Felipe D’Agostini gave up on soccer until a call brought him to America

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Felipe D’Agostini went to business school and worked for his parents in 2019. On the side, he played in amateur leagues around Porto Alegre, Brazil. His childhood dream of playing professional soccer was completely out of his head.

Then, he got a call from Marcelo Norton, founder and CEO of InterSports America. Norton’s company is built around bringing South American players to the United States for college soccer. He found D’Agostini through glowing reviews from previous recruits.

Four years later, D’Agostini is at Syracuse. His time away from the game made him realize he couldn’t waste his talent. Coming to the U.S., D’Agostini had to adopt a new language and culture, but he’s one step closer to becoming a professional soccer player.

Jordan Rideout, the former head coach at Barton Community College, found D’Agostini through working with InterSports. D’Agostini was forced to begin at the Junior College (JUCO) level after low Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores.

“(Norton) called me about Felipe and he told me word for word, ‘I have an All-American player that I want you to have,’” Rideout said. “I said yes and I didn’t even see the video. He sent me the video. I said yes even more so.”

D’Agostini’s sister, Daniela, helped out with the process. Daniela had lived in America for six years by that point. She mapped out the costs and made sure his housing was sorted. She helped translate the necessary documents for D’Agostini to undertake the “overwhelming” process of applying to colleges.

Once everything was organized, D’Agostini had to convince his parents to let him leave. His father, Ilmo, was hesitant at first but eventually agreed. Daniela said when Ilmo was younger, he left his family to pursue a career in business. Ilmo’s past helped him understand his son’s ambitions.

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Jane Trevisol, D’Agostini’s mother, was less lenient. She didn’t want her lone son and fifth child to depart. Daniela said D’Agostini was the family’s “golden child.” D’Agostini remembered her crying each day begging him to stay.

“At the end of the day she realized, I’m not only pursuing my dream, but hers as well,” D’Agostini said. “She always wanted a soccer player, so it’s hard every single day and she wants me to come back, but she’s also happy for me.”

D’Agostini ended up choosing Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kansas, over Barton. D’Agostini remembered the culture shock after he arrived. He had gone from a city of 1.8 million people to a town with just 7,000. Daniela helped him move in, buying room essentials and offering financial advice. Daniela recalled one of D’Agostini’s teammates mentioning how prepared he was.

Following his first year at Cloud, the head coach was let go. Rideout immediately picked him up. In D’Agostini’s debut season with Barton, it reached the National Junior College Athletic Association Plains District Championship game.

Rideout remembered D’Agostini draped in a Brazilian flag during the postgame celebrations after Barton’s 5-2 semifinal win over Coffeyville Community College. D’Agostini called Rideout over for a picture — the perfect setup to freeze Rideout for a Powerade shower.

“That’s kind of how he was. He was just fun tonight and he was always the life of the team,” Rideout said.

Though Barton fell short in Nationals that season, D’Agostini’s stellar play with the Cougars garnered recruiting interest. In 2021, D’Agostini committed to Oral Roberts, the first Division I program to submit an offer.

Over two seasons at ORU, D’Agostini tallied four goals and nine assists in 21 appearances. This summer, D’Agostini entered the transfer portal but trained with the San Jose Earthquakes in Major League Soccer. D’Agostini had previous experience with MLS teams, including a trial with the Chicago Fire when he was 16. Daniela said the Fire loved Felipe, but Visa issues prevented a move from materializing.

Through seven games with Syracuse, D’Agostini has shown flashes as a substitute. His first goal for the Orange came on Tuesday, when he gave Syracuse an early 1-0 lead at Cornell.

“He’s very different, that’s what makes him unique,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. “He’s unpredictable. Bit of a maverick out there and he has that ability to just do something very special.”

Even with limited goal contributions while coming off the bench, D’Agostini’s happy being on a soccer field. He’s glad he gave soccer one more chance.

“I always say that there’s no better place than being on the field, that’s where I’m the most happy,” D’Agostini said. “I really don’t care about anything else, just having fun and enjoying my game… I don’t think about pressure or have to do this or that. I just know that things are gonna go well, if I just play my game and just generally have fun.”