Trailing 0–2 in the 87th minute, only to score the decisive 3–2 winner in the 95th minute on a mad Champions League night. Ricardo Pepi still thinks back on it from time to time: “That was one of my finest moments at PSV.” On Thursday evening at 6.45 pm, PSV will face the same opponent – Shakhtar Donetsk – more than a year and a half on from that match. And Pepi? He’s long since ceased to be the super-sub who decides important matches in the final minute. He’s now in the starting line-up and knows that, after an eventful season, this has to be his year. Pepi has been playing in the Eredivisie for so long now that you sometimes forget the American striker is only 23. In three seasons at PSV, he has won the league title three times and was also the club’s top scorer last season. Following Luuk de Jong’s departure from Eindhoven, Pepi was finally given the chance to prove himself as a first-team regular a year ago, but he picked up an injury early in the season. By the time he returned, PSV were a well-oiled machine with two ‘number tens’ playing as false nine strikers: Ismael Saibari and Guus Til took turns up front, meaning there was temporarily no place for a ‘proper’ centre-forward. When he then unfortunately broke his forearm whilst scoring a goal in January, ‘El Tren’, as he is nicknamed, went through a difficult period mentally: “I tried to find solace in my faith and kept telling myself that you can’t control everything.” A month and a half later, his mental resilience was put to the test once again when a promising move to the Premier League ultimately fell through at the final hurdle. Fulham were prepared to pay nearly 40 million euros for the striker, and Pepi had already been given a tour of the London club’s training ground. “That wasn’t an easy period. Not just for me, but for my family too. They’ve been there for me my whole life and everyone was disappointed. However, everything happens for a reason. In the end, I used that as fuel to come out of it even stronger.” He managed it. Despite two long-term injuries and setbacks, Pepi became the club’s top scorer and secured his third consecutive league title with PSV. A wonderful summer lay ahead, with a World Cup in ‘his’ United States on the horizon. “It was a dream come true. Representing your country at the very highest level, and on home soil to boot. As a child, that’s what you dream of: shining in front of your own people, in front of your own fans. It was very special.” Yet Pepi looks back on the tournament with mixed feelings. He played over 200 minutes across five World Cup matches, but failed to score. And that gnaws at the striker: “For me, simply being part of the team is never enough.” Despite his disappointing World Cup, a striker like Pepi can always count on interest from a number of clubs. Even before he went on holiday after the long season, however, he made his position clear to his agent: “I definitely want to stay at PSV next season.” At first glance, that seems surprising. Three successful years packed with league titles, progress in the Champions League and a club top-scorer title, plus a regular place in the national team squad: so why would he want to stay? Anyone who’s watched Pepi play in the first few matches of the season knows what matters most to him: development. The striker, who used to be primarily a clinical finisher in the opposition’s box, can now be found all over the pitch. He’s chasing the ball, applying pressure, making himself available in midfield and winning challenges. Pepi wants to become a better and more complete striker in a familiar and calm environment. “I’m having a brilliant time here. But I’ve got a different role now and I’m trying to be an experienced player the young lads can look up to. I came here as a youngster in a completely different team to the one we have now. Now I’m playing slightly deeper up front and I might be scoring less, but let people talk. Because believe me, winning never gets boring.”   submitted by   /u/Roller95 [link]   [comments]