Luis Gil burst on to the U-17 scene at the tender age of
14, touted as the next great American playmaker after a sterling
performance during the 2009 U-17 World Cup. After spurning Arsenal and
other European clubs, he signed with Major League Soccer
in 2010 and ended up under the tutelage of Jason Kreis and Garth Lagerwey at
Real Salt Lake.
Gil spent the first half the season with RSL before being
loaned out to develop at AC St. Louis of the USSF Division 2. He returned to Utah upon
conclusion of the St. Louis' season in early October, and made his RSL debut in their 3-1 win over Mexican side
Cruz Azul in the CONCACAF Champions League on Oct. 19.
The budding
talent took some time to answer five questions for MLSsoccer.com.
1) What's your most memorable United States national team moment?
Playing at the U-17 World Cup. It was just an amazing experience
being over there in a different country in an actual World Cup, even
though it was the youth team. There's one play that I did against Spain
that sticks out. I had two players on me, and I megged one of them and
gave a throughball to Victor Chavez. He missed the goal, but it was
still special.
2) What would you tell the you of five years ago?
I would tell myself to work hard in every single practice. It took me
time to realize it, but I have to start going at it every single day
now.
[inline_node:322245]3) Who is your favorite teammate to play with? Why?
I would have to say probably Javier Morales, even thought I haven't gotten a chance to play with him that much. He just makes me play. He wants me to get the ball. He wants me to be involved.
4) What's one skill you could improve?
I'm working on taking on players when I have the chance to go one-on-one with a player or the chance to do something spectacular. I want to go at players instead of just passing. It's good to pass, but sometimes you have to take on the player when you have him one-on-one.
5) Where do you see yourself in five years?
Somewhere playing Europe, hopefully. It's a long way from now. I'm still
a young player and I have a lot to learn, but I see myself over there
at some point, either in England or Spain.
Noah Davis covers the United States national team for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on Twitter at @noahedavis. “Five Questions with…" is a new feature on MLSsoccer.com profiling US national team figures, from uncapped starlets to experienced veterans.
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