CARSON, Calif. – Ramon Martín del Campo went into the MLS SuperDraft with a good deal of excitement.
After earning a call-up to the US U-23 national team in 2014, he was widely considered a first round-quality center back. He had impressed the San Jose Earthquakes during his 2014 summer season with the club's U-23 team and during a two-week training stint with the first team. At the conclusion of his college career, he turned down offers from Saprissa and Tijuana to sign a contract with Major League Soccer, one of eight seniors to sign contracts prior to the MLS Player Combine.
Then he watched and waited in vain as 84 players were taken over four rounds across two days.
Now he's in Southern California, trying to win a job with the LA Galaxy and using his draft-day snub as motivation.
“I had my hopes up. Obviously, it didn't work out,” Martín del Campo said following the Galaxy's 2-0 scrimmage victory Wednesday over the Ventura County Fusion in their first preseason encounter (see photo gallery). “It's fine, that's life, but you've got to face adversity. A successful career is impossible without minor setbacks, so I just saw it as motivation to get back out there, to keep training harder, and then we'll see what the future [holds].”
Martín del Campo, 21, who was born in Mexico, raised in the San Diego suburbs and schooled at UC Davis, watched his stock slip during a poor MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He says he had strep throat during the showcase but did not tell any of the teams or coaches.
“I didn't want to tell anybody, because I wanted to prove to coaches that I was stronger than it, that tiny things won't hold me back,” he said. “Obviously, that was a very difficult thing. I talked to my agents about it; they said to be very truthful with it. There were other players there that just decided to sit down and not play, and then they went higher up [in the draft]. I didn't want to be like that. That's just not the player that I am. I'm the guy [who is] going to go out there and take the bullets, take the rocks. I'm going to show my team I can help them.”
His decision to play backfired, and his disappointment was especially pronounced because the Earthquakes, with three picks, did not call his name.
“I was very close to the program there,” said Martín del Campo, who was an All-Premier Development League selection last summer with the Quakes' U-23s, then trained with the first team when the PDL season was over. “I know John [Doyle, the general manager], I know Ian [Russell, a longtime assistant coach and interim head coach late last season]. They had asked me to go to their combine. I went, I thought I was the best player there. They [drafted] more on their needs, though. I can't blame that on them. I can't take many things personal. I just see certain things as motivation.”
The Philadelphia Union and New York Red Bulls also asked him to join their preseason camps, he said, but he chose to try out with the Galaxy because they made immediate contact following the final round of the SuperDraft and because it's close to his family's Chula Vista home.
“I went into contact with them immediately, and that to me is a very important sign for, OK, this is where the best chance is going to be,” said Martín del Campo, who stands 6-foot-2 and has been praised for his organizational and leadership skills. “Coming to LA is good. One [reason] being if I play with this team, they play in the California Clasico [against San Jose], and that is a game I would very look forward to.”
Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, who used Martín del Campo on the back line for the final half-hour against the Fusion, said he and his staff “need to see a little bit more of the player. We're only five days into camp. He's done well to date, so we're keeping an eye on him.”
Martín del Campo's MLS contract was voided when he wasn't drafted, and he said Saprissa remains an option, but he wants to play for the Galaxy and learn “from center backs like Omar Gonzalez, Dan Gargan, Tommy Meyer – great guys.”
“The league is growing,” he said. “No matter what, you're always going to get a quality game every single game, no matter against the last-place team to the first-place team. You're always going to improve, you're always going to play against quality players.”
The potential to play for LA Galaxy II in USL PRO, either on loan or by signing a USL PRO contract, is also an attractive option.
“It's very important,” Martín del Campo said. “My main goal in my career is just to be the best player I can be. Wherever I can do that, wherever I can get games, more minutes, more experience, that's just me improving. So having a a second team like that is a really good opportunity for me. That's not the main goal, but if it happens, it's a great thing. It's a pleasure to be part of.”
