It’s taken a lot longer than the Red Bulls fans would have liked, but their team has finally signed one of their Academy players. But it’s not Matt Kassell, not Johnny Exantus, not even Dilly Duka. The answer to the trivia question is Giorgi Chirgadze,a Brooklyn-born forward.
“This is an exciting time for Red Bull with the signing of Giorgi Chirgadze. We believe Giorgi will be the first of many players to join our first team that are developed through our academy system,” Red Bulls Sporting Director Jeff Agoos said. “Giorgi has shown promise during his training sessions with our senior squad and we are excited to track his development moving forward.”
Chirgadze has been in the Red Bulls Academy since 2005 and most recently he led the Under-20s to the Super-20 National Championship, scoring a pair of goals. He also captained the U-17 team that defeated Inter Milan, 3-1, on Aug. 23, 2008, also scoring a brace in that game.
“It has always been my dream to play soccer professionally and I want to thank the Red Bulls and the coaches at the Academy for their help in developing me as a player both on and off the field,” said Chirgadze, who attend New Utrecht HS in Brooklyn. “I am excited to get started with the first team.”
The Red Bulls also announced they traded the rights to goalkeeper Jon Conway to Chivas USA for a 2011 fourth round SuperDraft pick.
Are you happy the Red Bulls finally signed an Academy team? Upset its taken this long? Is there another player you would have liked to have seen signed first? Let us know.