Diego Fagúndez

Youth

Fagúndez was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and moved with his family to Leominster, Massachusetts when he was five years old. Diego 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 (Massachusetts) 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 (ODP) 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 (50 pts), 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 (which was converted by Shalrie Joseph) and scored his first goal for New England.

For the first time in his career, Fagundez became a regular starter for the New England Revolution in 2013, and he delivered fantastic results as a regular in the first team. Fagundez quickly became one of MLS's great young talents, and won player of the week honors in week 14 of the 2013 MLS season. Fagundez obtained a US green card in October 2013 qualifying him as a domestic player under MLS squad rules. During the 2015 season, Fagúndez became the youngest player in MLS history to reach 100 appearances for his club.

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.

Club

Personal

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.