Miguel Berry, the Spaniard who wants to play the World Cup with the USA.

After playing just one minute in the first four days of MLS, Miguel Berry (Barcelona, ​​1997) knew that he needed to escape from the Columbus Crew. The forward born in Barcelona 24 years ago asked to return on loan to San Diego Loyal and the five goals he scored in a month of competition confirmed that his place was not in the second category of American football. “He had to show he had something, even if he had to go down to the USL to do so,” recalls Berry after a season that began far from the spotlight and ended up becoming one of the forwards with the most future in North America. “I am not that young. I am already 24 years old and I still have not played many games in the elite. That is why I have to take advantage of every minute,” says a player who did not make the leap to professionalism until the end of his university stage: “In The United States started late. Frankie De Jong is my age and at Barça they already talk about him as if he were a veteran. “

Berry knows he can’t take a single wrong step. It was the reason why he asked to return on loan to San Diego and the reason why he did not think twice when the injury of Gyasi Zardes He reopened the gates of Columbus for him. “I had confidence in myself and that helped me a lot. I knew that if the opportunity came to me I would be successful,” he discovers after resting for a season in which so It only took 18 games to score eight goals and distribute two assists.. According to his coach, Caleb Porter, Miguel Berry is so personable that he “seems like the perfect son-in-law.” On the field, however, he transforms: “I think I’m a bit of a bastard there. But I have to be. With the rival and with my teammates, because if you don’t complain, the ball will never get to you.” He was born in Barcelona, ​​but Berry claims to be “physically American.” “I am tall, fast and strong, which is not a very Spanish profile. I think I am imposing, but I also have a lot of football on my feet. I have a bit of everything: passing game, dribbling … I still have many things to improve, but I can do things that many of my stature cannot do, “he adds.

In the last year, No MLS forward has been more effective than Miguel Berry. The Spaniard leads the shooting statistics among the three clubs (70%), of which 34% scored a goal. Only Kamara (DC United), Chicharito (LA Galaxy) and Arango (Los Angeles FC) surpass him in goals every 90 minutes (0.79). Reason enough for the gorges of Lower.com Field to chant his name over and over again this past season. “I don’t even know how to describe it because for me that is crazy. It is the confirmation that I am doing the right thing and my work has value”, discovers a Berry who dreams big: “I think I am close to the level of Zardes, which is He is a great striker and he goes with the United States team. It is a goal that I would love to reach. I think I can fulfill the dream of reaching the USMNT. And why not for the 2022 World Cup? Coach Gregg Berhalter, is the father of one of my best friends. I also know his assistant, Nico Estévez. We have never talked about the national team, but I hope we can do it soon. “

During the winter market, some Spanish clubs approached Miguel Berry’s surroundings. Columbus Crew, however, have no intention of getting rid of what is already one of their best footballers. He recently exercised his right to renew and included him on the list of proteges for the Expansion Draft. Caleb Porter also revealed that the Spaniard will start as a starter in the 2022 season. “I have told him that now he has to take the next step, which is to be the undisputed starter and score goals even though everyone already knows him. The defenders already know him. they do not underestimate him, “said the American coach about a player who looks at Haaland and Lewandowski without detracting from the strikers with whom he shares the championship and the continent:” In Spain they don’t even know them, but Phillips and Zardes are two huge forwards of the I’ve been able to learn a lot of things. From my opponents I prefer Funes Mori, with whom I crossed paths in the Champions League, and Taty Castellanos, ‘Pichichi’ of the MLS. I always say it: here, in the United States, there are players who could perform in any league in the world. My partner Darlington Nagbe, for example. He has a very special talent, but since he has played here his entire career no one in Europe talks about him. In five years, MLS will be one of the biggest leagues in the world“.

Barcelona, ​​in the memory and the heart

Although more than three decades have passed since he left Spain to live in the United States, Barcelona is still very present in the life of Miguel Berry. “Here I only interact with Americans and that makes me feel American, but I only need two or three days in Spain to feel much more Spanish. I loved my life there and I hope to return one day. Hopefully to play soccer,” he says without forgetting one of his great passions, FC Barcelona: “I watch every Barça game and I love it. For me, this season is more beautiful than the previous ones because we can enjoy and value footballers like Gavi”. Miguel Berry is only 24 years old, but he shows an unusual maturity for a boy who has just started his professional career. In 2014, her mother, Judith, was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme – terminal brain cancer. He passed away 14 months later, when Berry was 18 and his brother, Alejandro, 23. “Cancer affects many people, but you never think that it will touch you”, discovers the Columbus Crew player, who during his last stage in San Diego and thanks to Team Impact, an organization that brings together sick children and university athletes, met Deryk Zaldivar, a 10-year-old boy with cancer and autism for whom Miguel Berry has become an older brother: “For me, supporting people who suffer from these types of diseases is very important. More so if they are children, who have their whole lives for front. Deryk is one of my best friends. Now that I’m in Columbus I miss him a lot. “