Austin FC midfielder Dani Pereira and the Venezuelan national team will face Jamaica at Q2 Stadium on June 30 in the Copa America group stage. (courtesy of Austin FC)
There was a time when Austin FC selecting Dani Pereira with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft was considered an achievement.
To their credit, the MLS mock draft correctly predicted that Austin would select Pereira … they just thought it would happen with the club’s other first-round pick, no. 11. There were 10 players viewed by experts as better draft prospects than the Venezuelan midfielder from Virginia Tech.
Now, admittedly, evaluating college football players for their professional potential is a dicey proposition every year, never mind during a pandemic when most NCAA conferences didn’t even stage a season. The important thing is that Austin FC saw Pereira as the best player in his draft class and a future difference maker in MLS.
Three and a half years later, the club has been absolutely right. While almost every other player taken in the 2021 SuperDraft has struggled to make any mark on the league, Pereira has been an impact starter for ATX since, literally, day one.
But the gregarious and dynamic midfielder has long aspired to greater things than what Major League Soccer can offer.
“Obviously, my goal is to go to Europe,” Pereira said last year.
There isn’t a male footballer alive who hasn’t at some point dreamed of suiting up for a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues in countries like England, Spain and Italy. But Pereira now has a legitimate opportunity to make that dream a reality.
Pereira – who, at the age of 15, left Venezuela for Virginia with his mother as an asylum seeker – will play in the biggest games of his life later this month, when he dons the Vinotinto colors (summer red) of his home nation. in the 2024 Copa America tournament.
Venezuela’s first two group stage matches, against Ecuador on June 22 and Mexico on June 26, will be played in California. The third, against Jamaica, is booked for June 30 at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, where Pereira will surely enjoy plenty of support from his hometown Verde fans.
The 23-year-old is still a neophyte in the ranks of his national team. He has featured in just four friendlies to date, although that is partly due to the fact that, before receiving his US visa late last year, Pereira was unable to travel abroad.
But Pereira still projects to be an important player in manager Fernando Batista’s side. In March, Batista brought Pereira on as a substitute in a friendly against Italy, then gave the ATXFC midfielder a start a day later against Guatemala, in which Pereira played the full 90 minutes.
If Pereira feels he is ready to take his talents to Europe, he will have the chance to show it. The Copa America is the oldest and one of the most prestigious international tournaments in the sport. Eyes from around the globe will be glued, anxious to see what fresh new talent America has to offer. A strong tournament from Pereira will likely result in a flood of calls to ATX sporting director Rodolfo Borrell’s phone.
Make no mistake, it would hurt Austin FC in the short term to lose their rising star midfielder. But recouping a multimillion-dollar transfer fee, plus establishing itself as an active exporter of young talent in the market, would benefit the club in the long run.
And regardless of Austin FC’s own interests, Pereira has certainly earned the right to pursue his dream, wherever in the world it may lie.
