The USMNT Trio: From La Masia to Barcelona and Beyond
Three young American footballers, Adrian Gill, Diego Kochen, and Pedro Soma, are making waves at Barcelona's La Masia academy. They talk to ESPN about their journey, their styles, and their hopes for the future.
The three players - Adrian Gill, Diego Kochen, and Pedro Soma - sat down with ESPN analyst Luis García to discuss their different journeys so far, their playing styles, their hopes with and for the USMNT, their bond off the pitch as Americans abroad. Gill, from Denver, is the oldest of the three. He was also the first to sign for Barça, joining from local youth side Cornellà in 2018. A year later, Kochen (Miramar, Miami) joined him at the club. Last August, Kochen and Gill were joined at the club by Soma (Boca Raton, Miami), who has an American father and a Brazilian mother. The three joke about American sports. Gill is an NFL obsessive who supports the Denver Broncos. Kochen follows the Miami Dolphins in NFL and the Miami Heat in NBA and takes huge offence that Soma, also Miami-born, prefers the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Despite being American, all three could yet travel various paths in international football. Gill also has a Polish passport, Soma a Brazilian one, and Kochen has Peruvian and Venezuelan roots, the latter also sounded out by the Spanish Federation [RFEF]. Yet all three are focused on the USMNT. 'Right now in my life, I do see myself with the USA,' says Soma, who will likely take part at the Under-20 World Cup later this year. 'I've been with the national team for over three years now. I feel very, very American. I love it when I put the shirt on. I'm looking forward to making the USMNT.'
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