Dest makes debut for Barcelona as 1st American player

By: The Associated Press Posted: 4:07 PM CDT Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 Last Modified: 5:00 PM CDT Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020

BARCELONA, Spain - Sergiño Dest made his debut for Barcelona on Sunday, becoming the first American to play in a Spanish league match for the club.

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BARCELONA, Spain - Sergiño Dest made his debut for Barcelona on Sunday, becoming the first American to play in a Spanish league match for the club.

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This article was published 04/10/2020 (2152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BARCELONA, Spain – Sergiño Dest made his debut for Barcelona on Sunday, becoming the first American to play in a Spanish league match for the club.

The defender went on in the 75th minute of Sunday’s game against Sevilla at Camp Nou with the match tied 1-1. He replaced left back Jordi Alba.

Dest displayed what coach Ronald Koeman wants him to bring to Barcelona when he broke through Sevilla’s defence and passed for Lionel Messi, whose shot was saved in the 81st.

Barcelona's Sergino Dest fights for the ball against Sevilla's Suso during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

The match ended 1-1.

“I’m very happy to have made my debut today, but unfortunately we didn’t win. We took a tie, so we’ll have to wait until the next game against Getafe,” Dest said.

Dest signed a five-year contract for Barcelona on Thursday. Barcelona paid Ajax 21 million euros (around $25 million), plus an additional 5 million euros ($5.8 million) in add-ons, to acquire the 19-year-old Dest.

Another American, Konrad de la Fuente, who is in Barcelona’s reserve team, played with the first team during preseason.