Richard Ledezma

Richard Ledezma (born September 6, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays for Dutch team Jong PSV as a midfielder.

Richard Ledezma
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-09-06) September 6, 2000
Place of birth Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Height 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Jong PSV
Number 35
Youth career
2016–2018 Real Salt Lake
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Real Monarchs 5 (1)
2019– Jong PSV 34 (6)
2020– PSV 3 (0)
National team‡
2018–2019 United States U20 5 (0)
2019– United States U23 3 (2)
2020– United States 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of December 6, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 16, 2020

Club career

Ledezma made his professional debut for USL side Real Monarchs on April 11, 2018, as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 3–1 win over Seattle Sounders FC 2.[1] On June 4, he scored his first career goal for Real Monarchs, as part of a performance for which he was named to the USL Team of the Week.[2] On July 7, Ledezma was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Western Conference Player of the Year for the U-18/19 age group.[3]

On December 21, 2018, Ledezma left Salt Lake to sign for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven on a one-and-a-half year deal.[4] On October 27, 2019, after his strong play for Jong PSV, Ledezma made PSV's senior squad for the first time for an Eredivisie match with AZ Alkmaar. On November 1, 2020, Ledezma made his PSV debut in the 74th minute and recorded an assist in a 4-0 win over ADO Den Haag.

International career

Ledezma was born and raised in the United States and is of Mexican descent. Ledezma received his first United States youth national team callup to the U-19s in January 2018, but quickly moved up to the United States under-20 side.[5] He earned his first U.S. U-20 start against France U-20, helping the U.S. to a 1–0 victory.[6]

On May 17, 2019, Ledezma revealed he was contacted by the Mexican Football Federation regarding switching to represent his ancestral Mexico. Ledezma did not close the door to representing either federation, but remained aligned with the United States for the time being.[7]

On June 4, 2019, in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Ledezma recorded an assist in the USA's 3–2 victory over France in the Round of 16, as his through-ball in the 25th minute split Boubacar Kamara and Dan-Axel Zagadou setting up Sebastian Soto for the finish.

He received his first call up to the senior United States squad for matches against Wales and Panama in November 2020.[8] On November 16, 2020, Ledezma made his senior national team debut against Panama when he came on as a substitute in the 68th minute and created two assists for goals by Sebastian Soto.[9]

References
  1. "Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs Real Monarchs SLC". uslsoccer.com. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  2. "Ledezma Earns Team of the Week Honors". rsl.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  3. "PLAYERS OF THE YEAR, CONFERENCE BEST XI'S NAMED AT BOYS' DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY END-OF-YEAR BANQUET". ussoccerda.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  4. "PSV lijft Amerikaans talent Ledezma in". www.psv.nl. December 21, 2018.
  5. "Ledezma & Amaya continuing to push through with the U.S. U-20's". americansoccernow.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  6. "LAST MINUTE STRIKE GIVES U-20 MNT 1–0 WIN AGAINST FRANCE U-21". ussoccer.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  7. "Rising USMNT youth prospect Ledezma confirms contact from Mexican federation". SBI Soccer. September 17, 2019.
  8. "USMNT ROSTER ANNOUNCEMENT: BERHALTER CALLS 24 PLAYERS FOR NOVEMBER CAMP MATCHES VS WALES AND PANAMA". ussoccer.com. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  9. https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2020/11/usmnt-6-panama-2-match-report-stats


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