Diego Kochen
Personal information
Date of birth (2006-03-19) 19 March 2006 (age 17)
Place of birth Miami, Florida, United States[1]
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Barcelona
Youth career
0000 Weston
West Pines United
2016–2019 Marcet Football Academy
2018–2019 TecnoFutbol CF
2019– Barcelona
International career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– United States U17 5 (0)

Diego Kochen (born 19 March 2006) is an American professional soccer player currently playing as a goalkeeper for Barcelona.

Club career

Born in Miami, Florida, to a Peruvian mother and Venezuelan father, Kochen started his career with the academy of Weston, initially starting his career as an outfield player, before switching to goalkeeper at the age of eight to cover for an ill teammate.[2][3] He also played for West Pines United in Florida and, after his parents moved to Spain in 2018 for work-related reasons, he played for the Marcet Football University as well as TecnoFutbol CF.[2][3]

Having progressed through Barcelona's La Masia academy, he signed his first professional contract with the club in March 2022.[4] On 11 October 2023, he was named by English newspaper The Guardian as one of the best players born in 2006 worldwide.[5]

International career

Kochen has represented the United States at youth international level.[1] He remains eligible to represent Peru or Venezuela.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Diego Kochen at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ a b Bona, German (April 19, 2022). "Who is Diego Kochen, the USMNT goalkeeper training with Barça B?". sport.es. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Diego Kochen: 'The best of my life'". marcetfootball.com. January 14, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  4. ^ "Joan Laporta paga más que nadie por el nuevo Courtois y el Barça anuncia que el acuerdo está cerrado" [Joan Laporta pays more than anyone for the new Courtois and Barça announces that the deal is closed]. elnacional.cat (in Spanish). March 2, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  5. ^ Christenson, Marcus; Bloor, Steven; Blight, Garry (October 11, 2023). "Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best young talents in world football". theguardian.com. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  6. ^ "Arquero del FC Barcelona de raíces peruanas fue convocado por Estados Unidos" [FC Barcelona goalkeeper with Peruvian roots was summoned by the United States]. larepublica.pe (in Spanish). January 15, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  7. ^ "Diego Kochen, el joven portero con ascendencia venezolana que se forma con el FC Barcelona" [Diego Kochen, the young goalkeeper with Venezuelan descent who trained with FC Barcelona]. El Nacional (in Spanish). March 1, 2022. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
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