Sergiño Dest facts for kids
Dest with the United States U20 in 2019
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | November 3, 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Almere, Netherlands | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 feet 7 inches (1.71 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Full-back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | PSV | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2012 | Almere City | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2018 | Ajax | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2020 | Jong Ajax | 18 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Ajax | 23 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Barcelona | 51 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022–2023 | → AC Milan (loan) | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | → PSV (loan) | 25 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | PSV | 0 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | United States U17 | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | United States U20 | 12 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | United States | 33 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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† Appearances (Goals). |
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Sergiño Gianni Dest (born November 3, 2000) is a professional soccer player. He plays as a full-back for the Eredivisie club PSV Eindhoven. He also plays for the United States national team.
Sergiño started his career in the youth academy of Ajax. He later played for their senior team. In 2020, he won the "Ajax Talent of the Year" award. He then moved to Barcelona in October 2020. With Barcelona, he won the Copa del Rey in 2021. In 2023, he joined PSV Eindhoven on loan and helped them win the 2023–24 Eredivisie. He joined PSV permanently in June 2024.
Born in the Netherlands, Sergiño chose to play for the United States. He debuted for the national team in September 2019. He has won the CONCACAF Nations League three times: in 2021, 2023, and 2024. In 2019, he was named the U.S. Young Soccer Player of the Year.
Contents
Early Life and Youth Career
Sergiño Dest was born in the Netherlands on November 3, 2000. His father is Surinamese-American, and his mother is Dutch. He started playing soccer at a young age.
He joined the youth academy of Almere City in 2009. In 2012, he moved to the famous Ajax youth academy. At first, he played as a forward. But as he grew, he changed his position to a full-back. This position is important for both defense and attack.
Club Journey
Starting at Ajax
Sergiño made his first professional appearance for Jong Ajax (Ajax's reserve team) on October 15, 2018. He played well during the 2018–19 season. He appeared in 18 games in the Dutch Eerste Divisie league. He scored one goal and helped with two assists. He also played in the UEFA Youth League, scoring one goal and assisting another.
On July 27, 2019, Sergiño played his first official game for the Ajax senior team. This was in the 2019 Johan Cruyff Shield against their rivals PSV Eindhoven. Ajax won the match 2–0 and lifted the trophy. He made his Eredivisie debut on August 10, 2019. Later that month, he was officially promoted to the Ajax first team. On September 17, 2019, he started his first UEFA Champions League game. He finished his first season with 35 appearances and scored two goals.
Moving to Barcelona
On October 1, 2020, Sergiño made a big move to Barcelona. He signed a five-year contract. He debuted for Barcelona on October 4, becoming the first American to play for Barcelona in La Liga. On October 20, he became the first American to play for Barcelona in a UEFA Champions League match.
Later that month, he made history again by becoming the first American to play in El Clásico, a famous match against Real Madrid. On November 25, 2020, Sergiño scored his first goal for Barcelona in a Champions League game. This made him the first American to score a professional goal for the club. In March 2021, he scored two goals in a single game against Real Sociedad.
Loan to AC Milan
On September 1, 2022, Sergiño joined Serie A club AC Milan on a one-year loan. He made his Serie A debut on September 17, coming on as a substitute against Napoli.
Joining PSV
On August 21, 2023, Sergiño joined Eredivisie club PSV on a loan deal for the season. He played a key role in their team, which won the 2023–24 Eredivisie league title. However, in April 2024, he suffered a serious ACL injury which ended his season early. In June 2024, he officially moved to PSV permanently.
International Career
Sergiño has dual nationality, meaning he could play for either the United States or the Netherlands. He chose to play for the United States senior national team.
He played five games for the United States under-17 team. This included four games at the 2017 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. He also represented the United States under-20 team at the 2019 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, playing four matches.
Sergiño made his senior debut for the United States on September 6, 2019, in a friendly match against Mexico. On October 28, 2019, he confirmed his decision to play for the United States for his entire international career.
He was part of the United States team for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. During the tournament, he helped set up the winning goal for Christian Pulisic in a 1–0 victory over Iran. This win helped the United States reach the round of 16. In the next game against the Netherlands, his birth nation, the U.S. lost 3–1.
At the 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League in November 2023, Sergiño was sent off in a match against Trinidad and Tobago. He received two yellow cards quickly for arguing with the referee. He missed the 2024 Copa América due to his ACL injury.
Playing Style
Sergiño Dest is known for being a very good full-back. He is strong in both attacking and defending. He is also excellent at keeping possession of the ball.
He has the skill to dribble past other players. His speed is a great advantage when he moves forward to attack and when he needs to defend quickly.
Career Statistics
Here are Sergiño Dest's career statistics for clubs and international matches.
Club
| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Jong Ajax | 2018–19 | Eerste Divisie | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2019–20 | Eerste Divisie | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 18 | 1 | — | — | — | 18 | 1 | |||||
| Ajax | 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 23 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 2 | ||
| Barcelona | 2020–21 | La Liga | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 3 |
| 2021–22 | La Liga | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 3 | ||
| AC Milan (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| PSV (loan) | 2023–24 | Eredivisie | 25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 37 | 2 | |
| PSV | 2024–25 | Eredivisie | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| Career total | 125 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 40 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 179 | 8 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2019 | 3 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 33 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list United States' goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Dest goal.
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 25, 2021 | Stadion Wiener Neustadt, Wiener Neustadt, Austria | 6 |  Jamaica |
1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | October 13, 2021 | Lower.com Field, Columbus, United States | 15 |  Costa Rica |
1–1 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honors and Awards
Sergiño Dest has won several trophies and individual awards throughout his career:
Ajax
- Johan Cruyff Shield: 2019
Barcelona
- Copa del Rey: 2020–21
PSV
- Eredivisie: 2023–24
United States U20
- CONCACAF U-20 Championship: 2018
United States
- CONCACAF Nations League: 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24
Individual
- 2018 CONCACAF U-20 Championship Best XI
- U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year: 2019
- Ajax Talent of the Year (Marco van Basten Award): 2020
- IFFHS Men's World Youth (U20) Team: 2020
See also
In Spanish: Sergiño Dest para niños
