Uruguayan Thomas Chacon, 19, Brings Tenacity To Minnesota United

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota United is building toward its future.

The team acquired midfielder Thomas Chacon as a Young Designated Player. During his first day with the club, the 19 year old from Uruguay was already impressing his teammates.

"Just today you can kind of see that there's a little bit something to his game, and you know, I'm excited to see where it goes in the future with him," said defender Ike Opara said.

Head Coach Adrian Heath says Chacon's talent is obvious.

"Really quick, you know, good first touch, really good running with the ball, likes to come bang with players, so he seems a good kid. Really looking forward to working with him," Heath said.

The Loons will get to develop a young man who already has two professional seasons under him, along with playing at every level of Uruguay's national team.

"Speed and tenacity. He likes to play with a team and he thinks he's definitely with a team that he can definitely play well with," said Chacon through a translator.

Chacon is aggressive and has great soccer sense, so it's no wonder the United signed him. They're trying to build for the future.

"Like most coaches, I'm always greedy for more players, and that's what we'll try to do as we keep going," Heath said.

While the club plans to support him, he'll be working on breaking the language barrier.

"Definitely have connected a little bit more with Latin players on the team based on the language, but he feels pretty confident that once he's able to get a good grasp on the English language, he'll be able to connect more with the rest of the team," said Chacon through a translator.

He'll be fine. Soccer is often called a universal language.