A two-hour commute one way may sound daunting to some, but for Matthew Dos Santos and his mother, Ana, it has built a bond that has brought them closer together and laid a foundation that has helped the 17-year-old become a breakout star for Red Bull New York.
Every day for training, since he first joined the Red Bull Academy nine years ago, Dos Santos and his mom, Ana, have made the trip from Sandy Hook, Conn., to the club’s training facility in New Jersey. It has given them a chance to connect and has made his meteoric rise this season even more special.
“I think that’s what makes it so special for me to be where I’m at now, because those two-hour rides really help me with the relationship with my mom and my dad [Mauro Cesar Dos Santos],” Dos Santos told The Post. “Having those conversations about training, having those conversations about games is what kind of got me here to this point.”
Dos Santos was back in the Red Bulls starting lineup Sunday in their 3-0 loss to CF Montréal after he played so well through the first two weeks of the season that the Red Bulls had no choice but to elevate him from a second-team contract to an MLS deal. If they didn’t, he would not have been eligible to play for the first team for the rest of the season.
The teenager played 61 minutes and was effective in moving the ball with five of six accurate long balls.
He helped create a chance in the 41st minute when he sent a cross to Adri Mehmeti.
The header by Mehmeti was blocked.
It comes after he had helped set up Julian Hall’s goal in the second game of the season against New England.
There’s been plenty to appreciate about Dos Santos’ play on the pitch, but Red Bulls U18 coach Jonathan Rhodes told The Post the “secret sauce” that’s helped him grow over his career has been the family support that the young defender has.
“He has such a good network around him. His family is so stable with him,” Rhodes said. “Whenever he’s had challenges in the academy, they’ve been supportive. … There’s lots of ups and downs throughout their career, but in his young career with the academy and then with the first team here, his parents, his network around him, so supportive of him, and so stable. They don’t get too high when it’s going well, they don’t get too low. They trust the process for him.”
“I see how humble and dedicated he is every day,” Ana said of her son. “He works incredibly hard, respects his teammates and coaches, and always stays focused on improving both as a player and as a person. I hope people watching him play can see his love for the game and the hard work that brought him here.”
Sunday’s loss was the first piece of adversity the young Red Bulls squad has faced after getting wins through the first two weeks of the season. Despite outshooting and controlling ball possession by a 67 percent-to-33 percent margin, CF Montréal scored three times on keeper Ethan Horvath.
Prince Owusu scored on a penalty kick in the eighth minute and former Red Bull midfielder Wiki Carmona scored in the 44th and 68th minutes for CF Montréal.
