I was watching North Texas SC come from behind to beat a short-handed St. Louis City 2 last night and I was pretty uninspired by the crop of foreign signings this year. It led me to contemplate the track record of the junior Burn side.
The North Texas SC foreign signing is a different kind of prospect from the ones for FC Dallas. There’s a digging-for-diamonds-in-the-rough to it. But also a get-a-body-and-fill-a-hole side. So we have to grade these signings pragmatically. Some filled a role for NTX, some moved on to FCD, but the majority did neither.
Let’s hand out some report cards.
2019 – USL League One
North Texas SC kicks off its existence and wins the inaugural USL-1 title.
| Grade | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| B | Alfusainey Jatta | Gambian U20 holding mid who came on loan from Czech side MFK Vyškov. 27 games, 22 starts. I thought he was going to be kept by FCD but Quill soured on him late in ’19. Has played in Austria and Latvia since. |
| C | Bicou Bissainthe | Haitian U20 CM never firmly established him with NTX. He’s played for 5 different teams since. 16 games but just 7 starts in 2019. |
| F | Abdoul Gaffar Ibrahim | 19 year old Beninese defender on loan from Czech side MFK Vyškov. I don’t even remember him at all and I can’t find any stats that he played a single game. Update: Garrett Melcer reminded me that Ibrahim wasn’t able to get into the US so that’s why he never played. |
| B | Richard Danso | Ghanaian winger who came to NTX midseason on loan from WAFA in Ghana. 13 games, 10 starts, 2 goals, 1 assist. |
Signings you might think are “foreign” but aren’t…
Ronaldo Damus – He plays one season in the FC Dallas Academy. So he doesn’t count in our book. Currently with San Diego Loyal. Haitian striker. 21 goals in 35 games for NTX.
2020 – USL League One
Shortened pandemic season.
| Grade | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| D | Juan Manuel Alvarez | Center back from Monterrey. 5 games, 4 starts. |
| F | Pedro Conceição Alves | Right back from Brazil. He played as many games as he had nicknames (3). “Pedro Alves,” “Cuadrado,” and “Pedrinho.” |
| B | Alisson dos Santos Correa | “Alisson” Brazilan d-mid or center back from Sau Paulo. Good leader, physical. Kept for a 2nd season but in the end too slow and fell out of favor. In total 2 seasons: 27 games and 19 starts. |
| D | Luis Zamudio | From Las Vegas and made it to the finals of MLS Sueno before joining Club America. So we’re counting him as a foreign signing as he came to NTX from Mexico. Made 4 starts with NTX. Kicked around the lower leagues in US since but is now on the DC United roster. |
Signings you might think are “foreign” but aren’t…
Alex Bruce – English forward who played in the Development Academy for Eric Quill at Houston Texans and was briefly with San Antonio FC before coming to Dallas.
2021 – USL League One
It was fairly difficult to move back and forth between FCD and NTX during the lingering pandemic so North Texas had a few more foreign players than usual.
| Grade | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| D | Alejandro | Mexican/Brazilian winger from Cruzeiro. Showed some promise in his 6 games/3 starts but was injured too much. Still playing in Brazil. Fullname: Alejandro Santana Viniegra. |
| A | Hope Avayevu | Spotted by FCD at the Dallas Cup at 16, they had to wait till he was 18 to sign him. He stuck around pre-pandemic as a teenager and trained with FCD/NTX. Creative midfielder. In 2023 he’s NTX’s best player. 3 seasons, 31 starts, 48 games, 9 goals, 11 assists. |
| B | Caiser Gomes | Guinea-Bissau center back on loan from FC Alverca. Started 19 of 21 games he played for NTX. During an FCD injury emergency, Gomes was loaned to FC Dallas to get him on the MLS roster, then loaned back to NTX. However, he wasn’t retained past ’21. |
| B | Kazu | Left back from Coritiba. Brazilian/Japanese. Showed some interesting stuff but wasn’t retained. 19 starts 26 games, 6 goals, and 2 assists. Fullname: Christian Kendji Wagatsuma Ferreira. |
| D | Lucão | Portuguese/Brazilian defender, on loan from FC Alverca. 7 games, 6 starts. Fullname: Lucas Da Silva Teodoro. |
| D | Gabriel de Morais | Brazilian forward on loan through 2022 from FC Alverca. 11 games, 4 starts, 1 goal. |
| F | Rickson van Hees | USA eligible but played his entire career in the Netherlands except for his short stint at North Texas (1 game). Outside back. |
| D | Juan Para | Colombian defender from Independente. Started 4 of the 5 games he played. |
Signings you might think are “foreign” but aren’t…
Bernard Kaumngo – Tanzanian but played high school soccer in Abilene. Spotted at a tryout he’s now a US citizen and has signed with FC Dallas.
