Konrad de la Fuente is living the true American dream right now. The 17-year-old Miami native is rising through the ranks of the Barcelona academy, playing for the Barcelona B squad and in the UEFA Youth League (essentially the Champions League for youth teams).
A fleet-of-foot winger with an eye for goal, the teenager is one of the USMNT’s most exciting young prospects, which is saying something these days.
De la Fuente made his debut with Barcelona B, which plays in Spain’s third division, in December and has started every match in the UEFA Youth League. He had a goal and an assist in the group stage as Barça topped a group that included Tottenham, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.
Now in the semifinals of the UEFA Youth League, Barcelona took on Chelsea on Thursday at the Colovray Stadium in Nyon, Switzerland.
It didn’t take long for Barcelona to show why it’s Barcelona, with a brilliantly worked team goal in the 20th minute. While Anssumane Fati got the final touch and the spot on the score sheet, the goal was all about the drive of Konrad de la Fuente (and a lovely spin from Monchu).
A lovely assist from @USYNT forward Konrad de la Fuente to give Barcelona the lead on Chelsea
— Bleacher Report Live (@brlive) April 26, 2019
De la Fuente completely turned his defender inside-out with a dashing move to the end line before cross for Fati, who couldn’t help but score.
Chelsea equalized in the 66th minute through Luke McCormick, who was the beneificiary of some sloppy passing out of the back from Barcelona keeper Arnau Tenas.
Fati put Barcelona back in front three minutes later by slotting home a rebound from a long-range shot but Chelsea again equalized in the 85th minute with a well-worked goal finished off by Charlie Brown, who does not have a dog named Snoopy, to our knowledge.
With that goal, Brown became the all-time leader in UEFA Youth League goals with 15. His 12 goals this season equal former Chelsea youth product Dominic Solanke’s record of 12 for a single campaign.
Charlie Brown is now tied as all-time #UYL top scorer with 15 goals alongside Borja Mayoral & Roberto Núñez
He has also equaled Dominic Solanke's record of 12 goals in a single #UYL season pic.twitter.com/7WaZZa4mpo— UEFA Youth League (@UEFAYouthLeague) April 26, 2019
The match immediately went to penalty kicks after the 90, but de la Fuente did not play a role as he had been subbed out in the 83rd minute.
In the shootout, Chelsea prevailed 5-4, with Blues keeper Karlo Ziger making a save in the sixth round to send Chelsea to the final.
Sadly, while the match was available for free on YouTube in Europe, Turner Sports put it behind a $3 paywall on its overpriced B/R Live streaming service, which seems a bit absurd for a youth competition.
Chelsea will face Porto in the final after the Portuguese youth side routed Hoffenheim 3-0 in the other semifinal earlier in the day. The UEFA Youth League championship is back at Colovray Stadium on Monday. Porto has plowed through the knockout rounds by outscoring Tottenham, Midtjylland and Hoffenheim by a combined 8-0.
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