The video has 320,000 views on YouTube, and it was uploaded 11 years ago. The footage is slightly grainy, the cheesy EDM backdrop music dated, but it’s still there: “Gedion Zelalem 2014 | Goals & Skills | Arsenal F.C | 2013/14.”
Those were the glory days for a kid who was meant to be at the very top. Zelalem played high school soccer in Bethesda, Maryland, moved to the Arsenal academy, and, for some time, was regarded as a real talent for the USMNT – one for the future. Instead, 11 years and nine clubs later, he is in the United Soccer League, having signed with New Mexico United.
But this isn’t necessarily the end of the line for the midfielder, just 28. What at one time was considered to be a last-resort league is now a place of growth, development – and maybe rebirth. Zelalem may have slipped through the cracks of top-tier football, but like many before him, the USL represents a chance to get his career back on track – and perhaps push him back toward the spaces many thought he would occupy.
“The league has progressed,” Zelalem told GOAL. “There’s a lot of players that can also play in the MLS. It’s a good league, good stepping stone for a lot of players, but also a league where you can make a good living.”