Elias Landberg Fernandez '23 Recruiting Profile

I’ve played soccer from sea level to 9,000 feet across multiple cultures and borders.  I’m the son of a U.S. diplomat, which has led me and my family around the world. I’ve lived in Ghana, Argentina (where I took my first soccer lesson at age 2), Ecuador and Colombia (2016 – 2019). I started playing organized soccer at age 8 in Washington, D.C. for a club team, which has since evolved into Washington Capital United.  When I was 11, my family moved to Bogota, Colombia, and I joined a club team mid-season linked to the Colombian professional team Santa Fe de Bogota.  I won the Golden Boot for my age division in my first season.  As a striker, I helped my Santa Fe teams win two league championships.  I played three seasons in Colombia before I returned to the U.S. in 2019 to attend high school.  Moving frequently and playing soccer for different teams across cultures has helped me learn how to play the game in two languages (Spanish and English) and with different styles of play.  I’ve also learned how to quickly adapt to new team systems, coaches and players.  Ultimately, playing soccer in Latin America has made me into a more proactive, tough and tactically savvy player. 

In the U.S., I’ve stayed with my Washington, D.C. club team of Washington Capital United.  I was slotted back onto the Red Team when I returned in 2019 and had to earn my way back onto the Blue Team, which I did after this past season over the pandemic.  I am a competitive and aggressive player, but also a selfless team player. I am as happy to assist others score as I am to score myself.  I play a leadership role on every team I play on, motivating my teammates to perform at their highest level. My immediate goal is to become an even stronger player – physically and mentally – so I can lead my club team to win some of the tournaments we are playing in, such as the Mid-Atlantic and Bethesda tournaments coming up.  I attended ID camps the summer of 2021 at the Naval Academy, Georgetown and the University of Maryland in preparation for what comes next.  The coach feedback I’ve received is that I have what it takes to play at the next level.  Academically, I have maintained a 3.8 GPA so far through my Junior Year of high school and I'm an AP Spanish student.  My next challenge is to find a college soccer program that is a good fit for my soccer abilities while I pursue academics in the fields of International Relations, Sports Management or Business, career trajectories that complement my talents in math, science, languages, and my competitive nature.