Ricardo Zacharias From Alianza de Futbol: Ricardo Zacharias of the sub-20 Club América outdid himself with two goals in the victory of the Eagles before TigresOficial. Appears to be US born: Albuquerque, NM- 2015 Albuquerque Sol forward and New Mexico native Ricardo Zacarias has recently signed with Club America in Mexico City, Mexico. Richie (as he is known to his teammates) was offered his first professional contract with Club America last month after an impressing three week trial with the Liga MX. When he was offered a contract, the former Sol forward couldn’t turn down the opportunity he had dreamed of since his childhood, and agreed to join the team. http://abqsolfc.com/uncategorized/former-sol-forward-signed-by-club-america/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/swoop_ricardo Nuestro Pro Player @swoop_ricardo debutó con el @ClubAmerica con este golazo de chilena. pic.twitter.com/Z70wKqw29I— Alianza de Futbol (@alianzadefutbol) January 11, 2016
From December: Very proud of Sol player @swoop_ricardo for signing a pro contract with @ClubAmerica pic.twitter.com/0TnwX9ijEu— Albuquerque Sol FC (@abqsolfc) December 12, 2015 And by the way, there seems to be a sale on at the Sol store -- for you scarf collectors... http://abqsolfc.com/product/2015-sateen-scarf/
http://www.espnfc.com/mexican-liga-...x-journey-of-ricardo-zacarias-to-club-america Interesting that Club America found him so worthy when so few in the States did. Good read.
Well, we know pretty well that there are many more guys in the States who are pro prospects of a roughly equivalent level at the post-high school age than there are pro opportunities for them here. Junior colleges, the PDL and NPSL, and geographic regions where there isn't much pro or DA penetration have long been places where players who meet that description are missed by "the system," broadly defined. That means plenty of fodder for clubs with loads of spots in their academies/developmental squads to fill. That will probably balance out somewhat as professionalism spreads here through the expansion of MLS/NASL/USL. But even then, it's hard to think there won't be more guys like this out there. Right now, RZ hasn't done much more than lots of guys his age (he's a '95, so at or nearing the age of a four-year college player who is a rookie) but given that he's at one of the biggest clubs in this part of the world he's certainly worth tracking. Thanks for posting the story. Also, from the club site: http://www.clubamerica.com.mx/jugador/ricardo-zacarias-ortiz/
Zacarias had 10 appearances (six starts) for América's Segunda team in the 2016 Apertura. He scored one goal. Currently, he's listed as unregistered.
Seems the spelling of his last name from the original article doesn't quite match with the spelling he prefers: Ricardo Zacarias @bungadiri -- can we fix the spelling of his last name in the header? Thx. That comes straight from his Twitter account: https://twitter.com/swoop_ricardo Congrats to former Sol player @swoop_ricardo on joining his new pro club in Mexico @ClubIrapuato #SolFamily #1Sol pic.twitter.com/DZqZehB3oD— Albuquerque Sol FC (@abqsolfc) August 10, 2017
Now with Coras de Nayarit in Liga Premier. Seems like a guy who might wind up on USL Albuquerque's radar at some point next year.
He's "sin registro" in the Liga MX database and signed with Chattanooga Red Wolves in January. https://www.chattanoogaredwolves-sc...ooga-red-wolves-sign-forward-ricardo-zacarias