Danny Mwanga, who plays in Major League Soccer with the Colorado Rapids, is a brand new U.S. citizen[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’]. A native of the democratic Republic of Congo, he came to the United States to reunite with his mother, who immigrated in 2001. His father, a government worker, disappered one day. Speculation was that he had been killed by anti-government forces.
He knew no one else here in the U.S., and didn’t speak English, But he knew soccer and his first request to his mother was for a soccer ball. Eventually, the sport gave him a chance for an athletic scholarship at Oregon State. He was the #1 overall draft choice in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by the Philadelphia Union.
“It’s not an opportunity everybody gets,” said Mwanga. “I’m very grateful for my country.”
He knew no one else here in the U.S., and didn’t speak English, But he knew soccer and his first request to his mother was for a soccer ball. Eventually, the sport gave him a chance for an athletic scholarship at Oregon State. He was the #1 overall draft choice in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by the Philadelphia Union.
“It’s not an opportunity everybody gets,” said Mwanga. “I’m very grateful for my country.”
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