Here comes the hype train: The rising star of the US has reached the Bundesliga
Impressed by Bayern Munich and his representatives also met with Liverpool, Real and Atletico, but Ricardo Pepi chose Augsburg instead.
With expectations that he will become Lewandowski, a line of shirts that drives America crazy and a blown-up price tag, at least until the World Cup in Qatar, the goal of the "train" will be to ensure a stay in the league
Inbal Manor
07/01/2022
Friday, 07 January 2022, 12:00
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21st round goals in Premier League (Sport 1)
Eddie Cotton, Dallas' social services director at MLS, is a man of the word. In July, he promised his followers on Twitter that if Ricardo Pepi, "El Turn" (the train) was invited to the All-Star, he would tattoo the "Pepi's hype train" on his body. The Pepi hype train. A term every Dallas fan has been able to recite since the child of Wonder stormed into their lives. There is even a line of shirts with the slogan, but a tattoo? Cotton is kind of a clown anyway that no one really takes seriously, but a promise is a promise.
So after Bob Bradley summoned Pepi to the All-Star, Cotton showed up at the studio and tattooed Pepi's character on a train. Pepi burst out laughing. He did not really think Cotton would do it and even told him he did not have to keep his promise. Only Cotton is convinced: "I'm the first on the train. At 23 he will be the face of the world and then there will be a few more Pepi tattoos."
Fast Forward a few months ahead.
Pepi's hype train is speeding and has reached Augsburg.
Small Bavarian team shirts have been snatched across the United States and everyone wants a place on the train.
Pepi became the most expensive American player to leave the MLS this week (and third overall after Miguel Almiron and Alfonso Davis).
He is considered one of the most talked about young people in the world, the offensive hope of the US team for the World Cup in Qatar and there are already those who compare him to Robert Lewandowski. Get to know the kid who's driving the USA crazy.
Can he live up to expectations?
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"There will be the face of the world and then there will be more Pepi tattoos."
Celebrating All Star (Photo: GettyImages, Ronald Martinez)
Ricardo is the eldest son of Daniel and Annette, immigrants from Mexico. He grew up in San Elizario, a suburb of El Paso, in the heart of the desert, on the banks of the Rio Grande. In this area, the river forms the border between the US and Mexico and on weekends, the Pepi family used to cross the river to Ciudad Juarez nearby to spend time with family on the Mexican side of the border. Father Daniel, an amateur footballer, worked in construction and actually built the family home with his own hands. Annette worked as an office cleaner. It was a house of football. The whole family was raised to be "Americanists de Corason", ardent fans of the Mexican Club of America and El Terry - the Mexican national team. "Hey Dad," Ricardo once told Daniel. In the Mexican team. "
Ricardo started playing at the age of four in El Paso's local leagues and his first coach was Father Daniel. He developed rapidly and although he played with children older than him, he still seemed older than them and Daniel had to take his son's birth certificate with him as proof of his age. He had a flair for goals and he stood out so much that the parents of the kids from the rival teams used to tease him and yell at him "Kinseniro" (hint that he looked 15 years old) and "Kwando's La Buda?" (When do you get married?). And he was a total of 7 years old.
The father was tough. If Ricardo had not run enough on the field, he would have been replaced immediately and on the way back home in the car he would have encountered jarring silence from his father. "I forced him to take off his uniform and put it in a bin," Daniel told ESPN in an interview in October. Ricardo the face. At age 10, he joined a group of children who owned Dallas in El Paso. Three years later, Dallas asked for the talent to stabilize in their academy. Ricardo left the house. The family was torn apart by longing. His mother Annette said that for weeks she went to bed with tears in her eyes.
Twice a month for an entire year the family traveled 10 hours to Dallas to watch Ricardo play.
The coaches told Daniel that the child is the real thing, but Daniel had to hear Ricardo say, "This is my dream and I'm going to make it come true," to burst into tears and move the whole family to Dallas.
With the family by his side, Ricardo continued to break in.
He scored in bundles every year he played, also moved to North Texas, the Dallas development team that some claim was formed especially for him, and made his MLS debut at age 16.
MLS debut at age 16, luxury clubs staring at him (Photo: GettyImages, Ronald Martinez)
2021 launched the hype train. Pepe Brick with 13 goals in the MLS, became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the league, was invited to the All-Star (MLS stars vs. Mexican league stars) and also scored the decisive penalty. He has become the most talked about prospect in the league. Even before that, in February, he went out for a few weeks of impressions at Bayern Munich. Bayern and Dallas have a kind of strategic partnership especially when it comes to youth departments. Bayern get a chance to be impressed by the stars of Dallas and in the past absorbed Chris Richards, who is currently on loan to Hoffenheim. Bayern saw Pepi up close and there he made a decision in his heart to go to Europe at the first opportunity. "I want to bring my level to their level and I know there is more work to be done, but am happy to know where I am compared to them," he said after recounting that he studies the movements of Lewandowski and Arling Holland and tries to compare himself to them.
