get North Carolina playmaker with 17th pick JANUARY 12, 2012 Randy Davis MLSsoccer.com Real Salt Lake were pleasantly surprised when University of North Carolina midfielder Enzo Martinez fell to them at No. 17 in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday. “At 17, we had no business getting Enzo Martinez,” GM Garth Lagerwey told reporters via conference call after the draft. “I have no idea how he fell that far. And when he was there, we were giddy that we were going to get him at 17.” With Martinez, the squad feels like they have a talented player on the field that they can slot in as an outside midfielder in the diamond formation. Said Lagerwey: “Flat out, he’s got some bite. He can cover some ground, and he really wanted to play for us. There’s nobody that’s a more perfect fit for us than Enzo Martinez. We absolutely loved him in college, and he’s an RSL player. That’s the easiest way to put it." The Uruguayan-born player also impressed the team in other ways. “He’s an awesome kid,” Lagerwey said. “He’s a very humble kid. He comes from a background that we have found makes for hungry, combative, competitive kids. He has not been given a lot in life. He’s had to earn it. We put a tremendous amount of value in that, and that came out in his interview. He desperately wanted to play for us. When you see stuff like that, you definitely want to go get that.” Martinez felt equally delighted with the selection. “It’s absolutely awesome,” Martinez said on the conference call. “I feel like I’m at the right place. I think it’s a true blessing to say that I’m a player for Real Salt Lake.” Real Salt Lake added two left-footed players in the second round with Diogo de Almeida, a left back from SMU, and Sebastian Velasquez, another midfielder from Spartanburg Methodist College, a junior college program. Velasquez and Martinez actually played on the same club team as youth players in Colombia. How these pieces fit into the RSL system remains to be seen. Real Salt Lake players will report for physical testing later this month. “Everybody feels pretty good today,” Lagerwey said. “The real question is, how do we feel in a month?” MLS interview: http://tiny.cc/wf88e It really was a great day, the whole draft was fantastic to experience, and listening to everybody say how much of a great kid Enzo is, was by far my proudest moment. I think this kid could be special and have said it from 11 years of age, that if he gets a bit of luck he could go all the way. How far? I dont know, but hes definitley got something, the last bit of advice I gave him was that the hard work has now only begun!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 forgot one, really cool video of Real Salt Lake's Gaffrer talking about Enzo:http://tiny.cc/t9kry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted January 16, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 16, 2012 Brilliant for him, brilliant for you. Well done both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted January 17, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted January 17, 2012 My only question is: did the Philadelphia Union fans boo their pick? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dom_Wren Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 Mighty-mite Martinez brings fighting spirit to Salt Lake UNC midfielder says he'd go "anywhere in the world" for RSL January 17, 2012 Randy Davis MLSsoccer.com Enzo Martinez con el Comisionado Don Garber Photo Credit: Andy Mead ..Real Salt Lake first-round draft pick Enzo Martinez just might be a coach’s dream. After all, he’s talented, he’s won at every level at which he’s competed and he’s saying all the right things. And, by all accounts, he’s sincere and genuine about what he says. “It’s an opportunity to do what I love and play for the best team in the league, and I’m ready for that,” Martinez told MLSsoccer.com via phone. “I’m not even fazed about moving to a place that I don’t know anything about. I would go anywhere in the world if Real Salt Lake was there.” Martinez feels that he’s already been adopted into the RSL family, and that’s what has him feeling so passionate about his new club. WATCH: Enzo Martinez speaks with MLSsoccer.com “The whole staff of Real Salt Lake has made me feel so welcome,” he said in the days after he was selected last week with the 17th pick in the draft. “And I feel like they were happy to have me. That’s all I could ask. That’s all I wanted. I wanted a team to draft me that would be happy to have me and will believe in me. “I haven’t even been to Real Salt Lake, but they’ve just made me feel so welcome to the family that they have built.” Martinez, who was born in Uruguay before he immigrated to the US and starred collegiately for North Carolina, also knows his place in the pecking order as he prepares to undertake his first preseason training as a professional. “All of the players that are there are fighting for the same thing as me,” he said. “I have to go there and start from the bottom as I did in club, as I did in high school, as I did in college. You start from the bottom and work your way up.” In refreshing fashion, the RSL prospect says that he is choosing to ignore the fact that he is already signed to a Generation adidas contract. “I don’t think about Generation adidas right now,” he said. “I’m going there with a mentality that I don’t have anything yet, because I don’t have anything yet. I’m going not with a guarantee mentality, but with a mentality that I have to fight every day because I haven’t done anything for Real Salt Lake yet.” After all, fighting for everything is in his blood, as Uruguayans are often noted for the fighting spirit that they call La Garra Charrúa. Martinez, who at 5-foot-7 and 145 pounds was one of the smallest players taken in the draft last week, is hopeful that it’s that mentality that will allow him to make his mark on and off the field. “We just have this drive,” he said. “And that’s what I hope I’m known for – that I work. I work, and I’ll do anything for the jersey that I’m wearing.” Martinez and his new teammates will report to camp on Jan. 25 for physicals before starting their preseason training. It seems Martinez, for one, already has a plan of attack. “I’m just going to go there and work my heart out and leave everything for the team,” he said. “I know that if I do those things all the rest will come in place.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomzep Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 So any news on his developement? Is there good reserve football for him to play while he learns? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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