Sporting Kansas City has signed Spanish midfielder Antonio Rodriguez Dovale, the club announced today. Dovale will be added to the team's 2014 roster upon receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa and will occupy the club's fifth of eight available international roster spots.
“We are happy to be able to add a player of his quality to our roster,” Manager Peter Vermes said. “He can play multiple positions within our system and we hope that we can help him to adapt to our team and to Major League Soccer as quickly as possible.”
“I am very excited to be in Kansas City,” Dovale said. “Sporting KC is a very ambitious and successful club and I look forward to helping them achieve their goals. My motivation is high to come here and improve as a player and help this club any way possible.”
Dovale began his career in the youth system of Ural CF, a club in his hometown of A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. He then played four years in the Barcelona Academy alongside future professionals Jonathan Dos Santos (FC Barcelona), Thiago Alcântara (Bayern Munich) and Bojan Krkic (Ajax FC).
The Spanish midfielder signed a professional contract with second division club Celta de Vigo when he was 16 years old and played there for three years before going on a year-long loan to SD Huesca. Dovale returned to Celta de Vigo prior to the 2011-12 season and helped the club earn promotion to LigaBBVA with two goals in 30 appearances.
Sporting Kansas City will continue their run through the CONCACAF Champions League on Wednesday when they host Mexican club Cruz Azul FC at Sporting Park. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 888-4KC-GOAL.
Full name: Antonio Rodriguez Dovale (doh-VAH-lay)
Nickname: Toni
Position: Midfielder
Number: 9
Born: 4/4/90
Height: 5-8
Weight: 152
Hometown: A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
Birthplace: A Coruña, Galicia, Spain
Citizenship: Spain
Twitter: @ToniDovale9
