# @ussoccerplus on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DCId_b4PPqV
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/24707627-ussoccerplus-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/70425dbef0.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-11-09T01:33:28.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** 𝐔𝐒 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐥𝐮𝐬 (@ussoccerplus) — https://gondola.cc/ussoccerplus

## Caption

Born in Colombia, Jesús Ferreira moved to the U.S. at 10. He progressed through FC Dallas youth ranks, eventually becoming the first homegrown player to earn a DP contract and now makes $2 million a year.

He also became a U.S. citizen at 19, and started for the USMNT in a World Cup knockout game right before his 22nd birthday.

One person who’s been with him throughout this amazing journey, besides his family, is Luchi González— who was his academy director, then head coach at FC Dallas, and then assistant coach at the USMNT.

“Being Hispanic, being from South America, we always say that, ‘We were born for the sport’,” Ferreira said in the new U.S. Soccer series Cultural Connections. 

“So I’m always excited and happy to show how much it means for us to play this sport.”

“It was amazing to have Luchi in Qatar. For me to play in that tournament at such a young age and have people around me that know me was amazing. That’s exactly what I needed.”

“The connection I have with Luchi over the years is very special. He’s influenced me on and off the field.”

“He helped me overcome a lot of struggles I’ve had, and I’m always thankful for that. Hopefully I can also influence younger kids coming up like he did and make a special connection because it’s important.”

“The connection me and Luchi have, it’s more than soccer. It’s personal, it’s family wise. It’s always checking in.”

“He was able to push me to the limit that I didn’t know I was able to do, but in a good way. He was always looking for the best but also making sure that my family was good, myself was good in school, I was doing good outside of soccer.”

“That was important.”

Luchi was born and raised in Florida to Peruvian parents. He was an academy director at FC Dallas for years, before becoming the head coach there. 

He also worked as an assistant coach under Gregg Berhalter in the 2022 World Cup and then coached San Jose Earthquakes.

[Via Anthony Kyaw] 

#jesusferreira #fcdallas #mls #usmnt #ussoccer

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## Tags

ussoccer, jesusferreira, usmnt, mls, fcdallas

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