Hometown: Maple Valley, Wash.
Club: Real Salt Lake (MLS)        

U.S. National Teams: Invited into U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program in April of 2004 and quickly became a starter … A defensive midfielder who isn’t afraid to go in on a tough tackle … Drafted first overall in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake … U.S. Under-20s: Invited to Under-20 camp in November of 2004 in Fort Lauderdale … Started for Under-20s against Mexico at central back and played 89 minutes to help the U.S. pull out a 2-1 victory in the final minute …  U.S. Under-17s: Has scored two goals in 22 international appearances for the U-17 MNT … Has started 19 of the 22 international matches he has played in … 2005: Scored the opening goal against Costa Rica in the 2005 CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament to help the U.S. win 2-1 and automatically advance to the FIFA World Championship … Scored his second international goal against China on Sept. 8, the team’s last preparation match before going to Peru for the WC … 2004: Got his first cap with the U-17s after joining Residency against Belgium (1-0 victory) in the Ballymena Tournament in Northern Ireland on April 29, coming in at halftime and making a instant impression … Started the U-17s next three matches of the tournament against Scotland (2-0 victory), Austria (1-1 draw) and Switzerland (0-0 draw, 4-3 PK loss) in the championship match … With his immediate impact during the Ballymena Tournament, Besagno won a starting position for the rest of 2004 …

Professional: Was drafted first overall by expansion club Real Salt Lake during the 2005 MLS SuperDraft in January … Was chosen by former U-17 head coach John Ellinger, now head coach of Real … Joined RSL after the qualifying tournament for a bit, but split his time between the U-17s and his club over the past five months … Played his first match with RSL when he started against Dallas in a 2-0 loss on June 4, going 68 minutes.

High School / Club: Played for F.C. United in Maple Valley, Wash.

Personal: Parents are John and Barbara … Brother plays for the USL Division 1 Seattle Sounders … Got the chance to play against his brother with RSL, a games in which he scored a goal for Seattle … Nickname is Niko … Also enjoys playing tennis … Favorite vacation spot is Italy … Favorite meal is chicken … Names Zinidine Zidane as his favorite player … A.C. Milan is his favorite team … Favorite television show is Family Guy and favorite movie is Anchorman … Names favorite actress as Lindsey Lohan.