Major League Soccer announced on Thursday that MLS and USMNT legend Landon Donovan will coach the MLS Homegrown Team at the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game. The Homegrown Team will take on Club America U-20s.
The game will be at Dick Sporting Goods Park on Tuesday, July 28 at 7 p.m. MT.
Tickets for the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game can be purchased at http://www.chipotlehomegrown.com/. The first 2000 fans will receive a limited edition scarf celebrating the MLS Homegrown Game.
The great thing about the Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game is that it provides yearly opportunity for MLS to showcase its top young talent and youth development system. MLS youth academies continue to produce big stars, which helps the quality of the MLS. In addition, homegrown talent have become staples in the U-20 and U-23 national teams. Several homegrown MLS players participated recently at the FIFA U-20 World Cup putting in a great performance for Team USA.
Two of Colorado’s very own, Shane O’Neill and Dillon Serna have become mainstays on the U-23 squad which begins 2016 Summer Olympic qualifying this fall. Overall, the continuation of homegrown players is making a lot of progress in the MLS, which will keep improving.
Landon Donovan, who is by far the most decorated MLS and USMNT player could not be more thrilled for the opportunity saying in a statement, “I am truly honored to coach the MLS Homegrown Team in this year’s Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game. As someone that was developed in MLS, I hope I can provide some insight to these young players and help them reach their goals of becoming successful professionals. It will be a great All-Star week for everyone involved and I’m looking forward to the opportunity,”
As the MLS Homegrown Team head coach, Donovan will select the MLS Homegrown Team game day roster from the pool of Homegrown Players nominated by MLS clubs.
In the lead up to the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game, MLSsoccer,com will kick off a special “Road to the Homegrown Game” video series that will give fans a behind the scenes look at some of MLS’ top homegrown talent. The series will consist of six episodes chronicling the lives of select Homegrown Players as they work through the early years of their professional careers. The first episode can be viewed at http://www.mlssoccer.com/Homegrown.
Here is the rest of the schedule:
Road to the Homegrown Game Series Schedule
Episode 1: Thursday, July 9
Episode 2: Wednesday, July 15
Episode 3: Wednesday, July 22
Episode 4: Friday, July 24
Episode 5: Monday, July 27
Episode 6: Finale TBD
Schedule for 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game:
2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game
Tuesday, July 28 – Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – All Times Local
4:00 p.m. Gates Open (First 2,000 fans receive a free limited edition scarf)
5:00 p.m. MLS WORKS/Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Soccer Match
7:00 p.m. 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game (MLS Homegrown Team vs. Club America U-20s)
Sammy Mugharbil, a Mile high Sports intern and MSU-Denver student contributed to this report