With three different coaches in three years, and 3,000 miles from home, Michael Lahoud’s first three seasons in Major League Soccer haven’t exactly been the smoothest. Ahead of his third visit with Chivas USA to RFK Stadium, Lahoud still relishes the familiar sights and sounds of a visit home to Washington. But his Southern California transition has taught him something new every step of the way.
This season it was a new position.
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“I found out that I could play defense,” said Lahoud, who was a goal scorer for Braddock Road Youth Club, Reston FC and W.T. Woodson High, then a midfielder for four years at Wake Forest. “Kudos to the coaching staff for having that faith, to be like, ‘We’ll guide you along way.’ It gives me something to strive for.”
Along similar lines, Lahoud, 24, has also added international soccer to his list of aspirations after surprise interest in the last year from Sierra Leone, the country where he was born before his family escaped to the U.S. at age 3. Lahoud’s father grew up in Africa with D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid’s father, and both families remain close after each settling in Annandale.
The younger Hamid just got his first taste of the full U.S. national team, which also remains a possibility for Lahoud, who hasn’t committed himself either way just yet.
“To get any international recognition is always a huge honor, and it kind of keeps me going forward,” he said. “It lets me bump up my ambition even more. It’s a process, and I’m excited for whatever opportunities lay ahead.”
– Craig Stouffer
