Hugo Antonio Bacharach Capdevila (born 27 July 2001) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for

Rhode Island FC Rhode Island FC is an American professional Association football, Football club headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Founded in 2019 and beginning play in 2024, the team plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL C ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Early life

Bacharach was born in Valencia, but grew up in

Benicàssim Benicàssim (; ); officially Benicasim / Benicàssim) is a municipality and beach resort located in the province of Castellón, on the Costa del Azahar in Spain. The Desert de les Palmes mountain range further inland shelters the town from ...

. Bacharach began playing football at a young age with his school team. At age 7, he joined the Villarreal youth system, where he played for ten years. At age 17, he joined the

CD Castellón Club Deportivo Castellón, S.A.D. is a professional List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Castellón de la Plana, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 20 July 1922, it currently plays in , holding home games at ''Nou E ...

youth system where he spent two years, until he was 19.

College career

In 2020, he decided to continue his footballing career and education, as well as learn English, by moving to the United States to attend college on a scholarship. He began attending

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

. On 1 March 2021, he scored his first collegiate goal in a 1-0 victory over the

Sacred Heart Pioneers The Sacred Heart Pioneers are the 32 sports teams (14 men, 18 women) representing Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut in intercollegiate athletics. The Pioneers compete in the NCAA Division I and are members of the Metro Atlantic A ...

. He was then named the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

Rookie of the Week. At the end of his first season, he was named to the All-NEC First Team, the NEC All-Freshman Team, and the NEC Fall Honor Roll. At the end of his sophomore season, he was named to the All-NEC First Team and NEC Fall Academic Honor Roll for the second-straight season, and was named to the All-Northeast Region Second Team. In his junior season, he was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, and named to the All-NEC First Team, the All-Northeast Region First Team, and the All- ECAC First Team. In 2023, he transferred to

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

. Prior to the season, he was named to the

MAC Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and the ...

Watch List and was named to the

TopDrawerSoccer TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) is an American soccer website that is dedicated to youth soccer in the United States. Specifically, the website focuses on Academy soccer, high school soccer, and college soccer in the United States. The website was la ...

Preseason Best XI Second Team. On 24 August, he made his debut for Indiana in a match against the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 26 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

. Midway through the season,he was moved from his central defender position into central midfield, where he played for the remainder of the season. In his first match as a midfielder, on 7 October, he recorded a pair of assists in a victory over the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

. On 29 October, he scored his first goal for Indiana against the

Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football ...

. On 31 October, he was named the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Defensive Player of the Week. On 19 November he scored a brace in a 3–2 victory over the

Wake Forest Demon Deacons The Wake Forest Demon Deacons are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Wake Forest University, located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Assoc ...

. After the season, he was named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, the Big Ten All-Tournament Team, the TopDrawerSoccer third-team Best XI, and was named #30 on the TopDrawerSoccer Postseason Top 100. After the 2023 season, he was invited to participate in the MLS College Showcase.

Club career

In 2022, he began playing with the

Flint City Bucks Flint City Bucks is an American soccer team based in Flint, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1995, the team plays in USL League Two. The club was founded in 1995 as the Mid-Michigan Bucks, playing in Saginaw, and began playing in 1996. In 2 ...

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

, scoring once. He was named the team's Player of the Year in 2022 and was named to the USL League Two Central Conference Team of the Year. In 2023, he scored two goals, including a Goal of the Week winner in Week 8. At the end of the season, he was named Great Lakes Division Player of the Year, and was also named the USL League Two Defender of the Year, and named to the Team of the Year. Over his two seasons, he helped them win back-to-back USL League Two Central Conference titles and reached the national semifinals in both seasons. At the

2024 MLS SuperDraft The 2024 MLS SuperDraft was the 25th edition of the MLS SuperDraft, a sports draft to select amateur, usually collegiate, soccer players that are not affiliate with an MLS club, or college soccer players that had their Homegrown player rights r ...

, Bacharach was selected in the first round (ninth overall) by

Minnesota United FC Minnesota United Football Club, often shortened to MNUFC, is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the W ...

. In March 2024, he signed a one-year contract with the club with options from 2025 through 2027. He made his professional debut with the second team

Minnesota United FC 2 MNUFC2 is an American professional soccer team that is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the reserve team of Minnesota United FC and participates in MLS Next Pro. History On December 6, 2021, MNUFC2 were named as one of 21 clubs that wou ...

in a

US Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

match against the Michigan Stars, before making his

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 ...

debut with the first team on 13 April against

Houston Dynamo FC Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Established on Decembe ...

. Bacharach signed with

side

on December 31, 2024.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacharach, Hugo 2001 births Living people Spanish people of German descent Spanish men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Villarreal CF players CD Castellón footballers Flint City Bucks players Minnesota United FC draft picks Minnesota United FC players Minnesota United FC 2 players USL League Two players Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's soccer players Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer players All-American college men's soccer players Major League Soccer players MLS Next Pro players 21st-century Spanish sportsmen Rhode Island FC players