Omar Salgado’s busy off-season continues next week, as the Vancouver Whitecaps FC striker will join up with Major League Soccer’s Generation adidas squad for their 10-day tour of the Netherlands.
The 18-year-old, who has been training with English Premier League side Fulham FC, will remain with the West London outfit until Monday before making the short trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands, to join up with the 18-player Generation adidas squad, who will be led by Sporting Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes.
Representing 12 different MLS clubs, the Generation adidas squad will train at the world-renowned Ajax Academy in Amsterdam and play friendly matches versus Ajax reserves (Thursday, December 8) and Dutch Eerste Divisie (second division) clubs FC Volendam (Tuesday, December 13) and Almere City FC (Wednesday, December 14). As part of the tour, the squad will attend next Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League match between Ajax and Real Madrid at the Amsterdam ArenA and the top-flight Dutch Eredivisie game between hosts AZ Alkmaar and De Graafschap on Saturday, December 10.
Selected as the first overall pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, Salgado scored one goal and recorded one assist in 14 appearances for 504 minutes of action with Whitecaps FC this past season. Last month, the teenage goalscorer also participated in a two-week training camp with the United States U-23 Olympic team in Duisburg, Germany.
The Generation adidas tour is part of the ongoing commitment that adidas has made to help advance soccer in the United States and Canada through MLS. Players who join MLS through the Generation adidas program are provided unique opportunities to hone their skills, develop as professionals, and receive educational grants. Generation adidas players do not count against an MLS team’s salary budget.
