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On the Wings of Juan Pablo

MLS scored one huge coup bringing one of Latin America’s most valuable players stateside, and another when fans in the U.S. turned their attentions to the American league.

IT WAS the 36th minute in the 2007 Major League Soccer All-Stars match against Scottish Premier League champions Celtic FC, and MLS newcomer Juan Pablo Ángel was going head-to-head with the goalkeeper. He deftly rounded him to score a breathtaking game-winning goal.
The masterful display marked the dynamic arrival of this Colombian native to the U.S. soccer scene. Ángel was named the 2007 MLS All-Stars Most Valuable Player for his performance at the July 19 game, but that was far from his only accomplishment last year, his first season playing for the United States league.
The striker signed with the New York Red Bulls in April, debuting on May 8 in a U.S. Open Cup qualifying match, where he scored a free kick. By September, he had netted 17 balls, setting a new scoring record for the franchise. Ángel finished off the season with 19 goals and five assists in 24 games, earning the team’s MVP nod. He was also a finalist for the league’s MVP award.
The spectacular start for this otherwise veteran soccer star has breathed new life into the nascent sport of soccer here in the U.S., setting off what is sure to be an exciting 2008 season that kicked off in late March.
“It’s been a great experience,” says Ángel of his stateside move. “It was a little hectic the first eight months adjusting to a new culture, but I love it. New York is an amazing city. It takes time when you move your entire life to another country.”
Ángel is now living in the New Jersey suburb of Saddle River with his wife and two sons, ages 7 and 5, the youngest of whom, he says, is showing an interest in soccer.
Ángel, 32, started his professional soccer career at the age of 17 with Atlético Nacional Medellín, his home city in Colombia.
After that, Ángel played for River Plate in Argentina from 1997 to 2000, where fans could often be seen donning Ángel wings to show their appreciation.
Before joining the New York Red Bulls, which is technically based in New Jersey, Ángel played with the English Premier League team Aston Villa, signing there in 2000. His £9.5 million-pound-contract to transfer from River Plate to Aston Villa set a club record. During his seven-year run there, he scored 62 goals in 205 contests. Since 1991, only one other player has bested that goal average.
Colombia, Argentina, Great Britain and now the United States.
“The U.S. was another stop I wanted to make,” he quips.
Ángel’s decision to sign with the New York Red Bulls resulted from a combination of factors, chief among them a desire to be part of a growing league, he says. The team does not disclose players’ salaries, although other news outlets have reported that Ángel earned $1.593 million last season, the third highest salary in the league.
The MLS was formed in 1993 and began its first playing season in 1996. While initially it struggled to find an audience, the league’s recent push to bring in international soccer stars has raised the level of play in the U.S.
“It was challenging coming from the best league in the world to a league that is now on the go,” Ángel says. “But I wanted to help MLS become a recognizable league around the world. So far, it’s been rewarding.”
Indeed, spectator interest and global media attention has risen sharply with the arrival of Ángel, not to mention the high-profile Brit, David Beckham, who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. Their participation has not only cemented soccer’s continuing viability in the U.S., but also paved the way for big name players joining the league this season, including Argentines Marcelo Gallardo with D.C. United and Claudio “Piojo” López of the Kansas City Wizards.
“Bringing Juan Pablo Ángel to play in Major League Soccer was not only a tremendous accomplishment for the Red Bulls, but a benefit for soccer fans across the United States and Canada,” says Dan Courtemanche, MLS senior vice president of marketing and communications.
“He is a true professional both on and off the field, and an ambassador for soccer throughout the region,” Courtemanche says. “His ability and leadership on the field has made young American players, like teammate Jozy Altidore, elevate their game, and his crossover appeal off the field has generated excitement within the Hispanic and general marketplace.”
For Ángel, who is clearly rising to the challenge to help develop and bring attention to the game in this budding market, it is not a question of if soccer will become as important as American football and baseball, but when.
“With the amount of young kids that play soccer, I don’t see why this sport won’t become very big in the next few years,” he says.
