At the start of the season, Ualefi did not expect to play for Sporting Kansas City in 2016. The 22-year-old Brazilian signed for the Swope Park Rangers in January after spending the entirety of his young career in his home country, primarily with Sao Paulo-based club Corinthians.
Then, after starting all 23 games for the Rangers in the United Soccer League, Ualefi got the call from Sporting KC. He began last night’s Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League game with Vancouver Whitecaps FC on the bench, before entering the game in place of Soni Mustivar in the 64th minute to make his Sporting KC debut.
“I’m very happy, it feels very gratifying,” Ualefi said. “I came from Brazil and joined the Swope Park Rangers and I didn’t have expectations of playing for the first team at all this first season. I thought I’d have to prove myself, so I’m very happy that it’s happened earlier than I expected. Obviously it wasn’t the result we wanted, but I’m happy that I was called and even happier that I got on the field.”
Sporting KC fell into an early hole, conceding twice in the opening 12 minutes after goals from Cristian Techera and Erik Hurtado, before Techera notched his second and Vancouver’s third just seconds after Ualefi entered the field.
“The two goals in the beginning were a shock to the group and it led to some nervous energy, because you’re away from home and you take two goals right from the get-go,” Ualefi added. “When we came back for the second half I think we came back with a good mentality to try to get back in the game – but when they put in the third goal, it was very hard for us to come back.”
Coming from a Portuguese-speaking country to a city where he didn’t know anybody and couldn’t speak the language, Ualefi credits several members of the Sporting KC organization for aiding him in his transition to a new country and culture.
“There’s a lot of people to thank for helping me in this process of adaptation,” Ualefi said. “Obviously, Marc Dos Santos has been instrumental in my adaptation – he brought me here. In the first team, Paulo Nagamura has given me a lot of guidance and so has (Head Fitness Coach) Mateus Manoel. I know I still have a lot of work to do to really make an impact with the first team, so I’m going to keep working and be serious about my business so I can have more chances this year.”
