Nicolas Barbosa '24 Recruiting Profile

My name is Nicolas Barbosa, and my passion is playing soccer.  When I was younger, I wanted to score goals and was pretty good at it when a gaggle of six-year-old kids went for the ball, and I used ball skills to keep it away from them until I could get a shot.  As the years passed, I grew to enjoy bringing the ball up and passing to create plays, so I developed into a Right Back that can move up when I need to create opportunities or play my space.

Being a defender is not for anyone wanting to be hero.  Essentially, I keep the ball away from my goal which is my first and single most important responsibility to my team.  Secondly, I want my contribution to the attack to really matter.  

I enjoy creating opportunities and swear by the words of soccer's great philosopher and player, Johann Cruyff: the most important man on the field is the one without the ball.  He added, Technique is passing the ball with one touch, with the right speed, at the right foot of your teammate.

I strive to be the very best soccer defender that I can be.  I physically train daily to minimize injury and watch how the great ones succeeded on the field.  I strive to bring a mix of strong mental, physical, and technical skills that aren't just making tackles or clearing my lines.  Most importantly, the old saying applies to my philosophy of the game: A great attack wins you games, but a great defense wins you titles.