VANCOUVER, B.C. – After two tough years of injuries, Vancouver Whitecaps striker Omar Salgado is back fit and keen to make up for that lost time.
Salgado was recalled from a brief loan spell with USL PRO affiliate Charleston Battery in May when Kenny Miller left Vancouver, but he has found himself on the fringes of first-team action ever since.
Salgado has made just seven appearances this season, with only one start amongst his 137 minutes. While it has been frustrating for the young striker, he was given a lift last week when he took part in a five-day training camp with the US U-23 national team, scoring in a 5-1 win over the Bahamas.
"It just builds my confidence really," Salgado told reporters on Sunday when asked about scoring on his call up. "I feel like I'd been lacking it at the beginning of the season and that's just building it up for the last stretch of the season."
With both the US and Canada producing an exciting crop of young talent at the moment, Salgado is keen to stake his claim on future international honors with his performances at club level.
Still only 20 years old, the striker is in his fourth season in MLS after becoming Vancouver's first ever SuperDraft pick as the No. 1 overall selection in 2011 at 17 years of age. With many young domestic players looking to go overseas in the past, Salgado feels that times are changing and the increasing quality of MLS will encourage more young talent to stay and play in North America.
"MLS is growing at a crazy pace since the first year I got here to where we are now," Salgado said. "You can see it, I've felt it and I feel it every year. The play just gets better and better. It's going to be harder to play in MLS every year.
"Obviously everyone has the dream of once playing in Europe. That's everyone's dream that you grow up with. Hopefully MLS can change that and make it a MLS dream."
Salgado is hoping that his form with the U23s and his intensity in Whitecaps' training will be rewarded with more first-team minutes in Carl Robinson's youth-heavy side. The striker has impressed in recent games when coming on as a sub and won a penalty late on in Sunday's win over Sporting KC.
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Darren Mattocks failed to convert the spot kick and the Whitecaps had to settle for a 2-0 victory in the end in what Salgado feels was statement game for the club against the defending MLS Cup champions. The focus now turns to a difficult stretch of games against their Western playoff rivals.
"It's really important right now," Salgado said of picking up every point possible. "Games against the Western Conference teams are the most important because we want to take the points away and not give any.
"We came in [to Sunday’s game] wanting to prove ourselves that we are one of the best teams in MLS and I think we do prove it every time we get on that field. We came in looking to beat the defending champs and that's exactly what we did. It builds confidence that we can do this. We believe in ourselves. A playoff push is what we want."
