Pablo punyed professional#

Renato also chatted with the Salvadoran federation, hoping to take part in U-23 camps and push for Olympic qualification but never was able to connect. Pablo has represented El Salvador since 2014 after he came onto Hugo Alvarado’s radar, long before Alvarado’s position with the Salvadoran federation became official. But there aren’t many like them in Concacaf. Brothers like the Boatengs, the Pogbas, the Alcântaras and others represent different national teams. The Punyeds aren’t unique in world soccer. Each said that it sometimes was difficult to fit in culturally growing up in both Florida and El Salvador, but at home it was more about shared values as a family rather than waving one flag or another.

Both say that when they’re asked where they’re from, they find it easiest to just say, “Miami' and leave it at that. Their grandparents are Spanish, with German and Italian on the maternal side. Pablo is the oldest and Renato the youngest of four brothers born to a Nicaraguan mother and a Salvadoran father. While Renato notes that “whoever wins is going to hold it against the other for a long time.” I hope I do because that would be really exciting,” Pablo said. “I still haven’t gotten to play against him. Until Nicaragua plays El Salvador, I’m with El Salvador whenever he’s playing 100%.'īoth brothers long for the day when they’ll get to square off on the field for the countries they represent. “Whether he’s on another national team or not, I’m there to support him, and I’m his number one fan, he’s my number one fan. We’ve always been a family that supports 100% anything that we do,” Renato said. Now, he has a chance to suit up once again for El Salvador and do it in front of friends and family, with a limited number of tickets made available to the public.Īmong those watching and cheering him on will be someone who perhaps you’d think should be rooting for a Central American rival to fail but says he owes everything to Pablo: His brother Renato, a Nicaragua national team regular. In Iceland, where he plays for traditional power Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur (mercifully abbreviated to KR), a COVID outbreak in early November led the FA to scrap the rest of the season, with KR unable to get back in the Europa League places or try to win the cup. Punyed thought his 2020 was over from a playing perspective. And I face the U.S., the country I was born in! That’s not a game that can happen very often where all those elements come together.

Pablo punyed professional#

“I was born in Miami, I represent El Salvador, my father’s country, and I get to play a game in South Florida for the first time in my professional career. “It’s definitely, for all intents and purposes, a game made for me, right?” he said with a laugh when we Zoomed this weekend. If you know, you know, but it probably won’t stick in the memory for years to come.īut when the match was announced, Pablo Punyed couldn’t believe his luck. This week’s United States men’s national team friendly against El Salvador seems a bit random, the soccer version of a food truck pop-up. Soccer has been a lifelong passion for Pablo and Renato Punyed, two brothers who now represent different Concacaf national teams.