BARCELONA, Spain — Amid the turmoil at Barcelona, United States defender Sergiño Dest has found his patch to flourish.
The former Ajax player arrived in the aftermath of Barcelona's devastating 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in August. After the club practically gave away several older players to jettison their heavy salaries, Dest landed at Camp Nou with the season underway.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman immediately put him to work filling in for injured fullbacks on both sides of the team's defense.
The 20-year-old Dest held up on the steep learning curve, earned his spot in the starting lineup, and last week scored his first goal for Barcelona to open a 4-0 win at Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League.
"I was not nervous at all, it was just I am ready and happy to play," Dest told The Associated Press this week in an interview. "If I would be nervous, I shouldn't come to Barça. For me it is my time to show what I got, try to do my best and help the team out."
Last year, Dest had the chance to join Bayern. Instead, he signed for the team Bayern exposed as old and brittle in a historic rout en route to winning the Champions League title.
"It was not easy, easy, but this is my dream club. So that is why I chose Barça," Dest said about becoming the first American player to sign for Barcelona's senior club in early October.
"I saw some chances. They had some new players for the team. Koeman ... wanted me on Barça, so I thought they had a good plan with me. And right now I am playing, so I am happy. I had to take it because you never know when the chance (like this) happens again."