FRISCO, Texas - Stories of success in and around Major League Soccer sometimes become too numerous to count. Some of them even get lost in the pile.
The amazing number of purpose-built stadiums around the country is tops among them. So are the expansion fees that keep ticking progressively upward, adding investment dollars that can be poured back into the academies and into the game generally. Business books could be written about the wildly successful rebranding a decade ago of Sporting Kansas City. The list goes on.
Certainly, there are dozens of individual success stories linked to MLS. And around the country’s soccer circles, the book on FC Dallas’ academy keeps adding chapters. Yes, even more than you might think.
The prodigious rate of homegrown players matriculating through the FCD youth set-up, landing at the best addresses in international soccer and leading the way on the U.S. national team, has always been a marvel. Only now, as we’ve learned recently, it’s even better than any of us thought. One name in particular tells us so: Alejandro Zendejas.
While reminding everyone about the most productive talent pipeline American soccer has produced, Zendejas is simultaneously providing a valuable reminder about athletes across all sports: players progress at wildly different velocities. Some of them go rocketing skyward from early ages; others take a little longer to find their best versions and expose their highest developmental ceilings.
The FC Dallas academy success stories who were identified early are mostly known now - quite well known for those who closely follow U.S. soccer. Kellyn Acosta, Paxton Pomykal, Jesus Ferreira, Ricardo Pepi and others had signed professional deals and were making contributions on professional fields by the time they were 18 years old. Weston McKennie, Chris Richards, Justin Che, Dante Sealy and Bryan Reynolds had landed at well-known European addresses (whether by loan or by outright transfer) by the time they were 19 years old. Plenty more could be mentioned.
But not everyone finds his feet quite as quickly, and this is where we point to Zendejas.
He certainly had recognizable talent as he signed with FC Dallas at 16 years old back in 2014, the club’s 13th homegrown signing.
It’s not like Zendejas wasn’t valued. He was - it’s just that others in the pipeline started showing more promise. Within about two years of Zendejas signing, FCD reached homegrown deals with Pomykal, Ferreira, Reynolds and Reggie Cannon. They all grew into the professional game a little quicker.
Zendejas made eight appearances in the Oscar Pareja years around Toyota Stadium, but never quite broke through to regular minutes. He was sold to Chivas Guadalajara for a modest transfer fee, but never really gained traction with the famed Mexican giants, either. From there, Zendejas landed at Necaxa on a free transfer. Not to put too fine a point on it, but movement from “modest fee” to “free transfer” means someone is moving in the wrong direction.
But as we know – not just about soccer careers, but about life in general – progress isn’t always linear. To wit, the skillful winger began finding his best self at Necaxa. About 18 months later, Zendejas was sold to another storied Mexican side, Club America, for $3 million.
That’s also about the time a real tug-of-war began to secure his international services; he had interest and opportunity for both the United States and Mexican national teams.
There’s a lot to that story, but Zendejas eventually chose to represent the United States. Last week he was part of a special night as the United States topped Grenada in CONCACAF Nations League play, 7-1. An evening of U.S. success – despite never really needing to reach top gear – wasn’t the special part; rather, it was that five of the goals were provided by three FC Dallas academy products: two each from Pepi and McKennie and one from Zendejas, who scored his first full international goal at age 25.
It’s not Pepi, who scored his first fully international goal at 18 years old. And it’s not Ferreira, who first found the net for the senior U.S. team at age 20. Then again, it doesn’t have to be.
Zendejas is writing his own story, at his own pace. And reminding us along the way that FC Dallas’ academy continues to produce early risers and late bloomers.
