Diego Santiago Fagúndez Pepe is a Uruguayan footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or forward for MLS club New England Revolution. He is the youngest player in league history to record 50 goals, the league's first homegrown player to record 10,000 minutes, the youngest player in league history to record 100 appearances and 25 goals, and the youngest player in league history to record 200 appearances.
Career
Youth
Fagúndez was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and moved with his family to Leominster, Massachusetts when he was five years old. Fagúndez began his football career with local team Leominster Youth. He continued to play with his town team through 13 years of age. He then went on to play for FC United and FC Greater Boston Bolts, before joining the New England Revolution academy team in 2009. He was a State Cup finalist with FC United 2005 and winner in 2006. He won the State Cup with FC Greater Boston Bolts in 2008 and 2009. He also played for the Massachusetts Olympic Development Program from 2006 to 2009, as captain from 2008 to 2009. He was named a 2007–2008 Adidas Interregional All-Star as a member of the Region I ODP team. In his debut season he led the Revs' U-16 squad to a 14–7–8 record, placing first in the Northeast Division of the US Soccer Development Academy. He scored 20 goals in 30 appearances, tying with Felix Debona for the team lead in goals. On March 10, 2011, Top Drawer Soccer named Fagúndez their number one ranked player nationally in the class of 2013.
Professional
On November 15, 2010, Fagúndez was signed to a contract by the New England Revolution, making him the first ever homegrown player the Revolution signed from its youth academy. Although on the main club roster, he continued to train with and play for the academy team. He made his full professional debut on April 26, 2011, in a Revs' 3–2 victory over D.C. United in the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. He made his league debut on August 6, 2011, as a substitute against Chivas USA, where he drew a penalty and scored his first goal for New England. For the first time in his career, Fagúndez became a regular starter for the New England Revolution in 2013, and he delivered fantastic results as a regular in the first team. Fagúndez quickly became one of MLS's great young talents, and won player of the week honors in week 14 of the 2013 MLS season. Fagúndez obtained a US green card in October 2013 qualifying him as a domestic player under MLS squad rules. He was featured on an episode of documentary television show that MLS 36 in August 2013. During the 2015 season, Fagúndez became the youngest player in MLS history to reach 100 appearances for his club. Fagúndez was named the Midnight Riders Man of Year at the conclusion of the 2017 MLS season. On October 28, 2018, prior to the Revolution's final match of the 2018 season, Diego's father posted a tweet insinuating that it could be his son's final appearance for the franchise. The match, against the Montreal Impact, saw Diego's 50th career MLS goal. He is currently the youngest player in MLS history to score 50 goals. On January 22, 2019, multiple sources reported that the Revolution turned down an offer from Club Nacional de Football for Diego. The Revolution would exercise Diego's 2020 contract option prior to the start of the 2020 season. Diego made his 244th appearance for the Revolution in the franchises' 2020 season opener against the Chicago Fire, tying Jay Heaps for 4th most appearances all time.
International
Fagúndez made his debut for Uruguay U20 team October 2012. He played two games for Uruguay U20 against Peru in that month. In the first he entered as a substitute in the 83rd minute; in the second fixture he was brought on in the 45th minute. In April 2013, he stated that he would be willing to represent either Uruguay or the United States at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. in Gaziantep, Turkey. However, he was not called up by Uruguay and was not eligible for represent U.S. at the time due to not having citizenship. In August 2014, he was called up again for the Uruguay U20 national team and played in two games against Peru, a 1–0 win victory and a 1–1 draw. In January 2015, Fagúndez was called up for the 2015 South American Youth Championship. He played in Uruguay's 1–0 victory over Colombia.
Personal life
Diego's father, Washington Fagúndez, was a professional footballer in Uruguay who played as a goalkeeper with Central Español in the 1990s. Diego is the godson of former Uruguayan international footballer and 1995 Copa América winner Diego Dorta, after whom he is named. Fagúndez received his U.S. green card in October 2013, which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
