“That was the hardest moment of my life,” Agudelo said. “Because, at the time, I was told to just stand by and wait for the courts on the work permit. My wife was pregnant, and I was just on standby for a good amount of time. I practiced with Stoke City, but they were away a lot, so I was just home watching shows with my wife. It felt like a very privileged jail cell. It was devastating to the point I didn’t like soccer any more…”
Agudelo played on loan with FC Utrecht in The Netherlands in 2014, but went nearly a year without performing in a competitive game before returning to the Revs in 2015.
“As a soccer player you can’t really take five months off and then come back that fast,” Agudelo said. “I tried to come back fast to MLS and injuries started piling up. I wasn’t educated enough to understand how to keep muscles at a certain ratio for my height, weight and age. It created a lot of hamstring issues.”
As a hold-up striker, Agudelo also became the object of hard-hitting attention from defenders.
“I remember Bobby Boswell, it should have been a red card, hit me in the same exact spot on my hamstring,” Agudelo recalled of a 2015 MLS playoff game between the Revolution and D.C. United. “It was like I was targeted, or something, and I had to come out in the playoffs.”
That game symbolized the highs and lows of Agudelo’s career, as he converted an acrobatic bicycle kick then ended up limping off the field.
Value of an Old Pro
“He played for the national team at a young age and a whole lot of us haven’t done that,” said Soehn, who was a Revolution assistant coach under current Legion President/GM Jay Heaps. “How you judge a guy, look back on his career and knowing him as a person, he’s a great person, and a great teammate. He gives you whatever he’s got every game.”
Agudelo’s Revolution days came to an end after Bruce Arena declined his option for the 2020 season. Agudelo played for Inter Miami and Minnesota United, then joined the Legion last year.
“Bruce was honest with me,” Agudelo said. “He said my price point was not at the point of my playing level. It’s crazy, but I respect Bruce so much that even though he didn’t pick up my option, I understood. He made the right decision. He’s the real deal, one of the best coaches I ever had.”
Agudelo’s time of being a Premier League prospect and MLS star are in the past, but he seems content with the Legion.
“Everything is good here, I’m actually happy here,” said Agudelo, ahead of a clash with an MLS side and in striking-distance of the Quarterfinals. “I like the non-prima donna way people go about living here. Everyone helps out. Everyone picks up trash [at practices], brings equipment to practice. Back in the day [in MLS] we would shower and get changed and not worry about anything else.
“Now we carry our own bags,” he said. “It’s a weird kind of team-bonding.”
Dell’Apa is a regular contributor to usopencup.com and the Boston Globe. He’s now in his third decade of writing about American soccer.
