Sergino Dest made a bit of US soccer history on Sunday evening, becoming the first American player to turn out for Barcelona's first team in an official game.
The 19-year-old Dest, who on Thursday completed a move from Ajax to the Camp Nou, made his debut in as a substitute in the 75th minute of Barça's La Liga contest against Sevilla. Dest entered with the game knotted at 1-1, which ended up being the final score.
Though he wasn't able to affect the final scoreline, Dest enjoyed a productive cameo, going 11-for-11 in his passing and creating an 81st-minute chance for Lionel Messi that was saved in the 81st minute.
Dest's appearance also marked another milestone in a promising year for young American players in Europe. He joined fellow US youth prospect Konrad de la Fuente — who has worked his way through the Barcelona development system but is yet to appear in an official game for the first team — as part of head coach Ronald Koeman's squad. Dest also became the fifth American player to appear in La Liga, per U.S. Soccer, following Jozy Altidore, Kasey Keller, Oguchi Onyewu and Shaq Moore.
Dest was born in the Netherlands to a Surinamese-American father and a Dutch mother, and represented the USMNT at the youth level before eventually committing his future to the US at the senior level as well in October 2019, where he has collected one assist in three appearances to date.
