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When Jesus Barea got to the U.S. in August, he was thinking about the difficult time he would have because, in his words, “my English wasn’t so good.”
In the month-plus that he has been here, his English has improved dramatically, and the display of his soccer ability has been, well, so good. The 17-year-old Putnam Science Academy senior has scored three goals in the Mustangs’ first three games, as the team has gotten off to a 2-1 start.
“I think I have played well to start but my teammates are good players, and they help me to be better,” said Barea, who is from the coastal city of Cadiz in southwestern Spain. “I’ve been playing since I was 3 years old, and I’m lucky that I was able to play on the best club team in Cadiz. That helped me to improve my skills and become a better player too.”
Barea is widely regarded by his PSA teammates as one of the top players on the squad. And while he is adamant that they make him a better player, they will say with equal vigor, that the opposite is true.
“He understands the game at a very high level, and he’s a playmaker,” Geni Kanyane said. “If Jesus plays out of position, we get less of the ball. He’s the guy who creates chances for us. He’s got good technical ability, keeping the ball at his feet. So if he’s at a central area, we’re all going to benefit.”
Added Jorge Mendo: “He’s really important for us. He’s our No. 10. He plays side-to-side, he wants to grab the ball and he’s really good at passing and creating for us. He’s really good for us to have on this team.”
Barea hopes to show well enough this season to play soccer in college, preferably at the Division I level, likely at a high Division I level. But he said the most important thing to him will be his studies and that he wants to be a physical therapist. The dream, though, and one that is certainly viable according to some of his coaches if things work out at the next level for him, is to play in the MLS.
“Ah yes, that is the dream,” he said. “There are very good teams and very good players in the MLS…why not want to play in there? I want to have a career here in the United States.”
Kanyane laughed when asked to describe Barea off the pitch, then said, “Very playful. Most of the time when I’m with him, he’s always joking around.”
But Kanyane, another of the team’s top players who has MLS aspirations as well, said it’s not all just fun and games.
“When we talk seriously, I think we get along well too,” he said. “We talk about our goals going forward. It’s nice to have teammates that have the same goals as you. Even though we’re from different places (Kanyane is South African), we’re all striving to get the same thing. There’s comfort in that for us.”
By Steve Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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