Of course, there are many changes that need to be made, Ángel stresses, for soccer to be more competitive and to match the quality of European leagues. Namely, there must be more support and the construction of soccer stadiums, he says.
Presently, the New York Red Bulls play their home matches at Giants Stadium, a football arena in New Jersey that seats more than 77,000.
However, Red Bull Park is due to open in July 2009 in Harrison, New Jersey. The smaller 27,000-seat setting is expected to provide a better connection between the fans and the team.
As he reflects on his first season with the New York Red Bulls, Ángel likens it to a “roller coaster.” The team, he says, started out very well, then went through a rough patch and ended up in the playoffs. They did not make it to the 2007 MLS Cup, however, after at 1-0 loss in the playoffs to New England Revolution.
The most memorable goal Ángel recalls scoring for the Red Bulls was when, playing against Los Angeles Galaxy, he kicked the final winning ball into the post, beating the team fronted by Beckham 5 to 4, before a crowd of 66,000 at Giants Stadium.
“He’s a very good player,” Ángel says of Beckham. “People are more interested in soccer because of him. He’s bringing much more attention to the league, which is great.”
Of course, Ángel has not only been recognized here for his soccer skills. In September, People en Español named the 6-foot-1, 170-pound, dark-haired athlete one of the 10 Sexiest Men in the U.S. for 2007.
Ángel says it was flattering to receive such a distinction. But it is apparent that he doesn’t let such praise get to his head. Nothing can distract him from his beloved soccer.
This year, Ángel says, the target is to win the championship. He thinks it’s possible with some adjustments.
“I think there’s certain teams that are in a better position than we are with their squad,” he says. “But if we make some changes, add more players to make us more competitive, we’ll have a better chance at the championships.”
His Red Bulls coach, Juan Carlos Osorio, who will lead the team for the first time this season, has every confidence in Ángel. Osorio, who also hails from Colombia, was the head coach of the Chicago Fire team before heading to the northeast. He was the New York team’s assistant coach in 2000-2001 when they were called the MetroStars. Red Bull, an energy drink company, purchased the team in 2006.
“Juan Pablo Ángel is a player who demonstrated in the last season how valuable he is to the team. We anticipate that he will repeat that this year,” Osorio says. “His experience on and off the field is very important for our team this season.”
Some have said that Ángel is arguably the best striker in MLS today, a designation the player is not quick to accept.
“I think it’s a great compliment, but I wouldn’t say that,” he says.
For Ángel, there is always room for improvement, he says, even for someone who has been playing soccer for as long as he can remember. As a child, he admired Marco van Basten, a Dutch striker with the Italian team AC Milan, and spent every day kicking around a soccer ball with his friends.
“I have it in my blood,” Ángel says. “In Latin American countries, soccer is big. It’s not strange for kids to be really involved in it.”
Even in his 30s—a time when most professional soccer players hang up their cleats—he says he’s still got a few more years of “energy left in his legs.” He is uncertain, he says, if he will return to Colombia or Europe someday.
“I’d like to do something with soccer,” he says. “I’m keeping my options open.” Besides, he can’t think of retirement just yet. There are too many goals to attain, and not just the ones on the soccer field.
“This is a new franchise,” he says of the New York Red Bulls. “It takes time to expand. I’m hoping to build it up for generations to come.”

Player Profile: Juan Pablo Ángel

Date of Birth October 24, 1975
Place of Birth Medellín, Colombia

Career Highlights
First professional Team: Club team Atlético Nacional in Medellín

International Career Traded to Argentine team River Plate in 1997. Played through 2001. In January of that year, after playing three years in River Plate, he was traded to the Aston Villa in the UK, for £9.5 million.

Scoring During his tenure at Aston Villa, he became one of very few players to score more than 20 goals in one season. He was the team’s top scorer during the 2003-2004 season.

U.S. Career In 2007, when the contract with Aston Villa ended, Ángel signed on with the New York Red Bulls debuting on March 7 of the same year. He would later be named Player of the Month and be the first on his team to score in six straight games. On September 29, 2007, Ángel scored a penalty for his team that not only tied the score with the opponents, the Real Salt Lake, but also made his 17th goal, setting a new franchise record.

Native Ties Ángel remained aligned with the Colombian national team and played in the elimination games in the World Cup in 2002 and 2004. Today, he is no longer a member of the team.