chelsea u20 in dallas

[eebs]

tucked away at the bottom of this press release:

FRISCO, Texas (Thursday, January 25, 2007) – FC Dallas and Clube Atletico Paranaense (CAP) from Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro Serie A today announced the dates for the USA-Brazil Challenge, the home-and-home series that will serve as the key component of the partnership between the two professional clubs that was announced in September 2006. The first leg of the series will be played at Atletico Paranaense’s Kyocera Arena in Curitiba , Brazil on Wednesday, March 7. The return leg will be played at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco on Saturday, March 31. The winner of the aggregate goal series will win the USA-Brazil Challenge Cup.

“Atletico Paranaense has been very successful in recent South American tournaments and while we’re looking at this series to be a great preseason test, we’re also looking to win it,” said FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow. “It was important for us to be able to finish our preseason with a meaningful game against a quality non-MLS opponent so that we enter the regular season in our best form.”

FC Dallas will arrive in Brazil on February 26 for two weeks of preseason training, staying at Atletico Paranaense’s Training Center , one of the most soccer-specialized and state-of-the-art training centers in the world. The 230,000 square meters facility includes a hotel with 100 rooms, nine top-grade soccer fields, a mini-stadium, a 25-meter swimming pool, and weight room. Since 2002, the complex has been used regularly by the Brazilian National Team and select club teams for pre-tournament preparations – including the World Cup – and training. FCD and CAP will meet in a gated game on March 7 at Kyocera Arena, the 24,500-seat home of Atletico Paranaense. FC Dallas will return to Texas on March 9.


The return leg of the series will be played at FC Dallas’ own Pizza Hut Park on March 31. FC Dallas season ticket holders will use Bonus Game A for this game. FCD Hoops Nation members and season ticket holder will have a chance to purchase tickets to this game through a presale from Friday, Jan. 26-Friday, Feb. 2. Tickets for the general public will be on sale starting on Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. CT through the FC Dallas front office with prices ranging from $16-$45. Tickets in the FCD Supporter’s Section (Section 116) are just $12. Parking for this game will be free.

Atletico Paranaense will become the 14th first division team from outside the United States to play at Pizza Hut Park since January 2006. Mexican First Division clubs America , Atlas, Cruz Azul, Guadalajara , Jaguares, Monterrey , Morelia , Necaxa, Pachuca , Tecos, Tigres, and Veracruz have all played in the stadium as has Everton FC of the English Premier League. In addition, the Under-20 teams of Real Madrid ( Spain ) and Manchester United ( England ) and a series of other major clubs have also played at Pizza Hut Park .

Atletico Paranaense is the third international club that FC Dallas is scheduled to play in 2007. In January, Major League Soccer announced that FC Dallas is one of four MLS teams and four Mexican teams that will participate in the inaugural SuperLiga, the preeminent club tournament in North America that will not only decide the best in the region but will also award the heftiest winner’s purse in North American soccer history. FCD will host Mexico ’s Pachuca and Chivas de Guadalajara on July 24 and 28 respectively.

The USA-Brazil Challenge game will be a part of a week of international soccer at Pizza Hut Park, falling between the U.S. Men’s National Team’s game against Guatemala on March 28, and the prestigious youth tournament, Dr Pepper Dallas Cup, which begins on April 1 with games pitting the U-20 teams of Real Madrid vs. Solar SC (Dallas) and Chelsea FC (England) vs. Chivas de Guadalajara (Mexico).

For more information on tickets to any of these games, please contact the FC Dallas office at 888.FCD.GOAL or www.fcdallas.net. For more information on Atletico Paranaense, visit: www.atleticopr.com.br

[aquaphase]

Yup, already had that game on the schedule.

http://www.dallascup.com/

[sam]

A couple of my friends played for Solar SC when I was a kid. Part of why I quit playing was because I wasn't good enough to play with them. Are U20 matchups like this a good gauge of the relative talent levels?