By Melody Gross 
Adalberto Carrasquilla now plays for Houston Dynamo
Currently linked to the Houston Dynamo, Adalberto Carrasquilla is one of the great figures in Panamanian football, and as he revealed, his career was very close to passing through Portugal, and more specifically at Benfica. Speaking to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio's portal, the 25-year-old Panamanian player, who was elected this year as the best player in the Gold Cup, recalled his other failed attempts to play in Europe and the way his MLS career ended. He appeared on the team that won the US Open Cup this year.
“When I was 18, I tried to play in Fluminense and then also in Roma. Benfica was also interested, but in the end nothing happened,” said the current Houston Dynamo player, who during his time in Europe had an unforgettable experience with the team. The aforementioned Roma: “There was a day when we played against the first team. There was De Rossi, Maicon, El Shaarawy and Nainggolan…”
After these failed attempts, the Panamanian player was rejected again in the United States and decided to test himself in Spanish football. “I had a trial period at the Philadelphia Union, nothing happened and I went back to Panama. I trained on my own for a year and then Cartagena came.” In the Spanish team, he was a figure in the team's rise and finally moved to Major League Soccer, the same league in which he was rejected. He explained, “I was surprised by football. Things look very negative on TV, but as soon as you enter the field you notice the rhythm immediately. It was not easy to adapt.”
By Fabio Lima