Omar Salgado's big move to the U.S.
Brent Latham
ESPN Insider
For a 17-year-old forward who has received nearly unanimous plaudits from insiders and scouts alike, the hype surrounding Omar Salgado has been pretty subdued thus far. There are plenty of good reasons for that: He plays for a Canadian club, until recently FIFA wouldn't let him take the field and, most importantly, the young American is undoubtedly still an unpolished talent.
But a 6-foot-4 frame and a strong left foot have many in a position to know saying that Salgado might just turn into that most elusive of American soccer assets: a top-level international striker. That promise was enough for the Vancouver Whitecaps to make him their first pick in the 2011 MLS draft, and by most accounts the Texas native has made quick progress since joining his second professional club.
Despite his young age, Salgado had already been on the professional track for some time before joining MLS. Like many young Mexican-Americans, he decided early that the most promising path to soccer stardom would be through Mexico, with its plentiful opportunity for youth development. Three years ago, he headed from his native El Paso to Guadalajara, to join Mexican heavyweight Chivas.
Had the American under-20 team never come calling, he would probably still be there.
"I wanted to play for the U.S. and I had always dreamed of playing in MLS," Salgado said. "I went to play for the United States and I saw a possibility of coming into the MLS, and I guess I just took it from there."
<OFFER>That's not quite the whole story. Chivas only employs Mexican internationals, so by joining the Guadalajara club, it was assumed that Salgado was making a de facto commitment to the Mexican national team. Though Chivas has loosened up a bit in accepting a number of American-born players of Mexican descent -- including their current starting left back, California native Miguel Ponce -- a founding and non-negotiable tenet of the club is that its players will represent only Mexico at the international level.
Salgado had previously represented El Tri at the youth levels, but when he got the call from Thomas Rongen last summer asking him to make the switch, he jumped at the chance to represent the U.S. in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. When he got back to Guadalajara, club officials sat Salgado down and gave him one last chance to commit to El Tri.
"All of the coaches and the main guys were talking to me and trying to convince me to play for Mexico," he said. "One of the Mexican head guys came to my house and tried to convince me to go back. But I had already got it in my head that I wanted to play for the U.S., and I took that decision. I knew that at Chivas if I played for the U.S. I would never play for the first team, so I just decided to leave and try my luck in MLS."
So despite his potential, Salgado's departure from Chivas was quick and unceremonious. Back in the U.S., he was placed in the draft after spending the interim training with several teams, including EPL side Everton and MLS' D.C. United, Portland and finally Vancouver, which selected him first overall.
Vancouver also knew that thanks to a FIFA rules quirk, it faced an uphill battle to get its young draftee on the field for much of 2011. Salgado turns 18 in September and a FIFA regulation barred him from suiting up for a non-U.S. based team before then. Only recently did FIFA grant an exception, and Salgado promptly went on to score his first MLS goal in his first start a few weeks ago.
He started again over the weekend and is hoping to grow into even more first-team minutes as he learns the ropes on a team and in a league that seems to fit his particular style of play.
"The style is long ball to space, so it's about speed and strength," he said. "That's good for me because I'm fast, and this league is all about speed and strength. Here it's all about having the ball and pressuring. In Mexico it was slower, it was more Mexican style of play. Here it's a more physical and strength type of play. It's a great league for me to start in because I can learn, and it's going to become one of the best leagues in the world."
Whether that type of play is best for the development of a young attacker is debatable, but in Salgado's case it seems to fit, as does the team that brought him in. Vancouver drafted Salgado largely because the coaches there say they can see the young Texan developing into a world-class striker.
If he begins to approach that level, the team won't stand in the way. The Whitecaps' business model is a bit unusual in MLS in that they don't immediately discount the idea of developing a young player and selling him on at a profit -- something Salgado could see happening down the road.
"I'd like to leave to Europe, that's what every soccer player dreams of," he said. "That's my dream, and I'd like to be there in the end. I'd like to play in Spain or England but I think I can adapt to anywhere, and any league is fine with me."
There's still plenty of developmental work ahead for the young attacker if he wants to get overseas anytime soon. But at least he seems to have the adaptation part down.
Notes
• Without Salgado or former head coach Thomas Rongen, the U.S. U-20 team is in France this week, where friendlies are scheduled against the host country on Tuesday and Thursday.
• The U.S. senior roster is notoriously thin at left back, but the rising under-20 group looks initially to have plenty of promise in that area. Sean Cunningham has been making the game-day roster for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde in Norway, and Daniel Potts, a teammate of Sebastian Lletget at West Ham's academy, has been called into the U.S. camp in France, as well.
• The draw for the U-17 World Cup takes place Tuesday in Mexico City. Coach Wilmer Cabrera's American team will learn which rivals it will face in the first round, as well as the venues for those matches.
