FOR ANY YOUNG player growing up in Argentina, making a debut in the Primera Division is a major accomplishment and is often a turning point in a career. As one of the two best leagues in South America, it is filled with rivalries, intense games, and scouts from all over the world.

For Leandro Soria, that milestone moment happed on Saturday when he played the final nine minutes for Godoy Cruz in a 2-0 loss to Talleres de Cordoba. Despite the loss, it was a positive moment for the club to give Soria, who is one of the club’s top young players, a debut just eight days after his 17^th birthday on October 29.

Soria’s promotion to the first team was a quick process as he barely spent time with the reserve team at Godoy Cruz and was moved from the youth levels to the first team almost immediately. As a player, he can play as a center forward but is far more comfortable on either wing position where he can take players on with dribbles, run into spaces, or send in crosses.

“It was a surprise. I didn’t expect it, but it was all really great. A wonderful experience,” Soria told American Soccer Now from Argentina through an interpreter. “It was a surprise because I had only played four matches with the Reserva. My first game in Reserva, I came in as a sub, played 10-15 minutes, and my second game I was a starter and scored a goal.”

“I started to train on Friday with the first team, but then on that Saturday I went to play with the Reserva,” Soria recalled. “The Monday after that, [the manager] sent me a message saying that I was going to train with them. I started training with them and then on that Thursday night they sent a message to the group and told me that I was going to be ‘convocado’ [named to the gameday roster].”

The club, which is based near the border with Chile and is located over 650 miles from Buenos Aires, recently celebrated its 100^th birthday this summer. While not considered one of Argentina's big clubs, Godoy Cruz has been growing in prominence in Argentina over the past decade as it qualified for the Copa Libertadores for the first time in 2011. It then returned to South America’s top competition in 2012, 2017, and 2019 where it advanced to the round of 16.'

Playing for Godoy Cruz runs in the family for Soria. His older brother, Matias, is a backup goalkeeper with the organization and has made the bench with the first team but has yet to debut. Soria credits his early success to is family – and his brother who helped him train. This is what made his debut on Saturday an emotional experience.

“It made me very happy after all of the hard work that I’ve done and that my family has done and for all the support from friends,” Soria said. “I am now training with the first team and training hard to be able to play more games in the first division… [Matias] has helped me a lot. He is a very professional person, he trains all the time, he goes to the gym, he does everything. When I was younger I had no idea what it was to train, and when I arrived to the club, he guided me and put me on the right path.”

While Soria’s journey to becoming a professional player has taken place in Argentina, he was born in the Borough of Queens in New York City.  His family left Argentina due to the country’s financial crisis in 2001. They eventually returned to Argentina when Matias was five and Leandro was two.

Soria still has roots in the United States with uncles, aunts, and cousins all still living in New York. Like his older brother, he has a U.S passport (although it has expired). Neither of the Soria brothers have returned to the United States since they left, but both have goals of returning soon.

From a soccer perspective, Soria feels connected to the United States as well. Although he doesn’t have the opportunity to watch the U.S. national team often, he is planning on watching the team’s upcoming important World Cup qualifier against Mexico. He also likes to watch many of the top American players in Europe.

“I like to watch Sergino Dest, who almost plays in my position as an attacking winger, I watch him a lot.”

Soria also watches highlights from MLS which is easier these days in Argentina after the league’s clubs have heavily recruited players from Brazil and Argentina in recent years. In addition to the Higuain brothers and Ezequiel Barco, New York City’s Taty Castellanos recently won the league’s Golden Boot for the 2021 season and Castellanos is from the Argentine province of Mendoza, very close to Godoy Cruz.

After making his Primera debut, Soria also hopes his progress helps him connect with the country of his birth at another level. While he is still a very young player, is also currently eligible for the 2023 U-20 World Cup. The United States U-20 team is just beginning its current cycle under new manager Mikey Varas and Soria is quick to point out he would be happy to accept a call should the U.S. reach out.

“Yes, the dream is to play for the U.S.,” Soria said. “Obviously it would be a dream come true for me and my family. It would be wonderful to represent my country in the U-20’s.”