The sparkling playing career of Jaime Moreno might not be over even though his life as a coach is about to begin.
Thomas Rongen invited the former D.C. United star, who earned his USSF "B" coaching license in 1997, to assist at the American's U-20 training camp before the Torneo de Las Americas in late November.
The 36 year old was quick to tell MLSsoccer.com that it's "just for the week" and that he doesn't want or expect the stint to turn into a full-time gig, but he's excited to help out his former manager.
"[Rongen] just invited me to help him a little bit with the forwards," Moreno said over the phone on Friday afternoon after a training session in Washington D.C. "It's going to be something new for me. We'll see where it goes."
When asked if he'd like to continue coaching, the MLS original remained coy.
"In the future, yes," he said. "Right now I'm still thinking about playing."
Moreno said he'll make a decision about his playing career in the next couple of weeks, but he doesn't expect to continue playing in the US.
"It's going to be hard if I want to play in the US," he said. "I don't fool myself, but you never know."
"I'm looking more like overseas."
MLS all-time leading scorer admits he isn't very familiar with the U-20 squad, but says that he's played with two members of the side that will battle Colombia and Mexico in Georgia: his United teammate Conor Shanosky and prospect Omar Salgado, who has been training with members of the club during the off-season.
In Salgado, projected to go near the top of the 2011 SuperDraft, Moreno sees a talented but raw player.
"He's still young," he said. "He can see that he has potential, but he has a long way to go."
The Bolivian already sounds like a coach.
Noah Davis covers the United States national team for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on Twitter at @noahedavis.
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