After strong showings against top European youth academy teams in each of the past four years, US Club Soccer has announced that members of the 2014 id² National Selection International Tour will aim to continue the momentum Feb. 27 – March 10, when members travel to Italy.

The id² National Selection International Tour is the final programming element of the id² Program cycle targeting boys born in 2000, which included four id² Training Camps held during 2013.

The roster (found below) consists of 17 boys born in 2000 and one born in 2001, representing 16 clubs from 10 states.

During the tour, the team will have the opportunity to train, attend games and compete against youth teams from well-known professional clubs while gaining a unique educational and cultural experience.

• As has been the case in past international trips, video journals will be made available from Italy. Video journals from Germany and the Netherlands, England and Scotland and Spain in 2012 and 2013 are available.

The traveling party will arrive in Northern New Jersey on Feb. 27 for a brief domestic base camp before departing to Italy the evening of Feb. 28. After spending the initial portion of the trip in Florence, the squad will transfer to Milan and return to American soil on March 10.

A challenging schedule awaits the squad, with games schedule against the Giovanissimi Regionali squads of ACF Fiorentina (March 4), Inter Milan (March 6) and Juventus FC (March 7).

“Playing top youth academy teams in Italy will expose our players to European talent while being immersed in a different culture,” Gerry McKeown, US Club Soccer’s id2 Boys Program Director and head coach of the id² National Selection, said. “We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

id² National Selection International Tour players will also watch two Serie A professional matches: Lazio at Fiorentina on March 2 and Fiorentina at Juventus on March 9.

This will mark the fifth consecutive year for the id² National Selection International Tour, following on the heels of successful trips to Germany and the Netherlands in 2010, England and Scotland in 2011, and Spain in 2012 and 2013. Opponents of recent international tours include FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Ajax and Celtic.
 
Consistent with US Club Soccer’s philosophy that identification and development should be free to players, the organization is funding the trip in conjunction with the strong support of Nike; there is no cost to players.

Aided by their time at id² National Selection International Tours and id² Program Training Camps, numerous alums have advanced into U.S. Soccer’s National Team programs. The id² Program is an Olympic Development Program approved by the United States Olympic Committee and U.S. Soccer Federation.

 

The 2014 id² National Selection International Tour is again being coordinated in conjunction with Premier International Tours.

 

 

ROSTER:

 

Name:	Hometown:	Club:	Birth Year:
George Acosta	Hialeah, Fal.	Weston FC	2000
Valentino Ambrosio	Roselle Park, N.J.	New York Red Bulls	2000
Zico Bailey	Henderson, Nev.	Heat FC	2000
Alex Budnik	Arlington Heights, Ill.	Sockers FC Chicago	2000
Kelee Cornfield-Saunders	San Marcos, Calif.	DMCV Sharks SC	2000
Sebastian Cruz	Kerman, Calif.	Cal Odyssey SC	2000
JJ Foe Nuphaus	San Jose, Calif.	San Jose Earthquakes	2000
Nico Garcia-Morillo	Key Biscayne, Fla.	Weston FC	2000
Diego Gonzalez	Las Vegas, Nev.	Heat FC	2000
Colin Innes	Olathe, Kan.	Sporting Kansas City	2000
Curtis Johnson	Daniel Island, S.C.	SC United Mount Pleasant	2000
Ricky Mendez	San Rafael, Calif.	Marin FC	2000
Jacob Muchnick	Newport Beach, Calif.	LA Galaxy	2000
Ben Ofeimu	West Bloomfield, Mich.	Vardar SC	2000
Hunter Pinho	Cranford, N.J.	PDA	2000
Carlo Ritaccio	Westbury, N.Y.	BW Gottschee	2000
Tristan Weber	San Clemente, Calif.	United FC	2000
Joey Zarra	Cheshire, Conn.	Oakwood SC	2001

 

 

Head of Delegation:  Mike Sweeney (Independence, Ohio)
Head Coach:  Gerry McKeown (Summit, N.J.)
Assistant Coach:  Benjamin Ziemer (Sebastopol, Calif.)
Goalkeeper Coach:  Matt Bernard (Roseville, Calif.)
US Club Soccer Staff:  Greg Hutton (Mount Pleasant, S.C.)
US Club Soccer Staff:  Leo Garcia (Mount Pleasant, S.C.)
Athletic Trainer:  Chris Young (Metairie, La.)
Videographer:  Taylor Kruse (Columbus, Ohio)
U.S. Soccer Technical Advisor:  Rob Becerra