Richard Ledezma (born September 6, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club PSV.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Richard Ledezma[1] | ||
| Date of birth | September 6, 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Phoenix, Arizona, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.74 m)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | PSV | ||
| Number | 37 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2016–2018 | Real Salt Lake | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Real Monarchs | 5 | (1) |
| 2019–2023 | Jong PSV | 47 | (7) |
| 2020– | PSV | 23 | (1) |
| 2023 | → New York City FC (loan) | 23 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | United States U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2019 | United States U23 | 3 | (2) |
| 2020 | United States | 1 | (0) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 9, 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of November 16, 2020 | |||
Club career
editLedezma grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he played youth soccer for Valparaiso United FC.[3] He made his professional debut for USL side Real Monarchs on April 11, 2018, as an 82nd-minute substitute in a 3–1 win over Seattle Sounders FC 2.[4] On June 4, he scored his first career goal for Real Monarchs, as part of a performance for which he was named to the USL Team of the Week.[5] On July 7, Ledezma was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Western Conference Player of the Year for the U-18/19 age group.[6]
On December 21, Ledezma left Salt Lake to sign for Dutch club PSV Eindhoven on a one-and-a-half-year deal.[7] On October 27, 2019, after his strong play for Jong PSV, Ledezma made PSV's senior squad for the first time for an Eredivisie match with AZ Alkmaar. On November 1, 2020, Ledezma made his PSV debut in the 74th minute and recorded an assist in a 4–0 win over ADO Den Haag.
On March 19, 2023, PSV announced that Ledezma had signed a contract extension with the club and would subsequently be loaned out.[8] On March 23, Ledezma was seen training with MLS club New York City FC[9] following months of rumors connecting him with the club.[10]
For the 2024-2025 season he was back with PSV, starting in its first Champions League game, against Juventus.[11]
International career
editLedezma received his first international call-up from the United States under-19s in January 2018 and quickly advanced to the under-20 side.[12] He earned his first start for the United States under-20 side against the French under-21s, helping the United States to a 1–0 victory.[13]
On May 17, 2019, Ledezma revealed he was contacted by the Mexican Football Federation regarding switching to represent his ancestral Mexico. Ledezma did not close the door to representing either federation, but remained aligned with the United States for the time being.[14]
On June 4, 2019, in the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Ledezma recorded an assist in the United States's 3–2 victory over France in the Round of 16, as his through-ball in the 25th minute split Boubacar Kamara and Dan-Axel Zagadou setting up Sebastian Soto for the finish.
He received his first call-up to the senior United States squad for matches against Wales and Panama in November 2020.[15] On November 16, Ledezma made his senior national team debut against Panama when he came on as a substitute in the 68th minute and created two assists for goals by Sebastian Soto.[16]
Personal life
editBorn in the United States, Ledezma is of Mexican descent.[17]
Career statistics
editClub
edit- As of November 9, 2024[18]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Monarchs | 2018 | USL | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | |||
| Jong PSV | 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 25 | 4 | — | — | — | 25 | 4 | |||
| 2020–21 | Eerste Divisie | 9 | 2 | — | — | — | 9 | 2 | ||||
| 2021–22 | Eerste Divisie | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | ||||
| 2022–23 | Eerste Divisie | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 47 | 7 | — | — | — | 47 | 7 | |||||
| PSV | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Eredivisie | 7 | 0 | — | 3[b] | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| 2024–25 | Eredivisie | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3[d] | 0 | — | 10 | 0 | ||
| Total | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| New York City FC (loan) | 2023 | MLS | 23 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 3[e] | 0 | 27 | 0 | |
| Career total | 98 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 113 | 9 | ||
- ^ Includes KNVB Cup and U.S. Open Cup
- ^ a b Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
- ^ Appearance in Johan Cruyff Shield
- ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup
International
edit- As of November 16, 2020
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 0 | |
Honors
editPSV
References
edit- ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019: List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. June 13, 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2020.
- ^ "R. Ledezma". Eredivisie. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
- ^ "Phoenix Native Richard Ledezma Named to U-20 World Cup Roster".
- ^ "Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs Real Monarchs SLC". uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on April 9, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ "Ledezma Earns Team of the Week Honors". rsl.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "PLAYERS OF THE YEAR, CONFERENCE BEST XI'S NAMED AT BOYS' DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY END-OF-YEAR BANQUET". ussoccerda.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "PSV lijft Amerikaans talent Ledezma in". www.psv.nl. December 21, 2018.
- ^ PSV [@PSV] (March 19, 2023). "Richy Ledezma extends until 2025 and will be loaned out. He will not be in the squad today" (Tweet). Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ nycfc.source [@NYCFCSOURCE] (March 23, 2023). "Ledezma is in New York and already training with the team — The deal has been finalized, and we are now waiting on an announcement. #NYCFC RSL will receive a small fee in MLS money for the Homegrown Rights of Richy Ledezma. https://t.co/xlUWSGb1om" (Tweet). Retrieved April 14, 2023 – via Twitter.
- ^ Richy Ledezma NYCFC Loan PSV Eindhoven MLS 2023 [dead link]
- ^ "Juventus 3-1 PSV (Sep 17, 2024) Final Score". ESPN Soccer. ESPN. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
- ^ "Ledezma & Amaya continuing to push through with the U.S. U-20's". americansoccernow.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "LAST MINUTE STRIKE GIVES U-20 MNT 1–0 WIN AGAINST FRANCE U-21". ussoccer.com. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
- ^ "Rising USMNT youth prospect Ledezma confirms contact from Mexican federation". SBI Soccer. September 17, 2019.
- ^ "USMNT ROSTER ANNOUNCEMENT: BERHALTER CALLS 24 PLAYERS FOR NOVEMBER CAMP MATCHES VS WALES AND PANAMA". ussoccer.com. November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
- ^ "USA 6 - Panama 2: Match Report & Stats".
- ^ "Source: Ledezma has 'no commitment' to Mexico". ESPN.com. May 16, 2022.
- ^ Richard Ledezma at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
- ^ "PSV verrast Ajax met twee goals vlak na rust en wint KNVB-beker". NOS. April 17, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
- ^ "Ajax - PSV". PSV.nl. July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
External links
edit- Profile at the PSV Eindhoven website
- Richard Ledezma at Soccerway