2022 – MLS Next Pro
Los Toritos move to the new MLS developmental league.
| Grade | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| B | Andre Costa | Signed for ’22, option for ’23 was picked up. Currently NTX captain and occasionally gets first-team PT. NTX 2 seasons 31 games, 23 starts, 3 goals, 1 assist. Born in Sar Paulo, he’s played most of his career in Spain but is US eligible. |
| B | Carl Sainté | Late ’22 loan from New Mexico United his option was bought for ’23. Haitian National Teamer. Occasionally gets first-team PT. In the short time he’s been here he’s played in 11 games with 9 starts at the 6. |
| C | Paul Amedume | 18-year-old center back on loan from Pacific FC. Came with Pa-Modou Kah and left when the coach did. Started 18 of 19 games. |
| D | Felipe Carneiro | GK on loan from Sao Paulo’s U-20 but wasn’t retained. 7 starts. |
| A | José Mulato | On loan striker from Deportivo Cali, Bayern Munich was somehow involved as well. Option purchased by FCD for ’23. 26 starts, 29 games, 11 goals, and 5 assists for NTX so far. |
| C | Tomás Lacerda | A linking mid or 6 on loan from FC Alverca. Not retained. 7 starts, 17 games, 1 goal, and 1 assist. |
| C | Luis Miguel Cardoso | Left wing on loan from FC Alverca and wasn’t retained. 2 goals, 2 assists in 21 games but just 5 starts. |
Signings you might think are “foreign” but aren’t…
Santiago Ferreira – There are so many Ferreiras in MLS you might lose track. The younger brother of Jesus and son of David. He played 17 games with 12 starts in 2022 while in the FCD Academy.
2023 – MLS Next Pro
Yup, still not as good as USL League One.
Since the season is 8 games old I’m withholding grades for now but it’s not looking good.
| Grade | Player | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Yeicar Perlaza | Colombian right back on loan from Atlético Nacional. Fast but a poor decision-maker. 4 starts in 7 games. NTX seems suspect at the back when he’s in. | |
| Henri Santos | 20-year-old center back from Palmaries. Solid game to game at center back but probably too slow to progress. 7 starts in 8 games. | |
| Manuel Caicedo | 19-year-old left center back on loan from Cortuluá FC. He’s only played one game, that’s not a good sign when this team’s defense has been pretty ragged. | |
| Theo Ferreira | 21-year-old mid/wing from Brazil. He’s shown the most potential of the current crop. 1 goal and 1 assist in 7 games with 3 starts. |
Signings you might think are “foreign” but aren’t…
Tomas Pondeca – A winger from Arizona who went to high school at Flower Mound Marcus. Pondeca played for the US Futsal team in the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup in Lithuania.
Buzz, I thought I remember hearing on the podcast last year that Kamungo played for FCD Premier as well as his high school in Abilene but since I haven’t heard it again, I’m not sure that’s true. Am I making that up?
Nope, he didn’t play for Premier. No one at FCD knew of him until the tryout he went to.
Maybe you are thinking of Diego Pepi? He played for FCD Premier (ECNL).
What is the connection between FCD and FC Alverca?
Nothing official, just a positive working relationship. Owners get along.