Over the past year, quite a few luxury clubs in Europe have been staring at the Dallas diamond. In the US, it is claimed that Pepi's representatives have met with Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich. Liverpool, Ajax, Wolves, Southampton, Dortmund, Wolfsburg and Fiorentina, whose representatives have watched him in the US, have also expressed interest. Dallas was in no hurry to sell. In July, Pepi even extended a contract at the club, but behind the scenes Father Daniel and the player's representatives made it clear to Dallas that the goal is to leave immediately at the end of the season in the MLS, i.e. in the transfer window of the winter of 2022.
"It was interesting. We also received offers and inquiries regarding terms of employment from clubs at the highest level on the continent," Andre Zanuta, the club's Brazilian technical director, said this week. "Some thought the price was too expensive, so we only talked to someone who was willing to raise the offer." Why did Pepi choose Augsburg? There are quite a few claims. Some tie the Augsburg key investor, American David Blitzer (of Crystal Palace), to the deal. Others claim that Bayern Munich are cooking up the boy as Lewandowski's successor. One thing is for sure - Pepi wanted to go to a team where he would get minutes of play immediately. His advisers thought the Bundesliga was best for him.
In a team that has scored only 17 goals in a round (the fourth worst offense in the league) and is only two points above the red line, the chances of integrating quickly are high.
Augsburg is desperate for a good striker and is a perfect transition station to higher places.
Pepi did not want to wait another year and on the other hand, as the World Cup approached, he was not willing to compromise on minutes of play.
The combination of all the parameters and transfer fees demanded by Dallas sent him to Augsburg.
"We worked on the deal from the summer. We got good feelings from Augsburg from the start. They were honest and consistent, wanted Ricardo at the club no matter what and were willing to do whatever it took to bring him in," said agent Jaime Garcia.
Bayern consider him heir to Lewandowski, he just wants to play before the World Cup (Photo: GettyImages, Kirk Irwin)
The issue of representation has also preoccupied Pepi this year. Immediately after the All-Star, after weeks of speculation, he confirmed that he had chosen to represent the United States, despite his emotional connection to Mexico. Traitor, but Pepi received the summons to represent the country in which he was born. It was a difficult decision for him emotionally, but professionally considered. He realized that his way of being the "9" that the US had not been paved for years.
"I think mentality is his strong point. He is very hungry. There is something about him that borders on arrogance," said former national team striker and current analyst Hercules Gomez. arrogance? Just on the field. "In the locker room you will always find him sitting in a corner or closed in on himself, but on the pitch he is noisy, screaming, a rebellious child. He scores on the right, on the left, with his head, knees and shoulders. He can find any way to put the ball in the net. That's his instinct. He's a pure 9, "added Francisco Molina of the Dallas professional team.
Pepe is described as a complete striker and one who does not feel pressure. Columnist Christian Carlsen, yes, yes, exactly who you think, wrote this week on ESPN about Pepi's athletic abilities and fact-finding. He is a player who likes to go backwards to get the ball and also to press on the defensive players. Has good ball control, relative to American football, but will definitely have to raise mass to face tough European brakes. For Carlsen, thanks to the improvement in the technical, tactical and physical aspects, Pepi has the potential to be a hit in the Bundesliga.
"He's been a player in the league for two and a half years. I like how active he is, how mobile he is and most importantly his ability to score goals," former striker Taylor Towelman said of him.
Pepi is a new generation pioneer goalie and an old generation goalie.
Referred to.
Now, it's not that the U.S. has no young talent. Polisic, Reina, McKenny, Dest, Zack Stephen, Tyler Adams, Kayden Clark - all play at the highest levels on the continent, but a true striker some claim the U.S. team has not had since Brian's retirement McBride.
By the way, since choosing the stripes and the stars, Pepi has already managed to score three goals and cook three more in seven appearances in total.
The Bundesliga returns from the winter break this weekend and Augsburg will go out to host Hoffenheim (Saturday, 4:30 p.m., Sport4). Pepi has only played two international games since the end of November and Augsburg has estimated that he will need a few weeks to get in shape, but the striker may be on the roster tomorrow. Augsburg has been in utter frenzy since the deal was completed and the club's Twitter account in English keeps tweeting about the prodigy. The buzz around him is unusual and everyone is waiting to see the prodigy El Paso conquer Germany. The World Cup in Qatar is already here, but you can be sure that the Americans are fantasizing about Pepi and the group of young people at the height of their careers are leading the team in the home World Cup.
Until then, Pepi should keep Augsburg in the league: "We must not put pressure on an 18-year-old coming to a new country and a new league. The impression is super positive, but we must not put too much on him now. We saw players who took time to get used to," said the sporting director. Augsburg Stefan Reuter.
The problem was the example he gave a sentence afterwards: "I think of Robert Lewandowski in his first year in the Bundesliga" ... good luck with lowering expectations.
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