Top MLS youngsters off to England.
By Jonathan Nierman / MLSnet.com Staff
Members of Major League Soccer's Generation adidas program, the top young players in the league, will journey to England from Dec. 1-10 in a training trip that will include matches against reserve teams of some of that nation's top clubs. The participants will also get to experience soccer at the highest level, as they will attend a UEFA Champions League match and two English Premier League games.
The Generation adidas team, which will be led by Columbus Crew head coach Sigi Schmid, will arrive in London on Saturday and train for two days at reigning Premier League champions Chelsea FC's academy. The squad will then be in action at Loftus Road Stadium on Monday when they take on the reserves of Coca-Cola League Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
On Tuesday they will take on the Crystal Palace reserve team during the day before heading to Stamford Bridge to see Chelsea face Levski Sofia in Group A action in the Champions League. A win for the home side will guarantee passage into the knockout phase of the competition.
Following an afternoon training session on Wednesday, Schmid's team will see West Ham take on Wigan Athletic at Upton Park and Wednesday evening. Matches against the Watford reserves and Chelsea reserves (still to be confirmed) will follow on Thursday and Friday, before the trip ends with a jaunt to Liverpool. There the Generation adidas players will visit Anfield to see Liverpool Football Club take on Fulham.
Eleven of Major League Soccer's 13 clubs will be represented on the trip, with FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake leading the way by sending three players each. The only teams not sending at least one player are D.C. United and 2007 expansion side Toronto FC. Red Bulls forward Jozy Altidore will not attend due to a previous commitment to take part in a service trip to Haiti with two other New York players.
Generation adidas 2006 tour participants:
Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew)
Defenders: Hunter Freeman (Colorado Rapids), Patrick Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Nathan Sturgis (Los Angeles Galaxy), Blake Wagner (FC Dallas), Tim Ward (Columbus Crew)
Midfielders: Nik Besagno (Real Salt Lake), Christian Jimenez* (Real Salt Lake), Quavas Kirk (Los Angeles Galaxy), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Dax McCarty (FC Dallas)
Forward: David Arvizu (New York Red Bulls), Chad Barrett (Chicago Fire), Kei Kamara (Columbus Crew), Jacob Peterson* (Colorado Rapids), Ryan Pore (Kansas City Wizards), Willie Sims (New England Revolution), Jamie Watson (Real Salt Lake)
* injured
Real Salt Lake bring Tejada into the fold
By Peter Richins / MLSnet.com Staff
SALT LAKE CITY -- A goal like the one scored by Panamanian Luis Tejada in March of 2005 does not happen very often.
But at least Real Salt Lake can boast they have a player on the roster that has done such an eye-popping feat. In a World Cup qualifying match against Mexico, Tejada had his back to the goal at the top of the penalty area and a defender crawling up his back. Tejada took the ball out of the air with his shoulder, controlled it with a pair of touches off his right knee and left foot, then unleashed a wicked bicycle kick that hit the net.
Fox Sports deemed the goal the "Western Hemisphere Goal of the Year" for 2005. And now, Tejada will play alongside Jeff Cunningham in the forward line at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Because of various trade issues, Tejada is technically on loan from his professional team in Panama, Plaza Amador. But he is on RSL's payroll, and should be with the team throughout the upcoming MLS season.
"We jumped at the chance to bring Luis here," coach John Ellinger said on Wednesday. "He's a very talented striker. He's good at getting balls played to his feet, turning back to goal and running at players that way. He's also good at starting deep in the midfield and running forward that way."
Tejada is RSL's second notable acquisition announced in as many days. The day prior to Real's press conference introducing Tejada, RSL introduced Freddy Adu as the newest player on the team. Both players join a team that just missed the playoffs in 2006, and is aching to play in the postseason for the first time in its short history.
"I don't feel any pressure," Tejada said through a translator on Wednesday. "I'm ready to come in here and run, and get along with my teammates and start producing."
Ellinger expects the Tejada-Cunningham-Atiba Harris combination at forward will be the most productive in the league in 2007.
"I don't think there are ever too many forwards. Luis has not only got the size and the speed, but he's extremely technical, and he finishes," Ellinger said. "Along with Atiba, along with Jeff and Luis, we certainly have some offensive weapons now, and I don't think any coach will ever say that's not a good thing."
RSL officials had their eye on Tejada for months, and his agent had told him about the team's interest. Then, things fell into place.
"By chance, I happened to be watching later on that week the Real Madrid-Real Salt Lake game and I liked the way Real Salt Lake battled and fought throughout that game, and I told my agent to get to work," Tejada said.
Now, with Tejada set to play for RSL in 2007, he is looking forward to playing in the United States.
"I'm looking forward to scoring some goals as soon as the season kicks off," Tejada said.
Peter Richins is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
