San Antonio FC has addressed the issue of not having a goalkeeper on the roster by signing two goalkeepers and transferred Jose Gallegos to a European club in what is believed to a record transfer fee for a USL Championship player.
Goalkeepers
Jordan Farr came in on emergency loan last year after Matt Cardone went down with a lower body injury on the last match of the regular season. Farr had a successful playoff run helping the Alamo City Boys reach the USL Championship Western Conference Final.
San Antonio FC signed Jordan Farr to what is believed a one year contract for the 2022 season. Farr is a native of Salem, Oregon. Farr played college soccer at Corban University, a NAIA Private Christian University. Farr was named to CCC Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, he also ranks second All-Time for the NAIA with 44 career Clean Sheets with nine during his senior season and had a collegiate career goals-against-average of 0.74. Farr made his USL debut with Indy XI spending three seasons making 38 appearances.
The second goalkeeper San Antonio FC signed last week was Cristian Bonilla, a 28 year old native of Manizales, Colombia. In 2021, Bonilla made a total of 26 regular season appearances in Colombia’s First Division recording 11 Clean Sheets and conceding 23 Goals with La Equidad. Bonilla made his professional debut at the age of 16 with Boyaca Chicoin 2009 and most notably played with popular Colombian clubs Atletico Nacional from 2012 to 2018 and Millonairos in 2020. Bonilla made 56 appearances with Atletico Nacional and made just one appearance with Millonairos. Cristian Bonilla has also made appearances with the Colombian National Team at the U levels and is considered a top prospect at goalkeeper for the Colombian National Team.
YouTube channel Gol Mundial reported in November 2020 that Cristian Bonilla only made one appearance for Millonairos due to death threats from a Millonairos supporters group after an error he made late in the match versus Santa Fe which resulted in a draw. President of Millonairos confirmed reports on Radio Caracol. Bonilla left and resumed play in 2021 with his most recent cub in Colombia before coming to San Antonio FC. It appears that all that is behind him and is looking forward to continuing his career in the United States.
Both Jordan Farr and Cristian Bonilla are talented keepers reaching the prime age bracket for Goalkeepers (late 20s-early 30’s) Farr has displayed great range and quick reaction time. Bonilla is more unconventional goalkeeper but is aggressive against attackers. It will be an open contest to see to who be GK1 on the roster when the season starts.
Record Transfer Fee for Gallegos
News broke late last week that Jose Gallegos was heading to Europe to a Danish club. San Antonio FC transferred Gallegos’ multi year deal to Denmark’s SønderjyskE, which play in top division the Danish Superliga. Reports from Soccer America state that San Antonio FC received $500,000 for Jose Gallegos making it a record transfer fee deal for a USL Championship player.
Gallegos had Seven Goals and Four Assists in 32 Appearances during the 2021 season. At Central Catholic High School, Gallegos was a four time TAPPS Division I State Champion.
“We are grateful for all that Jose has accomplished at SAFC and delighted that he will have the opportunity to further challenge himself at a respected European first division club like SønderjyskE,” said SAFC managing director Tim Holt. “This is an important milestone for our club, and it is important to recognize the coaches and teammates that have contributed to Jose’s development during his time at SAFC.”
“Jose is a young player with huge potential,” SønderjyskE sporting director Esben Hansen said. “We have had an eye on him for a long time and scouted him intensely for the last six months. He has impressed at the USL level during that period and we are extremely happy that he has signed a long-term deal with us. Jose has great attacking skills and is good in one-v-one situations. He is also a very hard-working character whose qualities will help us in the future.”
As the off season continues, keep it locked in to Soy SAF for all the latest.
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And with these moves it appears Matt Cardone’s time with the club, and possibly his career, is at an end. If the latter I hope SAFC will do the right thing and sign him to a one-day contract so he can retire as a member of the team – he has earned better than just being tossed out like yesterday’s trash.
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