Frantzdy Pierrot led the Haiti Men’s National Soccer Team to a spot in the World Cup next summer in North America. This is only the second time the Caribbean nation has ever qualified for the world’s largest soccer tournament.
Pierrot is a forward for Haiti and led the team in scoring during the Gold Cup last fall. He now plays in the professional soccer league in Greece, for a team named AEK Athens. Pierrot has come a long way since he was a freshman playing soccer at Melrose High School.
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“What I remember most about Frantzdy was just how determined he was. Physically, he was great, but his mental side made him even greater,” Melrose High School Soccer Coach Dean Serino said. “He’s big physical, strong and fast. Great in the air. When he gets the ball, it’s tough to get it away from him. He never loses it and that’s the sign of a great player.”
Serino says that Pierrot played two seasons at Melrose High before joining an academy. He says Pierrot was determined to be great and credits him with working so hard, even during the cold winter months to improve each year.
In college, Pierrot went on to play in college at Northeastern University for two years. He then transferred to Coastal Carolina.
Pierrot has played overseas for several years. When he was playing in Israel, his team faced PSG in the Champions League. Pierrot was going up against some of the best players in the world like Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Neymar. Serino says he is not surprised with the success his former player has had.
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“My coach will say, ‘Hey Frantzdy’s on,’ so we will put it on and watch him score the winning goal a lot of times. We follow him a lot and we love him. Even though he was here for two years, he is a Melrose kid. He loves Melrose. He’s a goal scorer, so he has to be a little selfish, but it’s always about the wins for him.”
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 02: Frantzdy Pierrot #20 of Haiti plays against Honduras during a 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup group A game at Bank of America Stadium on July 02, 2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Serino says they stay in touch every once in a while. A couple of years ago, Pierrot came back to Massachusetts and trained with the team.
“He is a role model. Kids can look up to him and say he was he worked hard and made himself into a great player,” Serino said. “I’m super proud of him; he should be proud of himself.”
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Pierrot will take the pitch next summer as Haiti and Scotland kickoff the games at Gillette Stadium on June 13th. While the Melrose soccer team doesn’t have tickets, they’re trying to go and will, at the very least, host a watch party.
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