Houston Dynamo Academy midfielder Marcelo Palomino was named to the United Stated Under-14 boys national team roster by head coach Brian Johnson in announcement today. The 20-player roster will take part in an 11-day training camp beginning on Friday in Madrid, Spain.
The U.S. Under-14s, all born in 2001, will face a youth squad from Spanish giants Real Madrid on Feb. 10 before playing Liga BBVA club Rayo Vallecano on Feb. 11 and Extremadura on Feb. 14.
“We are very proud of Marcelo – his hard work and dedication is paying off” Dynamo director of youth development James Clarkson said. “This trip will be a fantastic experience and will continue his soccer development.”
This is Palomino’s third consecutive U-14 national team camp after participating in camps in January and last October.
“A lot of these boys have never traveled overseas, so it will be their first time on an international trip,” Johnson said. “Ultimately, we want to measure ourselves throughout the world of where the U.S. is. So to get three games is really important. The style of play is going to be important for us when we’re there, and we feel our opponents are also going to play a style that will suit us, which would be attack-minded, possession-oriented. It will be a good measuring stick for us. A lot of these guys are going to get to watch some La Liga matches, to be engulfed in the culture of another country that loves soccer, so it’s going to be a great experience for them.”
Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cole McNally (Celtic, Mt. Airy, Md.), Alex Rando (New York Red Bulls; New York, N.Y.)
DEFENDERS (7): Dominic De Almeida (Players Development Academy; Lincoln Park, N.J.), Cameron Duke (Sporting Kansas City; Olathe, Kan.), Abraham Gonzalez (FC Golden State; Riverside, Calif.), Luke Hansen (Colorado Rush; Littleton, Colo.), John Hilton (Unattached; Long Beach, Calif.), Julian Hinojosa (FC Dallas; Garland, Texas.), Sebastian Serpa (Weston FC; Miami Beach, Fla.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Timothy Bielic (Sockers FC; Arlington Heights, Ill.), Taylor Booth (La Roca Utah; Eden, Utah), Nicholas Fernandez (Chicago Fire; Downers Grove, Ill.), Oliver Larraz (Colorado Rapids; Denver, Colo.), Marcelo Palomino (Houston Dynamo; Houston, Texas)
FORWARDS (6): Luis Arriaga (Santa Rosa; Santa Rosa, Calif.), Ulysses Llanez (Chivas USA; Lynwood, Calif.), Bryan Reynolds (FC Dallas; The Colony, Texas), Jose Rivas (Weston FC; Weston, Fla.), Gabriel Segal (Bethesda-Olney; Bethesda, Md.), Grant Vernon (Lonestar SC; Austin, Texas)
