It wasn't that long ago that a USMNT player going to Europe to compete for any half decent club-let alone one of the great powerhouses-was big news. 2020 has been a nightmare in basically every way possible but at least thanks to social media and cable TV packages, we are able to watch the best American players compete every week throughout Europe and far away from the mediocrity and utterly boring nature of MLS. Following in the footsteps of Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Tyler Adams (Red Bull Leipzig), Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Chris Richards (Bayern Munich) among many others, today fullback Sergino Dest agreed to a five-year deal with Barcelona.
I can't pretend that I know all that much about Dest in terms of seeing him compete that often. Ajax matches are hard to find unless they are deep into the Champions League and as we all know, the USMNT has barely had any games this year due to the global pandemic. However, reading about him from many trusted soccer writers around the globe, it sounds like there is much to be excited about for this 19-year-old who grew up in the Netherlands but chose to represent the USMNT rather than the Dutch. Take that Arjen Robben!
The rumors started to creep up last week that he was choosing between Barcelona and Bayern Munich for his next destination. What a life, huh? Unless you've been paying close attention this year, you'd probably be surprised to hear that Bayern is actually a notch above Barca at the moment. With yesterday's German Super Cup win over Borussia Dortmund, that gave Bayern five (!) trophies this year. Additionally, their roster is more loaded than Barcelona's. Of course this is not to say that Barcelona is merely a consolation prize. Any chance to count one of the best players in soccer history as a teammate-a still in-his-prime Lionel Messi-you jump at that opportunity.
Barcelona has turned some of its aging roster (adios Luis Suarez and Arutro Vidal) over since watching its chief rival Real Madrid win La Liga earlier this summer and then getting absolutely destroyed 8-2 by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals. Ajax used to be one of the top clubs in the world and they've started to regain some of that notoriety in the last few years thanks to an incredible development program. Dest is a shining example of what they do in Amsterdam (besides smoke a ton of weed and ride bicycles like they're going out of style): he played in 35 matches with 27 starts for Ajax last season, adding two goals and six assists.
Barcelona's new manager Ronald Koeman is from Holland as well so that shouldn't hurt Dest's chances of getting on the field soon for Barcelona. Even if it takes some time to be featured frequently by Koeman, he will be getting incredibly valuable experience training every day alongside stars like goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, defenders Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba, midfielders Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong (his old Ajax teammate) and Philippe Coutinho along with forwards like Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele.
Despite the last few years being a bit of a mess (by their impossibly high standards), Barcelona's trophy case is still overflowing. This is a team that's won 30 Copa Del Rey trophies, 26 La Liga titles, five Champions League trophies and three FIFA Club World Cup trophies. Dest is obviously not afraid of personal challenges and heading to Spain is a logical next stop for a guy who has tantalizing potential. As if you needed any additional reasons to watch Barcelona matches (other than Messi doing his usual wizardry and Ray Hudson's glorious commentary on beIN Sports), here it is. Let's also hope that the USMNT can get back on the field someday soon because for once, their roster is going to be loaded with legitimate talent not just the usual MLS heroes.
