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
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
