The MLS SuperDraft is fraught with nerves, especially for players as pick after pick goes by, not knowing when—or if—your name will be called.
Tension built for Ivan Magalhães as the first 25 names were announced, but all of those nerves dissipated as the 26th pick was called. The first step towards realizing a dream finally came to fruition.
“At first I was pretty nervous, to be honest, but then after a few minutes you kind of loosen up a little bit,” Magalhães said. “You get more nervous when more people start getting called, but then once I heard my name it was just the best feeling ever.”
The fact that Magalhães had to wait as long as he did to hear his name came as a surprise to the Dynamo technical staff, but it was a welcome one after what they had seen from the 6-foot-1 defender.
“When I looked at him, I certainly thought Ivan would be picked higher up in the order,” Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle said. “He had a fantastic Combine. Left-sided, quick, very good defender, brave, comfortable on the ball, and he’s a young man with huge potential. So we’re absolutely delighted to get someone of that ability with that pick in the draft.”
“It’s not easy to find a naturally left-footed center back, and that’s what really stood out about him,” added general manager Matt Jordan. “He’s really worked hard to make a life for himself here in this country. We did a lot of homework over the course of the last 12 months, so we’re very happy that he fell to us when he did.”
The São Paulo native came to the United States for college, playing two years at Eastern Florida State College before transferring to Big 10 powerhouse Maryland for a season. After spending the last three years away from family, Magalhães was able to celebrate the big day with his parents after they flew in from Brazil: “That was the best way to celebrate.”
The celebration doesn’t last too long, as turnaround time from SuperDraft to preseason is short. Magahlães has just a few days to get his things in order before journeying to Houston to start his pro career.
It’s an opportunity for him, as it is for all of these young men, and they really have to maximize the opportunity,” Coyle said. “We’re really looking forward to working with him to really enhance our squad.
“We’ll help him, but the biggest player in this will be Ivan. He’s got to bring his best game to continue to improve.”
The Dynamo supplemented their SuperDraft picks with a pair of Homegrown signings in defender Bradley Bourgeois and midfielder Christian Lucatero. Bourgeois was initially invited to the MLS Combine before signing his deal, while Lucatero signed with the first team straight out of the Dynamo Academy last year and was added to the roster in 2016. It has already been announced that Lucatero will start the year on loan with RGV FC, but it seems likely that the starting spots for Magalhães, Bourgois and T.J. Casner—the team’s third round SuperDraft selection—will be decided during preseason after spending time with the first team.
“I think that’s what’s important with all of our players, is that we see what they look like when they get into camp, how they adapt to the environment,” Dynamo general manager Matt Jordan said.
Preseason camp figures to have even more new faces as the last few roster spots start to get filled in and Coyle and Jordan continue to put their stamp on the team.
“We certainly want to continue to add defensively, and I would love a central midfield player as well. We’re in the market to try to do that,” Coyle said. “We’ve got a couple of things that are going around—nothing concluded yet—but we’re certainly trying to bring those types of players to the club and get the pieces to the jigsaw and put it together.”
