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RSL Soapbox Player Rating: 6.04
Fan rating: 5.68
Bofo Saucedo’s 2019 season can be summed up as a lot of what-could-have-beens. Specifically, what could have been if he’d seen more minutes?
Saucedo saw minutes in 26 matches, and with just 13 of those being starts, he notched just 1,189 minutes. In those minutes, Saucedo scored two goals and provided four assists. This is strikingly similar to his 2018 campaign where he saw 1,031 minutes with three goals and five assists.
Despite being successful when on the pitch, Saucedo rarely saw consistent playing time throughout the 2019 season. Some weeks he would start and play 70+ minutes, other weeks he was given as few as nine minutes to make an impact. Other weeks, he couldn’t even make it off the bench.
It seemed like the club wanted Saucedo to play that “super sub” role. That just wasn’t Saucedo’s strong suit. Both his goals and two of his four assists came in games Saucedo started. Saucedo played a great role as fire off the bench for this team, though. He created lots of chances for RSL, in penalties or free kicks earned — but for Saucedo himself to be successful, it seemed like he thrived from a starting position.
Saucedo wasn’t just successful with club in 2019, he also found success with his youth national team. Saucedo was called up to the US U-23 national team twice, once in June for a national team training camp and again in November for a tournament, where he saw some minutes.
Saucedo is just 22 years old and has a really bright future ahead of him. He was a part of Real Monarchs in 2017 when they won the regular season shield in the USL and has been impactful for Real Salt Lake since signing as a homegrown.
Saucedo’s contract ended at the conclusion of 2019 season and it appears that the winger declined to sign a new contract with RSL. Saucedo has signed with Pumas in Liga MX and will presumably be playing in Mexico in 2020.