Juan Agudelo

BIOGRAPHY

Juan Sebastián Agudelo was born on November 23, 1992 in Manizales, Colombia.  He is a striker in Major League Soccer. 

After moving from Colombia to New Jersey at an early age Agudelo began his career with the New York Red Bulls as a member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and quickly established himself as one of the more skilled prospects at the club.  In 2009, he was offered a chance to join the junior team but decided to accept a trial with Colombian side Millonarios in 2010. Although it was reported that he had signed with Millonarios, he returned to the United States to join Red Bulls during their pre-season. While with Millonarios, Agudelo played with the youth side, including a match against Independiente Santa Fe on January 17, which served as a tribute match to Brazilian great Pelé.  

On March 26, 2010, Agudelo officially joined the New York Red Bulls. He made his professional debut on April 27, 2010, in a U.S. Open Cup game against Philadelphia Union. Agudelo made his MLS debut against Real Salt Lake October 9, 2010.  He scored his first professional goal on March 19, 2011, in the Red Bulls' 2011 MLS season opener, a 1–0 victory over Seattle Sounders FC. Agudelo was traded to Chivas USA on May 17, 2012 in exchange for defender Heath Pearce, allocation money, and future considerations.   He scored four goals for Chivas in 2012. 

Agudelo was traded to New England Revolution in exchange for allocation money on May 7, 2013.  Agudelo made his New England debut in a 2–0 win over Houston Dynamo and he was credited with their second goal.  He then scored against Toronto FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps before being ruled out for a month with a knee injury.  Agudelo returned from injury on August 17, against Chicago Fire and scored a spectacular back-heel goal in a 2–0 victory. 

On August 9, 2013 it was announced that Agudelo had signed a pre-contract agreement with English club Stoke City and will join the Potters on January 1, 2014 once his contract with the New England Revolution has expired.  However the move fell through after he was denied a work permit. Despite this, Stoke completed the signing of Agudelo on January 21, 2014 and loaned him out to Dutch side FC Utrecht for the remainder of the 2013–14 season.   He scored his first goal for Utrecht on February 6, 2014 scoring against PEC Zwolle in a 2–1 defeat. Stoke re-applied for a work permit for Agudelo in May 2014 but were again unsuccessful.  Following this Stoke mutually terminated his contract leaving him a free agent. 

On January 29, 2015 Agudelo re-signed with the New England Revolution. 

On December 3, 2019, Agudelo was selected by Toronto FC in Stage Two of the 2019 MLS Re-Entry Draft, however, they were not able to reach a contract agreement. After not reaching an agreement with Toronto FC, who had acquired Agudelo's rights, Agudelo joined expansion side Inter Miami CF. Miami opted to decline his contract option following the 2020 season. 

On March 2, 2021, Agudelo signed as a free agent with Minnesota United on a one-year deal. 

Agudelo represented the United States at the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup. In 2010, he also debuted for the United States Under-20 side. On January 23, 2010, he scored the equalizing goal for the United States Under-20 national team in a 1–1 draw with Brazil. On November 11, 2010, Agudelo was called up to the United States senior national side for the first time as part of an 18-man roster for a match against South Africa on November 17 in Cape Town. He made his debut for the team coming on against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge wearing the number 17 shirt. Agudelo scored the only goal of the game on a volley that went in off the underside of the crossbar. In doing so, he became the youngest player in national team history to score in a senior game. On January 22. 2011, Agudelo drew the penalty that led to the USA's only goal of the match in a 1–1 draw against Chile. In an international friendly on March 26, 2011, he scored the equalizer in a 1–1 draw against Argentina.