User:Jesnse/sandbox2

Jesús Espinosa

Personal information
Full name	Jesús Espinosa Zavala
Date of birth	16 September 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth	Torrance, California, United States
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	LA Galaxy
Number	6
Youth career
2017–2019	Atletico Juvenil
2020–2024	LA Galaxy
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2024–	LA Galaxy	0	(0)
International career
2024–	Mexico	0	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jesús Espinosa Zavala (born 16 September 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy. Born in the United States, he represents the Mexican national team.

Early life & Career

Espinosa was born in Torrance, California. He mostly grew up in Carson and Wilmington, California. Jesus is the youngest of just one older sibling. His parents are both from Purépero, Michoacán, Mexico.

Espinosa has been a big football through his teen years and has extensive knowledge of the game. As a kid however, he was never a big fan of the sport. He started playing at the age of six, for Saturday kid league teams as a defender. His father was the one who tried to get him into football. When he played, he was never the most talented one with the ball and always was scared of playing. His coaches seemed biased and would usually use the more “technical and gifted” players, even while being kids. He then stopped playing at the age of nine, due to it being difficult for his parents to take him to practice and to his games. Espinosa was fine with it, and from then on was mostly into playing video games. He came back playing again in his junior high and high school years, but mostly for fun with friends. He played with his middle school’s after school team in several tournaments, but never won anything.

Prior to the start of the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Espinosa started to watch football again and started to learn more about it, gaining interest from the sport again. Caught from the interest, he decided to join a local team again at the age of fourteen with a friend, but only lasted around three months before quitting. He never got comfortable with his teammates and never felt like he was improving. And worst of all, he still felt nervous before playing a game. Resulting him to making mistakes and play poorly. But that did not take away his passion for the game.

In his later high school years, Espinosa played football for fun in physical education and with friends at parks. He then joined a friends team in which they played competitively once a week. The team rarely won and would always usually always play with people twice their age, with his team being fifteen-to-nineteen year old teenagers.

Seven years prior to signing his first pro-contract, Espinosa was in “the best form of his life”. He dedicated himself into practicing more and improving his football abilities. He eventually joined an amateur football team in 2017 called Atletico Juvenil, and played with them until signing for LA Galaxy in December 2020.

Espinosa tried out to become a professional footballer, and after doing impressively well, he was given the opportunity to sign for LA Galaxy, Los Angeles Football Club, and Sacramento Republic. Eventually opting to sign for Galaxy, since he would be playing in his hometown, besides also being a fan of the club.

Club career

LA Galaxy

On 31 December 2023, Espinosa was announced as a new homegrown player for LA Galaxy.

International career

Dual nationality

Born in the U.S. to Mexican parents, Espinosa holds U.S. and Mexican citizenship, which made him eligible to represent either the United States or the Mexican national team. However, Espinosa committed to only play for Mexico, even if he received interest from the U.S. federation.

Player profile

Style of play

Espinosa is a left footed central midfielder. He has been praised for his great vision and positioning on the field. Quick with the ball, he often likes to find himself in the attack to link up with his teammates for one-two passes or also aiming a shot at goal. He also has a great number of defensive interceptions per game and has been praised for his defensive attributes. In his time at Germany, he's been compared to Thomas Müller, both having slim bodies but possessing both great technique and having a high number of assists per season. Espinosa is also capable of playing primarily at right wing or right midfield, as he did in most of his career at LA Galaxy.

Reception

Guillermo Barros Schelotto praised Espinosa for his attitude and commitment on the LA Galaxy team, naming him an integral part of the Galaxy team even if it was his first professional season.

Career statistics

Club

As of 27 April 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
LA Galaxy	2024	Major League Soccer	0	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0
Career total			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0