Pepi seizing opportunity to shed super-sub label for PSV, USMNT

The term “super-sub” is one that elicits conflicting emotions for a player. On the one hand, there’s an acknowledgement that their contributions are valued. After all, they are getting on the field. But on the other, the role is limiting, with the lack of minutes making it harder for a player to grow, both in terms of ability and their standing within the team.

So it is proving for Ricardo Pepi.

The 21-year-old has filled the role of super sub for both PSV Eindhoven, and the U.S. men’s national team for the entirety of this World Cup cycle. Of his 19 international appearances since the start of 2023, 15 have been off the bench, as are six of the eight goals Pepi has scored. It’s been no different at club level during the past two seasons. During the 2023-24 season, all nine of Pepi’s goals came in a substitute role. This season, 12 of his 15 appearances have come off the bench.

When the topic is broached with Pepi, one can almost sense a hint of frustration. He refers to it as “that word” as if it’s “The Word That Shall Not Be Said.”

“The way I take it, obviously people are noticing the things that I’m doing whenever I come in as a sub, and it makes them say the word,” Pepi told ESPN. “But at the same time, hearing that word, it makes me want to, I don’t know, punch something because at the same time, I just want to play more minutes. I want to get to a point where I’m a starter. So I think that’s really important.”

It just so happens that the pothole-littered path to starting for the U.S. may be smoothing out for Pepi. Certainly, an opportunity beckons for the El Paso, Texas native as the USMNT prepares for the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals against Jamaica.

A trio of U.S. strikers — Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright — are all out with injuries. That leaves just two out-and-out strikers on the U.S. roster: Pepi and Brandon Vázquez. Pepi would appear to be the proverbial next man up, especially given that he scored — yes, off the bench — in the USMNT’s 2-0 friendly win over Panama last month.

“We trust in his talent,” U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said. “It’s a player, a striker that always — if he plays one minute, 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 90 minutes — always is an offensive player that is going to have chances to score. Yes, it’s a great opportunity.”

Pepi’s situation is evolving at club level, too. It has helped his cause that PSV manager Peter Bosz has rotated his side more than last season. During the 2023-24 campaign, Pepi made a total of 40 appearances across all competitions, but this amounted to just 674 minutes of playing time. This season, the PSV forward has already logged 438 minutes, scoring six times in 15 appearances with the season not even halfway done. He’s also already started more games this season (three) than he did in all of 2023-24, when he made just two starts.

It speaks to an increased level of faith in the U.S. striker. Sources have told ESPN Netherlands that Bosz has been impressed by Pepi’s work rate in training. It also helps that such is PSV’s edge in overall talent compared to most other teams in the Eredivisie that Bosz can often afford to play something less than his best starting XI, saving his preferred lineup for the UEFA Champions League matches.

Pepi still finds his way to even more playing time blocked by PSV captain Luuk de Jong, and when he does get on the field, often it’s late in matches when PSV has already worn down opponents. Everyone at the club sees Pepi’s nose for goal, though, and are keen to exploit that where they can. Bosz is eager, however, to see Pepi improve other parts of his game besides goal scoring. These include being better in possession, or being “ball-proof,” as Bosz puts it.

“[Pepi] is working very hard on that and he is doing that very well.” Bosz said following PSV’s 6-0 win over PEC Zwolle on Oct. 26, a game in which Pepi scored twice.

It’s a situation that in some ways is similar to what Pepi faced when he first broke into the FC Dallas first team. At that time, Dallas had forward and Designated Player Franco Jara on its books, yet such was the level of Pepi’s play that he eventually forced his way into the lineup.

“[Pepi] kept working, and kept showing that he could earn an opportunity through his training, through his performance on the second team, through his mentality,” then-Dallas manager Luchi Gonzalez, who first saw Pepi play as a 12-year-old in El Paso, said to ESPN. “And once he started getting the sniff with the first team consistently and getting starts, he was scoring goals.”

Gonzalez, who also coached Pepi during his stint as an assistant with the U.S. prior to the 2022 World Cup, now sees a player who is physically stronger than when he first went to Europe with FC Augsburg in 2022. This has led to improved balance and timing.

“Pepi always had intensity to his game, but is he going to win duels? Is he going to win the header with the center-back? Is he going to win the header in the box when he’s marked?” Gonzalez said. “It’s like, is he going to be pushed off balance or is he going to hold his ground? So I see an improvement of him physically. You can see him, he’s just stronger.”

Pochettino wants to continue that trend in order to add to Pepi’s all-around game. During last Sunday’s conference call with reporters, Pochettino said he was going to be “very, very, very tough” with Pepi in order to get the striker to improve his game in all areas. It’s an approach that the player welcomes.

“It comes out most of the time, of course, in training,” Pepi said. “[Pochettino] is always pushing it to my limits, whether it’s with the pressing, whether it’s scoring goals and stuff like that. So yeah, it’s something that I really appreciate. I don’t shy away from these types of coaches. I think it’s something that for me is necessary to be able to get pushed to the end, and I feel like that’s what makes me as a player.”

There is also the mental toll of being a super-sub. Pepi spoke of how he’s had to be patient for both club and country, but that dealing with limited minutes has been difficult emotionally.

“It’s not easy to just sit there, and on weekends, I’ll call my family and explain to them why I didn’t play, or tell ’em I only played 10, 15 minutes,” Pepi said. “So I think [the situation] is definitely something that’s helped me, but at the same time, it’s been really frustrating at times.

“I’m not at that point where I’ve thought about a sit-down and thought about what’s going to happen next. … When that time comes, I’ll make sure I’ll make the right decision for myself.”

There is the hope of a payoff, however, and that comes when a player gains the faith of a manager. At PSV, that increased level of belief is trending in a positive direction in terms of minutes played. It is the fuel that in this moment is pushing Pepi forward.

“Once you have the opportunity to be able to get [a manager’s] trust, and all of a sudden you think there’s a difficult moment in the game where we need a goal or we need to defend, all of a sudden he makes a sub, and he’s thinking about you,” Pepi said. “And so, it’s the best feeling to be able to just have your manager’s trust and be able to prove to him that he can trust you and you can be the player that he can count on.”

That is the challenge facing Pepi in this window. There is a new manager to impress, but also an opportunity to further shed the super-sub label.