Timbers player news - Timbers invite Salgado to camp, sign midfielder Alhassan (original) (raw)
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The new Portland Timbers MLS logo after the redesign.
There is some breaking news on the player front for the Portland Timbers, and some of it involves the status of Omar Salgado. The Vancouver (BC) Sun had reported Salgado had been loaned by MLS to the Whitecaps for the remainder of the 2010 USSF D2 season for training. Salgado is regarded by many soccer experts as a game changer because of his talent base, even at being only 16 years old. He has been training for the Chivas Guadalajara reserves for the past two seasons before signing a MLS Generation Adidas contract. It was expected that international clearance would be a formality, but apparently, this plan hit a snag.
Because Salgado is of Mexican descent and under 18 years old, there is a special rule that affects the transfer of his eligibility. Under FIFA rules, a player under the age of 18 who is registered in one country can transfer his registration to a different country only if his family moves to that country for non-sporting reasons. Salgado's family has just recently moved to the United States, so Salgado would not be able to transfer his registration to Canada and play for the Caps this season. While a Canadian club could also select Salgado in the MLS 2011 SuperDraft, his registration could not be transferred to make him eligible until he turns 18 unless his family moved to Canada for a non-sporting reason or FIFA grants an exception to the rule.
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The beneficiaries of this ruling are the Timbers, who have invited Salgado to training, and apparently, he's been in camp working with the first team for the past few days. Whether this could lead to him officially joining the side even for a short time is not known, but it does allow Portland to show off for Salgado in the hopes to influence any decision about where to continue his career. The more likely scenario now puts Salgado with the Timbers for the remainder of 2010, and Salgado will be amongst the top names considered for the SuperDraft occuring in January 2011.
The Timbers did announce one official player signing, though, inking midfielder Kalif Alhassan for the remainder of the 2010 season. Alhassan, 19 years old hailing from Ghana, has spent the last three seasons playing in the GLO Premier League for the Liberty Professionals, a club reknown for developing international talent. Alhassan will start training with the Timbers in early September to provide additional support during the team's push for the playoffs.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE - Friday, 8/20/2010 - I did add a blurb about FIFA granting Salgado an exception to the rule that kept him from joining the Caps. That is another possibility in this scenario that I didn't mention, and while FIFA tends to be by the book in most cases, there is still a chance they could rule in favor of the Caps. - KK)
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