Brent Latham
ESPN Insider
For a 17-year-old forward who has received nearly unanimous plaudits from insiders and scouts alike, the hype surrounding Omar Salgado has been pretty subdued thus far. There are plenty of good reasons for that: He plays for a Canadian club, until recently FIFA wouldn't let him take the field and, most importantly, the young American is undoubtedly still an unpolished talent.
But a 6-foot-4 frame and a strong left foot have many in a position to know saying that Salgado might just turn into that most elusive of American soccer assets: a top-level international striker. That promise was enough for the Vancouver Whitecaps to make him their first pick in the 2011 MLS draft, and by most accounts the Texas native has made quick progress since joining his second professional club.
Despite his young age, Salgado had already been on the professional track for some time before joining MLS. Like many young Mexican-Americans, he decided early that the most promising path to soccer stardom would be through Mexico, with its plentiful opportunity for youth development. Three years ago, he headed from his native El Paso to Guadalajara, to join Mexican heavyweight Chivas.
Had the American under-20 team never come calling, he would probably still be there.
"I wanted to play for the U.S. and I had always dreamed of playing in MLS," Salgado said. "I went to play for the United States and I saw a possibility of coming into the MLS, and I guess I just took it from there."
<OFFER>That's not quite the whole story. Chivas only employs Mexican internationals, so by joining the Guadalajara club, it was assumed that Salgado was making a de facto commitment to the Mexican national team. Though Chivas has loosened up a bit in accepting a number of American-born players of Mexican descent -- including their current starting left back, California native Miguel Ponce -- a founding and non-negotiable tenet of the club is that its players will represent only Mexico at the international level.
Salgado had previously represented El Tri at the youth levels, but when he got the call from Thomas Rongen last summer asking him to make the switch, he jumped at the chance to represent the U.S. in the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland. When he got back to Guadalajara, club officials sat Salgado down and gave him one last chance to commit to El Tri.
"All of the coaches and the main guys were talking to me and trying to convince me to play for Mexico," he said. "One of the Mexican head guys came to my house and tried to convince me to go back. But I had already got it in my head that I wanted to play for the U.S., and I took that decision. I knew that at Chivas if I played for the U.S. I would never play for the first team, so I just decided to leave and try my luck in MLS."
So despite his potential, Salgado's departure from Chivas was quick and unceremonious. Back in the U.S., he was placed in the draft after spending the interim training with several teams, including EPL side Everton and MLS' D.C. United, Portland and finally Vancouver, which selected him first overall.
Vancouver also knew that thanks to a FIFA rules quirk, it faced an uphill battle to get its young draftee on the field for much of 2011. Salgado turns 18 in September and a FIFA regulation barred him from suiting up for a non-U.S. based team before then. Only recently did FIFA grant an exception, and Salgado promptly went on to score his first MLS goal in his first start a few weeks ago.
He started again over the weekend and is hoping to grow into even more first-team minutes as he learns the ropes on a team and in a league that seems to fit his particular style of play.
"The style is long ball to space, so it's about speed and strength," he said. "That's good for me because I'm fast, and this league is all about speed and strength. Here it's all about having the ball and pressuring. In Mexico it was slower, it was more Mexican style of play. Here it's a more physical and strength type of play. It's a great league for me to start in because I can learn, and it's going to become one of the best leagues in the world."
Whether that type of play is best for the development of a young attacker is debatable, but in Salgado's case it seems to fit, as does the team that brought him in. Vancouver drafted Salgado largely because the coaches there say they can see the young Texan developing into a world-class striker.
If he begins to approach that level, the team won't stand in the way. The Whitecaps' business model is a bit unusual in MLS in that they don't immediately discount the idea of developing a young player and selling him on at a profit -- something Salgado could see happening down the road.
"I'd like to leave to Europe, that's what every soccer player dreams of," he said. "That's my dream, and I'd like to be there in the end. I'd like to play in Spain or England but I think I can adapt to anywhere, and any league is fine with me."
There's still plenty of developmental work ahead for the young attacker if he wants to get overseas anytime soon. But at least he seems to have the adaptation part down.
Notes
• Without Salgado or former head coach Thomas Rongen, the U.S. U-20 team is in France this week, where friendlies are scheduled against the host country on Tuesday and Thursday.
• The U.S. senior roster is notoriously thin at left back, but the rising under-20 group looks initially to have plenty of promise in that area. Sean Cunningham has been making the game-day roster for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Molde in Norway, and Daniel Potts, a teammate of Sebastian Lletget at West Ham's academy, has been called into the U.S. camp in France, as well.
• The draw for the U-17 World Cup takes place Tuesday in Mexico City. Coach Wilmer Cabrera's American team will learn which rivals it will face in the first round, as well as the venues for those matches.
