Franuel "Frankie" Amaya (born September 26, 2000) is an American professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who plays as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

club

Los Angeles FC Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Los Angeles. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. It was establi ...

, on loan from

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

Career

Youth and college

Amaya played club soccer for Pateadores SC in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

. With the club, he helped the team win the region's West Conference and was named the West Conference Best XI. Ahead of the

2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season The 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season was the 60th season of National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA championship men's College soccer in the United States, college soccer. The regular season began on August 24, 2018, and continue ...

, Amaya was listed as a four-star recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.com, and ranked number six overall in the IMG Academy Top 150 for his graduating class. Amaya was also listed by TDS has the number one club player in Southern California, and the number four midfielder nationally. During the 2018 season, Amaya made 14 appearances with UCLA, 10 of which were starts. Amaya made his

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

debut on August 24, 2018, against Coastal Carolina. With UCLA, Amaya scored twice, with his first goal coming on September 22, 2018, against

UC Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joined ...

in a 1–3 loss. Amaya tallied two assists on the season with his first coming on August 28, 2018, against

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Sc ...

, and his second coming on October 13, 2018, against

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

. Amaya did not appear for any more matches with UCLA after October 28, as he joined the U.S. under 20s for the

2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship The 2018 CONCACAF Under-20 Championship was the 6th edition of the CONCACAF Under-20 Championship (27th edition if all eras included), the men's under-20 international football tournament organized by CONCACAF. It was hosted at United States betw ...

. At the conclusion of the

2018 Pac-12 Conference men's soccer season The 2018 Pac-12 Conference men's soccer season was the 19th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference. The season began on August 24, 2018 and concluded on November 9, 2018. The four-time defending champions, 2018 Stanford Cardinal men's ...

, Amaya was honored with Freshman All-American, First Team All-Pac-12, and Second Team All-Far West Region honors.

FC Cincinnati

On January 4, 2019, Amaya signed a

Generation adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

forgoing his final three years of college eligibility. On January 11, 2019, he was drafted first overall in the

2019 MLS SuperDraft The 2019 MLS SuperDraft was the twentieth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is typically held in conjunction with the annual January United Soccer Coaches convention, which in 2019 was held in Chicago, Illinois. The fi ...

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer Leag ...

. On July 16, 2020, Amaya scored his first professional goal for FC Cincinnati in the group stage of the

MLS is Back Tournament The MLS is Back Tournament took place during the 2020 Major League Soccer season to mark the league's return to action after being suspended as a result of the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports, COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Major League ...

against

Atlanta United Atlanta United FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won o ...

, in which was the only goal of the game, a 1–0 win for FC Cincinnati.

New York Red Bulls

On April 9, 2021, Amaya was rumored to be traded from

to the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

. The trade, which was officially confirmed on April 20, was in exchange for $950,000 in general allocation money, with an additional $125,000 of potential allocation money depending on performance incentives. On April 25, 2021, Amaya made his first appearance for New York in a 3–2 loss to

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

. On May 8, 2021, he scored his first goal for New York in a 2–0 victory over

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

. On June 24, 2023, Amaya recorded his first two-goal game of his career, scoring twice for New York in a 4–0 victory over

, his second goal of the match was New York's 1,500th goal in club history across all competitions. As a result of his performance he was selected to the MLS team of the Match Day. On July 8, 2023, Amaya recorded a goal and an assist to help New York to a 2–1 victory over

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

. His play during that match earned him another selection to the MLS Team of the Match Day.

International career

Amaya made his debut with the United States national under-20 team on March 21, 2018, against France. He was also named to the squad for the

CONCACAF Under-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Th ...

in November 2018. On November 30, 2020, Amaya was called up by the

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for a friendly against

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

. On December 1, he was removed from the squad after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

and was replaced by

Andres Perea Andres or Andrés may refer to: *Andres, Illinois, an unincorporated community in Will County, Illinois, US *Andres, Pas-de-Calais, a commune in Pas-de-Calais, France *Andres (name) *Hurricane Andres * "Andres" (song), a 1994 song by L7 See also ...

Personal life

Born in the United States to

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

parents, Amaya holds a U.S. and Mexican

citizenship Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationalit ...

Career statistics

Club

Honors

United States U20 *

CONCACAF U-20 Championship The CONCACAF Under-20 Championship is the second longest running international association football event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, CONCACAF, and is the qualification tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Th ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

References

External links

*
Frankie Amaya
at UCLA Athletics {{DEFAULTSORT:Amaya, Frankie 2000 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders FC Cincinnati draft picks FC Cincinnati players First overall MLS draft picks New York Red Bulls players Orange County SC players Soccer players from Santa Ana, California UCLA Bruins men's soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players American sportspeople of Mexican descent Major League Soccer players USL Championship players 21st-century American sportsmen Deportivo Toluca F.C. players Los Angeles FC players