Patrick Leal, third from left, lines up before a Sporting CP U-17 match. (Courtesy photo)
Four months after signing a five-year contract with Portuguese club Sporting CP, Patrick Leal (Newton, Mass.) has become a regular with their U-17 team.
Primarily a box-to-box midfielder, the former New England Revolution Academy standout and U.S. U-14 national teamer will even soon head to a tournament in Saudi Arabia, where they'll play Atletico Madrid, Zenit St. Petersburg and others.
It’s been quite the rise for Leal, who holds a Portuguese passport through his father's side of the family.
