Vancouver Whitecaps FC announce that the Whitecaps Residency program will return to the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup U-19 Super Group for the second straight year.
The prestigious youth tournament will be celebrating its 30th anniversary, and the Super Group will once again be well represented by top clubs from around the world. They include River Plate of Argentina, Sao Paulo FC of Brazil, Manchester City of England, Eintracht Frankfurt of Germany, Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan, Tigres and CF Monterrey of Mexico, as well as Canadian rivals Toronto FC.
“We are very excited to once again participate in the Dallas Cup Super Group,” said Whitecaps Residency managing director and head coach Thomas Niendorf. “We will have a number of players returning from last year and they are motivated to post some favourable results. In addition, the tournament will act as a valuable measurement to see how our program has evolved against top clubs.”
Dallas Cup XXX will take place from April 5 to 12 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Last spring, the Whitecaps recorded draws against Mexico's Chivas Guadalajara and Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as a narrow defeat to Portuguese giants Benfica. The Whitecaps also played a post-tournament friendly against Leicester City, where they defeated the English club 2-1.
First held in 1980, the Dallas Cup is one of world soccer’s most recognized youth tournaments, with numerous clubs invited to compete each year. In 2008, Dallas Cup XXIX held seven tournaments in the U-13 to U-19 age groups, with the Super Group being the tournament’s marquee competition.
The Super Group, which first took place in 1990, has seen some of the world’s most famous clubs win the tournament. Previous champions include England’s West Ham United in 1992, Spain’s Real Madrid in 1993 and 1994, Sao Paulo FC in 1995 and 2007, Mexico’s Club Universidad Nacional AC (UNAM Pumas) in 2001, and England’s Liverpool FC in 2008.
The Super Group has also featured some of world soccer’s top stars in the formative stages of their career. The likes of Freddy Adu, David Beckham, Michael Carrick, Landon Donovan, Rafael Marquez, Michael Owen, Raul, and Wayne Rooney are all past participants.
Additional information about the Dr Pepper Dallas Cup can be found at
dallascup.com
.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency is based out of the Whitecaps Training Centre at Simon Fraser University, with a number of the players attending Burnaby Central Secondary School.
The elite youth program – for players from U-17 to U-19 – provides a development gateway through to professional opportunities with the Whitecaps men’s team and European clubs. The program uses the European club model of identification, development and placement.
Whitecaps Residency and the Whitecaps youth prospects programs are committed to cooperation and communication with the provincial and Canadian national team programs. Each player's professional commitments, education, club, and national or provincial team responsibilities are carefully considered and coordinated for optimal periodization.
