Barcelona’s Sergino Dest becomes the first American to start a league match for the Catalan club



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The reality of football, and of sport in general, is that an injury for one means an opportunity for another. Such was the case on Saturday when the recent signing of Ajax and American international Sergino Dest made his debut in Barcelona’s starting lineup as veteran left-back Jordi Alba recovered from a hamstring injury.

Dest found himself alongside some of the world’s biggest names on the team sheet against Getafe, including Lionel Messi, Antione Griezmann and Gerard Piqué. It was history for the Catalan club and Dest, who became the first American in the club’s history to play in the starting lineup of a La Liga match.

The 19-year-old American fullback was hired to play for Barcelona during the summer transfer window for a whopping $ 25 million fee from Dutch giants Ajax. This is not the first time Dest has seen the field for his new club, having entered as a substitute in early October, replacing Alba during the final 15 minutes of a 1-1 draw with Sevilla.

Dest becomes the latest young American to join a notable European club, which has been a more recent streak with this so-called “golden generation” for the USMNT. Others in this group include Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna, Juventus’ Weston McKennie, RB Leipzig’s Tyler Adams, and of course Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic.



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