FC Dallas brings Phelipe Megiolaro on loan from Grêmio

With the termination of Jesse Gonzalez’s contract, it was pretty clear that FC Dallas was going to be in the market for a new keeper. Today the club confirmed some rumors and reports from a while back with the announcement of the loan signing of Phelipe Megiolaro on loan from Grêmio.

In Brazilian style, his singular name appears to be Phelipe based on social media.

Phelipe Megiolaro
Phelipe Megiolaro

When the reports first surfaced they automatically had a more legitimate feel than many such ‘rumors’ in the foreign press due to the connection to Grêmio, the former club of FC Dallas Technical Director Andre Zanotta.

Megiolaro is on loan from the Brazilian side Grêmio through the end of the 2020 season and will occupy an international roster spot pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).

FCD has an option to buy the player in December 2020 thus making this season a good in-depth review of the player’s ability. 

Side note: bringing in a 21-year-old keeper isn’t a big endorsement of recent Homegrown signing Carlos Avilez or North Texas SC’s 22-year-old keeper Luis Zamudio.

Phelipe spent time in the Campinas and Ponte Preta’s youth systems before joining the Gremio academy. He signed his professional contract with Grêmio on December 5, 2018, and made his first-team debut in a 2-1 loss against Fortaleza in October 2019. 

Megiolaro has yet to make his senior team debut for the Brazil National Team but was on the bench for international friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Argentina in 2018 and Qatar on June 5, 2019.

He represented Brazil in the 2017 Toulon Tournament and started in goal for Brazil’s U-20 National Team in the 2019 South American U-20 Championship. 

Full Name: Phelipe Megiolaro Alves 
Pronunciation: feh-LEE-peh meh-GEE-o-lahro
Connect with Phelipe: Twitter | Instagram
Position: Goalkeeper
DOB: Feb. 8, 1999 (21) 
Hometown: Campinas, Brazil 
Birthplace: Campinas, Brazil 
Height: 6-1 
Weight: 181 lbs. 
Nationality: Brazil 

Phelipe Megiolaro.

2 Comments

  1. Thinking about this, and the recent “So Much for ‘Play the Kids'” article, this seems to be another shift away from that mantra.

    There are a couple theories I have about that shift:
    – Could FCD be seeing a glimmer of hope with regard to solidarity payments for guys like Nico Carrera, Johan Gomez or others?
    – Could FCD look to become something like the Chelsea of MLS, where they have a zillion guys signed, but they’re all on loans all over the place? (BTW, not sure if MLS rules allow this, but I thought that if a guy is loaned for a full year, he doesn’t eat a roster spot)

    Otherwise, it could just be that Zanotta is pulling in guys he’s familiar with to establish consistency. Either way, stoked about what appears to be a really high-quality signing.

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