WORCESTER—Seventeen-hour days have become the norm for Matheus Carvalho, a 14-year-old freshman at Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School.
Rising at 6 a.m., he’s to school by 7 a.m. and spends the day in honors-level classes until just after 2 p.m. But at that point his day is only just getting started.
About two hours after school ends, his parents, both natives of Brazil, drive him to soccer practice in eastern Massachusetts, south of Boston and nearly an hour away. While commuting, he often spends his time in the car studying and doing homework.
After an hour and a half workout with the U15 team of the Intercontinental Football Academy (IFA) of New England, it’s an hour ride back to Worcester, often returning home at 10 p.m. and heading to bed by 11 p.m. just to start it all over again the next day. He repeats this process four times a week. Then it’s on to the weekend for games, which can include significant travel to participate in tournaments every few months.
Such is the busy lifestyle of an aspiring, young soccer player who dreams of playing at the professional level one day.
“Playing means everything to me and I hope I can continue to develop my game,” said Carvalho. “It means a lot to have the support of my parents as they truly believe I can make it pro, and they dedicate a lot of their time to my career.”
About six months ago, Carvalho began playing for IFA New England in MLS NEXT, the highest-level of youth soccer in the United States. Launched in 2020 by Major League Soccer (MLS), MLS NEXT now features 29 MLS academies, 122 elite academies, 753 teams and more than 16,000 players across the U.S. and Canada.
Carvalho, who began playing soccer at the age of five for a local team known as Real Brazilian, made the varsity soccer team as an eighth grader at Abby Kelley in the fall of 2023. He had one goal and four assists for the Bears last season.
A previous player for the International Academy of Liverpool FC, Carvalho decided he was ready for a higher-level of competition. He reached out to IFA New England and was given an opportunity to try out for the team. His play impressed the coaches, and he was invited to join the team full-time for the spring season.
“Matheus is a really good kid. He’s very respectful, he’s disciplined and very committed to his own self-development,” said his coach Drago Kazakov, head of player development for IFA New England. “Honestly, he’s been one of the most impactful players and I think he has a bright future with us. He works extremely hard and is extremely dedicated.”
Since joining IFA New England, Carvalho has played outside of the region in destinations such as Virginia, Tennessee and Montreal. Later this season his team will be traveling to Georgia and Florida for showcase events.
“The competition in MLS NEXT is way higher than what I faced in high school last year,” noted Carvalho, who primarily plays center midfield. “The game is way more physically demanding.”
Perhaps the highlight of his fall season came on Nov. 3 in a 2-0 win over Valeo Futbol Club in West Roxbury. Carvalho corralled a loose ball near midfield, spun backwards past a defender and slicky delivered a brilliant 25-yard left-footed pass to an attacking teammate who easily scored. A video clip of his impressive assist was featured on the IFA New England Instagram page.
Kazakov notes that before Carvalho’s arrival, the U15 team had a lot of smaller, technically gifted players but lacked someone of his physical stature to cover the necessary ground by accelerating and decelerating at an elite pace.
“Being a player who has matured early has helped him establish himself as one of the leading players within the team right now,” added Kazakov. “It just compliments where we had come short a little bit in the past. It’s good for him and good for us as well.”
