Ricardo Pepi: A star in the making

As it’s the International break in the world of football, I won’t have any Celtic or club content on my blog for at least another ten days. There will be plenty of articles surrounding the national team though over the next week or so. Today however, because Scotland don’t play until Saturday evening, I’ll be drifting slightly away from the topic of Scottish football and talking about a rising star in the USA. His name is Ricardo Pepi. 

Background

Pepi is an eighteen year old American striker who plays for FC Dallas in the MLS. Despite his side being a bottom-half club in the Western Conference, for this season at least, Pepi is one of the brightest sparks in American football or ‘soccer’. He was born in El Paso, Texas and grew up in the city of San Elizario. 

Even though he plays his football in the MLS, Pepi grew up watching Mexican Liga MX football as a youngster; the reason being is his family and parents are Mexican. We’ll examine how this affected his International dilemma subsequently. 

Style of play 

Before we get into Pepi’s club and international career, we’ll look at his style of play. 

We already know Pepi is a centre forward but that could mean anything for the way he plays. The eighteen year old stands at 6”0 tall but has a lean, lissom stature. Crucially for a striker, Pepi is a clinical finisher. He is a predator in the box who also likes to feed on rebounds and loose balls; this is proved with the fact all of his sixteen MLS career goals have come from inside the box. He isn’t exceedingly fast or tall but uses his astute intelligence to drop deep and play short, intricate passes which feed wingers or progressive midfielders. This description certainly fits the role of a false nine but Pepi is also adept in playing as a traditional number nine, using his afore mentioned efficient finishing to find the back of the net. 

Pepi’s natural goal scoring ability and his previously spoke about attributes can help him succeed anywhere in football. He will continue to net and set up chances no matter where he goes. 

Club career and statistics 

We’ve touched on Pepi’s Mexican background and this is the place he begun playing football. His Dad was a coach of a local team which soon became allied with FC Dallas, where Pepi now plies his trade. The striker joined Dallas as a thirteen year old and rose through the ranks at the club before joining affiliate club North Texas SC. Pepi made thirteen appearances for the club in the USL League One, including in the play offs. Pepi scored a remarkable eleven goals in these games, assisting one. In light of this remarkable form, then sixteen year old Pepi joined FC Dallas on a short term loan deal before making the move permanent after being signed to a homegrown player deal. 

Since signing for FC Dallas permanently in June of 2019, Ricardo Pepi has made a total of fifty-four appearances for the club, scoring sixteen goals and assisting four. In the 2020 MLS season, Pepi made seventeen Dallas appearances and started just four of the games he played in, however in 2021, he’s become a first team regular. He’s missed just two MLS matches for FC Dallas in the current campaign. Let’s get into his stats for the ongoing MLS season. 

In twenty-seven matches, Pepi has made twenty-two starts. He’s scored thirteen goals and assisted a further two in these games. Ten of his goals have been with his right foot, two with his head and the other with his left. All of his goals have been inside the box, from open play. The 18 year old has averaged a goal contribution every one-hundred and twenty-seven minutes in the MLS this season. Pepi is Dallas’ top scorer and he has the highest goals per minute ratio at the club this campaign also. With these facts and figures, it is not staggering to find out Pepi has attracted transfer interest from across Europe and is already a full International for his country. Accompanying this for Pepi, is the accolade of being an MLS All Star. 

Each year, twenty-eight of the best MLS players are picked as All Stars to play in the All Star game. The twenty-eight are selected through a combination of coach’s picks, fans choices and two players are chosen by the MLS commissioner, Don Garber; Pepi was one of thirteen players picked by the coach, Bob Bradley. In the All Star game itself, Pepi was subbed on just after half time. After the match ended in a one all draw, a penalty shootout ensued. It was Ricardo Pepi’s pre-eminent moment in the game when he stepped to take a penalty that could win the game for his side. Without doubt, Pepi showed maturity way beyond his years as his accurate spot kick ricocheted of the bar and in. 

We must remember, Pepi is just eighteen years of age and that makes the above stats and acclamations all the more admirable. 

International career

At International level, Pepi was eligible for two main nations. There was a debacle over whether he was going to play for Mexico or the USA. As I mentioned, his parents and family are predominantly Mexican however Pepi was born in the USA. The eighteen year old elected to represent the latter Internationally. 

In his youth, Pepi played for Mexico at under sixteen level yet since then, has represented the USA also at under sixteen as well as under seventeen, twenty-three and most recently, senior level. 

USA head coach, Gregg Berhalter gave Ricardo Pepi his maiden call up for the September 2021 internationals. Pepi had this to say when discussing his International allegiances: 

“I want to start by saying that I am a Mexican-American and that I am super proud of my heritage, it’s something that will never be taken away from me, no matter what national team I play for. I made this decision because I felt the USA trusts me and I think that’s due to (USMNT head coach) Gregg Berhalter and how he emphasized this to me. I had good talks with Gregg and I feel I can make an impact with the USA and help this national team really do something special now and in the future.” - Taken from FC Dallas’ official website, https://www.fcdallas.com . 

Clearly, Pepi has a substantial future on the International stage with the USMNT. He currently has just one cap to his name which came against Honduras. On his full International debut, Pepi scored a towering header which helped the USA to a 4-1 victory. In addition, he was awarded man of the match. Pepi has also been called up for the upcoming October Internationals when the USA will face Jamaica, Panama and Costa Rica in crucial World Cup qualifiers. 

A move to Europe?

With such a confounding young career so far, it is not surprising to find out there is a plethora of interest from Europe in Ricardo Pepi. Clubs from the Netherlands, Germany, England and Italy are all interested in the eighteen year old according to a report in 90min from journalist Chris Smith. More recently, Smith has revealed an unnamed Bundesliga that is competing in this season’s Champions League are willing to do ‘everything possible’ to bring Pepi to Germany. Ajax also watched Pepi a few weeks ago when he lined up for FC Dallas against Vancouver Whitecaps. The Dutch side are envisaged to open talks ‘imminently’. Additionally a Serie A team is thought to be making an opening bid to FC Dallas for Ricardo Pepi in the near future. All of this came from a report from Chris Smith in 90min which I shall link below. In contrast, FC Dallas’ President, Dan Hunt, has openly stated his willingness for Pepi to stay at the club in the long term. After all, the striker recently signed a new contract which lasts until the end of 2026 however the chances of him staying in the USA for the remainder of this deal are improbable. 

It will be intriguing to see where Pepi ends up but it is almost certain he will not be a FC Dallas player come the end of the January transfer window. Wherever he goes, it is vital for Pepi’s development that he gets consistent game time. 

All in all, Ricardo Pepi is a bright, promising young footballer who is ultimately destined for great things in the game. I’m looking forward to seeing how Pepi’s career pans out. 

90min report from Chris Smith: https://www.90min.com/posts/ricardo-pepi-transfer-news-bundesliga-serie-a-talks

Thank you for reading this article. I hope it has informed you well about Ricardo Pepi and that you enjoyed the read. If you have any thoughts or opinions, leave a comment below. My Twitter is @Josh_Footblog where re-Tweets, likes and follows are all greatly appreciated.