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Sixty Semifinalists Named for "Sueno MLS: Chivas USA Wants You!"

February 21, 2007 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


NEW YORK (Wednesday, February 21, 2007) - Chivas USA and Major League Soccer announced today the names of the 60 talented young players who will move on to the semifinal round of Sueño MLS: Chivas USA Wants You! The 60 candidates were selected from a talent pool of 2,000 participants by a world-class team of scouts from both Chivas USA and Chivas Guadalajara following four days of intense open tryouts at Bell Gardens in Los Angeles County, Calif. The group includes 50 players from California and 10 players from seven U.S. states (see list below).

"We looked at a number of talented players, but ultimately these sixty stood out from the crowd," said Chivas USA director of soccer Dennis te Kloese. "We'll take a longer look at each player on Saturday and see who has what it takes to move on to the next round."

Sueño MLS: Chivas USA Wants You! is a month-long quest to find the best undiscovered young soccer player to play for Chivas USA of Major League Soccer. The event kicked off on Friday, Feb. 16 in Bell Gardens with 2,000 players from 45 states and several foreign countries. The 60 semifinalists will be looking for a golden ticket to "The Final 24" on Saturday, March 3. From that group, one lucky and talented player will earn a two-week trial with Chivas USA.

The popular "República Deportiva," Univision's top-rated weekly sports show, which airs nationally every Sunday at 11 a.m. ET (12 noon PT), is following each round in a unique "reality show within a show" format, culminating on Sunday, March 25, with the announcement of the Sueño MLS winner, who will also receive adidas equipment and a special family ticket package to Chivas USA's home games at The Home Depot Center.

"We are thrilled with the response we received opening weekend, not only from the 2,000 participants, but also from the media attention Sueño MLS has received and the thousands of fans that came out to watch," said Chivas USA President and Co-owner Antonio Cué. "We were very encouraged by the results of the first week and hope that from this group of players we will find a terrific young prospect."

Unlike the open tryouts, where each player had only one hour to impress scouts, the semifinals include a longer tryout, assuring that each participant gets a closer look.

Saturday's semifinals will once again take place at the Bell Gardens Sports Center, located at 8000 Park Lane, Bell Gardens, CA 90201, starting at Noon. The media and public are invited to attend.

Roster of 60 Semifinalists (by alphabetical order):

Name Age Position Hometown State Andres Andame 16 F Rancho Cucamonga CA

Carlos Armijo 16 D Compton CA

Juan Baltazar 19 F San Diego CA

Omar Becerra 16 M San Diego CA

Jose Bracamontes 17 F Hawthorne CA

Dario Cabanas 22 GK Flushing NY

Camilo Casas 20 F Kissimmee FL

Eric Castro 21 M Los Angeles CA

Isair Castro 16 D Chicago IL

Martin Chan 16 M Altadena CA

Gilbert Contreras 16 M Downey CA

Hugo Corral 16 M Odessa TX

Jose De la Cruz 16 F Westminster CA

Diego Delgadillo 17 F Bell Gardens CA

Jesus Delgado 23 M Decatur AL

Jose Diaz 16 D Fontana CA

Masade Ebenezo 19 M Burbank CA

Jose Espinoza 17 M Santa Cruz CA

Jorge Flores 17 F Anaheim CA

Raul Franco 21 M Odessa TX

Abraham Garcia 16 M Santa Barbara CA

Brian Garcia 16 GK Anaheim CA

Juan Diego Godoy 16 F Lynwood CA

Jose Gonzalez 21 M Upland CA

Arturo Guizar 18 F Bellflower CA

Aldo Iniguez 20 GK San Fernando CA

Jaime Lara 17 M Torrance CA

David Lindholm 24 GK Salisbury CT

Alexis Lomeli 18 M Guadalupe CA

Raul Luna 18 F Moreno Valley CA

Jonathan Medina 16 M Anaheim CA

Stanley Mejia 19 F Tustin CA

Edgar Mendoza 20 D El Paso TX

Jose A. Mendoza 18 F San Pablo CA

Martin Monroy 16 F Watsonville CA

Christopher Montiel 17 F Santa Clara CA

Xavier Moreno 20 M San Diego CA

Diego Mosqueda 19 M Arvin CA

Mike Mota 16 D Las Vegas NV

Ramses Munoz 17 M Tustin CA

Heriberto Negrete 16 M San Jacinto CA

Oliquer Olivar 16 F Winnetka CA

Kevin Orta 16 M Hawaiian Gardens CA

Ramon Quintana 19 M Corona CA

Noe Quirarte 17 F Carson CA

Charles Rendon 16 M Reseda CA

Andrew L Robles 16 M Lynwood CA

Victor Rodriguez 20 F Moorpark CA

Alejandro Rosas 16 D Watsonville CA

Carlos Ruiz 18 M Lawndale CA

Miguel Sanchez 19 M Inglewood CA

Diego Soto 21 M King City CA

Alberto Tapia 18 D Northridge CA

Fabian Tapia 18 M Santa Fe Springs CA

Jesus Torres 22 F Oxnard CA

Hector Vazquez 16 M Compton CA

Edgar Velazquez 16 GK Las Vegas NV

Horacio Vieyra 16 GK Santa Maria CA

Junior Zuniga 16 M Huntington Park CA

Lazaro Zuniga 19 F Los Angeles CA

The format and scouts for Round 2 will be the following:

FORMAT

10:30 a.m. Players arrive and check in. All players provide video testimonial for SuenoMLS.com.

12:00 p.m. Players split into four teams. 30-minute warm-up.

12:30 p.m. Each team plays versus the others in six 25-minute games.

3:30 p.m. Tryout ends.

SUNDAY: 24 names announced on www.SuenoMLS.com.

CHIVAS USA & CHIVAS GUADALAJARA SCOUTS

Dennis te Kloese Chivas USA Director of Soccer, former Chivas Guadalajara head scout

Sacha van der Most Chivas USA U-19 Head Coach, former professional player in Europe & U.S.

Samuel Rivas Chivas USA Academy U-17 Head Coach, former Chivas Guadalajara player

Miguel Ramos Chivas USA Academy U-16 Head Coach, former Chivas Guadalajara player

Salvador Gomero Chivas Guadalajara Scout

SUEÑO MLS KEY DATES:

February 16 - 19 Open Tryouts (max 2000 players)

February 24 Training for 60 semifinalists

March 3 Training for "The Final 24"

March 12 - 25 Two-week trial with Chivas USA

March 25 Announcement of Sueño MLS Winner

Check out the Major League Soccer Statistics



Major League Soccer Stories from February 21, 2007


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