Ricardo Pepi
Ricardo Daniel Pepi (born January 9, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a striker for Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven and the United States national team. Pepi had his breakthrough with Major League Soccer club FC Dallas and was named the MLS Young Player of the Year in 2021. In 2022 he joined Bundesliga club FC Augsburg and was later loaned to Eredivisie club FC Groningen, where he scored 12 goals in 29 league appearances. In 2023 he signed with PSV Eindhoven for €9 million ($9.8m). Born to Mexican-American ancestry, he represented the United States at the youth U17 level. He made his senior debut in 2021 and won the CONCACAF Nations League in 2023. Early life Pepi was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in nearby San Elizario. He has Mexican ancestry through his family who were from Mexico, with Pepi regularly crossing the border to neighboring Ciudad Juárez to visit family. Pepi began playing recreational soccer when he was only four years old in local El Paso leagues. He soon began playing competitive organized soccer for a club coached by his father, Daniel Pepi. The club would soon become affiliated with Major League Soccer club FC Dallas, who scouted Pepi following the Copa Chivas tournament in 2016, offering the then 13-year old the opportunity to join the FC Dallas youth academy. In his first season, Pepi was put into the under-13 side and scored 18 goals in just 15 games, leading him to rise up the ranks within the club. He was soon promoted to the under-17 side as a 15-year old, scoring 19 goals in eight matches. Club career North Texas SC On December 8, 2018, Pepi became the first signing for North Texas SC, the new affiliate club for FC Dallas' in USL League One. On March 30, 2019, Pepi made his professional debut in North Texas SC's first ever match, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–2 victory over the Chattanooga Red Wolves. Following the match, North Texas SC head coach Eric Quill stated: "I'd like to say that it shocks me, but it doesn't shock me. He's been in unbelievable form in the preseason. Every game, he's growing. He's got such a hunger to score goals, that is rare. He can finish in any way." In the following match against Forward Madison, Pepi scored for the second match in a row deep into second half stoppage time to give North Texas SC the 1–0 home victory. He was then called into the international under-17 squad. When he returned, Pepi scored again in his third game of the season against Lansing Ignite in a 2–2 draw. On October 12, 2019, Pepi returned to North Texas SC for the semifinals of the USL League One playoffs. He scored a brace for North Texas SC against Forward Madison in a 2–0 home victory, advancing the side to the final. After the match, Pepi was called into the under-17 side, thus not being available for