Andrés Gómez Earns Team Of Week Honors Behind Stellar Snow Performance
Mar 4, 2024, 3:43 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – At the start of last season, Andrés Gómez was signed to Real Salt Lake on a $4 million deal that broke the record for an incoming transfer.
Andrés Gómez Earns Team Of Week Honors
Expectations were high for Gómez, who joined the squad as one of the first U22 initiative players for RSL. Throughout the 2023 season, he tallied only 2 goals and 7 assists in a little over 2,000 minutes across all competitions. Many around the club, fans included, believed there was still more to be seen from Gómez, as he had an impressive spell down the stretch to end the previous season.
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Known for his speed, agility, and playmaking ability on the wing, the 21-year-old struggled to find his footing in a new league and a new country. Gómez spoke to the media at the end of last season and admitted to having a hard time adapting. “For me personally, the season did not go the way that I wanted it to, I didn’t score. MLS is a lot more competitive. It has been a beautiful experience getting here and competing, but it was difficult for me at times, I did not have good performances. I did not have the right attitude at times.”
Through three matches in the 2024 season, Andrés Gómez begins to show glimpses that he is becoming more comfortable in this league, backed by a stellar performance against Los Angeles FC. In a snowy home opener, Gómez found the back of the net twice, equalling his goal tally from the previous season, and assisted a late first half goal from Chicho Arango. “I think there is a moment in a player’s career, a game that really changes the way you think about yourself and affects the way opponents think about you and I think today he accomplished both of those,” said head coach Pablo Mastroeni following the snowy encounter. “Andrés last year was a player who would score 4-5 goals in training and it wouldn’t translate to the game. It takes a game like this to build the belief that when he is front of goal, he is going to score.”
Scoring in a winter wonderland ❄️ pic.twitter.com/aB4Z1nmQBf
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) March 2, 2024
In the 18th minute, Arango passed a ball through to Gómez, who used his body well to turn and beat his mark leaving him 1v1 with LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Gómez slipped one into Lloris’ bottom right corner and opened the scoring for Real Salt Lake. Later in the 41st, A ball crossed into the box from Arango was controlled and brought down by Diego Luna, who played it back across goal and teed up Gómez for his second goal. In the dying seconds of the first half, Gómez got the assist by curling a ball in from the wing to Chicho Arango. All this has earned Gómez a spot in the matchday 3 MLS Team of the Week.
“I think this year has been different because I am more mature, and with more decisions to work and do things in the best way. And thank God I managed to score two goals that gives me more confidence to start the season in the best way,” said Gómez following the snowy encounter against LAFC. “This is the first time I am playing in a game in the snow. That motivated me, it came to me like a childlike joy.”
✌️😜+🌙+❄️= Góaaalmez Brace pic.twitter.com/y5KAcoF3Z9
— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) March 2, 2024
For the young Colombian international, it will be about continuing his stellar performance next week as the team prepares to face the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, March 9th. His journey inspires other international players facing similar challenges in MLS, showcasing the importance of resilience, adaptation, and the pursuit of excellence.
