Keaton Parks

Keaton Alexander Parks (born August 6, 1997) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Major League Soccer club New York City FC.

Keaton Parks
Personal information
Full name Keaton Alexander Parks
Date of birth (1997-08-06) August 6, 1997
Place of birth Plano, Texas, United States
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 New York City FC
Number 55
Youth career
2014–2015 Liverpool Warriors
2015–2016 Varzim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2016 Varzim B 4 (0)
2016–2017 Varzim 10 (2)
2017–2019 Benfica B 42 (7)
2017–2020 Benfica 4 (0)
2019 → New York City FC (loan) 22 (1)
2020– New York City FC 103 (11)
International career‡
2019 United States U23 2 (0)
2018– United States 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 7, 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of May 28, 2018

Club career

Born in Plano, Texas, Parks played soccer three years with Liberty High School in Frisco before joining NPSL side Liverpool Warriors.[2] With the help of his coach, Parks managed to trial at several Portuguese clubs such as Benfica, Braga and Sporting Lisbon.[2] While playing with the Warriors during a tournament in Póvoa de Varzim, Parks was scouted and signed with Varzim.[2] In signing for Varzim, Parks rejected an offer to attend Southern Methodist University and play for their soccer team.[2]

After playing for Varzim's reserve side for a season, Parks made his professional debut for the club in a LigaPro match on September 4, 2016 against Aves. He came on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Diego Barcelos as Varzim lost 2–0.[3] Parks then established himself as a regular starter for the side and then scored his first two professional goals during two matches. The first goal came on December 17, 2016 against Famalicão. His 52nd-minute strike was the first of two as Varzim won 2–0.[4] His second goal came in the next match on December 21 against Fafe. His 69th-minute goal was the equalizer for Varzim as they eventually won the match 2–1.[5]

On July 25, 2017, Parks signed with Portuguese champions Benfica, joining its reserve team in LigaPro.[6][7] His first appearance for the senior team came in the 71st minute of the fourth round of the Taça de Portugal, against Vitória in November that year.[8] Later, on December 6, Parks signed a new contract with Benfica, keeping him at the club until 2022.[9]

On January 19, 2019, Parks joined Major League Soccer side New York City FC on loan until the end of their 2019 season.[10] The deal to New York City FC was made permanent by the club on January 8, 2020.[11]

International career

Parks has been involved with the United States national under-20 team, attending a training camp in London in April 2017.[12] He received his first senior call-up for a friendly against Bolivia on May 28, 2018, making his debut in that match as a 61st-minute substitute for Joe Corona.

Career statistics

Club
As of match played October 7, 2023[13][14]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Varzim B 2015–16 Campeonato de Portugal40————40
Varzim 2016–17 LigaPro1021020——132
Benfica 2017–18 Primeira Liga401010——60
Benfica B 2017–18 LigaPro 297————297
2018–19 130————130
Total 6092030——659
New York City FC (loan) 2019 MLS 2213210——263
New York City FC 2020 233—103[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 4]0283
2021 314———1[lower-alpha 5]0324
2022 18220306[lower-alpha 3]01[lower-alpha 6]0302
2023 312———3[lower-alpha 5]0342
Total 125125250906015014
Career total 185217280906021523
  1. Includes Taça de Portugal and U.S. Open Cup
  2. Includes Taça da Liga and MLS Cup Playoffs
  3. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
  4. One appearance in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
  5. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup
  6. Appearance(s) in Campeones Cup

International
As of match played May 28, 2018[15]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
United States 201810
Total10

Honors

New York City FC

References
  1. "Keaton Parks". New York City FC. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  2. Kafai, Arman (September 30, 2016). "Plano teen takes different route to make professional debut in Portugal". Dallas News Sports Day. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  3. "Varzim 0–2 Aves". Soccerway.
  4. "Famalicão 0–2 Varzim". Soccerway.
  5. "Varzim 2–1 Fafe". Soccerway.
  6. Kafai, Arman (July 25, 2017). "Keaton Parks officially signs with Benfica". Dallas Morning News. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  7. "Keaton Parks reforça Benfica B" [Keaton Parks joins Benfica B]. S.L. Benfica (in Portuguese). July 25, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  8. Ramsey, Allen (November 18, 2017). "U.S. Youngster Keaton Parks Makes First Team Debut for Benfica". goal.com.
  9. "KEATON PARKS RENOVA ATÉ 2022: «ENTUSIASMADO POR COMEÇAR UMA NOVA ETAPA»" [KEATON PARKS RENEWS UNTIL 2022: «EXCITED TO START A NEW STAGE»]. abola (in Portuguese). June 12, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2017.
  10. "New York City FC Acquire Keaton Parks". New York City FC. January 19, 2019. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  11. "New York City FC Permanently Acquires Keaton Parks From S.L. Benfica | New York City FC". New York City FC. January 8, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  12. "Ramos calls 25 players to England for pre-World Cup training camp". U.S. Soccer. April 2, 2017. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  13. Keaton Parks at Soccerway
  14. Keaton Parks at ForaDeJogo (archived). Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  15. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Keaton Parks". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.