CHICAGO (August 19, 2005) - Gabe and Michael Farfan will be replaced for the fall semester of U.S. Soccer’s Residency Program as the twin brothers have decided to return home following the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship.

Brandon Lee (Tenafly, N.J.) and Danny Barerra (Thousand Oaks, Calif.) will fill in the vacant spots in the 40-player program.

The Farfan brothers are not the only players that have opted to train with the U-17s only up to the FIFA U-17 World Championship. Nikolas Besagno will join MLS expansion club Real Salt Lake, which drafted him first overall in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft last January. Neven Subotic will also remain training with the U-17s as he lives in Bradenton and will remain at home.

The rest of the players born in 1988 will stay in the residency program until they graduate in December. With the changes there are now 22 players returning to the residency program, while 18 players will be beginning their first semester under the instruction of head coach John Hackworth.

Started in 1999, the U.S. Soccer full-time residency program has become an important piece of the overall player development picture. Over the past six years, the Federation has doubled the number of players enrolled in the program as it continues to increase its investment in player development and provide greater opportunities for young players, expanding to 40 players two years ago.
      
The 40 U.S. players attend classes at nearby Edison Academy and then return to the IMG campus in the afternoon to train daily under the guidance of Hackworth, and assistant coaches Keith Fulk, Raul Diaz Arce, Tim Mulqueen and Brian Maisonneuve. With 40 players in residency, the program is able to field two full teams that train together during the week, and get the chance to compete against college and club teams on the weekends.

The U.S. opens the FIFA U-17 World Championship against North Korea (Korea DPR) on Sept. 17 at 12:45 p.m. CT, before facing Italy on Sept. 20 (3:30 p.m. CT) and concludes group play on September 23 (3:30 p.m. CT) against Italy. The U.S. will play their first two group matches against North Korea and Italy at Elias Aguirre Stadium in Chiclayo, before moving to Lima to face Ivory Coast at Nacional Stadium in their third and final group match. Every U.S. match at the World Youth Championship can be followed live via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker, presented by Phillips Electronics.

U.S. Soccer Residency Program - Fall 2005 Roster

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