Soccer News: Jorge Villafaña (formerly Flores) Receives Call Up from U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team

Announces Official Last Name Change

US Men’s U-23 will train in Lakewood Ranch, Fla., from the 15th through 23rd of December

On Thursday, December 8, 2011, Chivas USA announced that Jorge Villafaña has been called up to the U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team by head coach Caleb Porter to an eight-day training camp from Dec.15-23 in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, where the team will train at the Premier Sports Campus. Additionally Jorge announced that he has legally changed his last name to Villafaña. The Anaheim native made the decision to change his last name in honor of his mother who raised him as a single parent. This camp will mark the debut of Villafaña with the U-23’s as well as his new last name on his jersey.

Jorge Villafaña, winner of “Sueño MLS: Chivas USA Wants You” in 2007, had a stand out 2011 appearing in twenty-five matches, twenty-four as a starter; scoring one goal and one assist in a total of 1,793 minutes.

“It’s a great opportunity for him, I think he’s worked extremely hard this year,” commented Chivas USA Head Coach, Robin Fraser. “Obviously played a lot of minutes for us and I think proved that he’s worthy of getting a look. I think that it’s a tribute to his hard work and certainly a great opportunity.”

Internationally, Villafaña first joined up with the United States U-20 National Team late in November and December of 2007 for a training camp in Argentina, where he notched an assist against the River Plate reserves and a goal against the Argentina U-20s. He made the most appearances for the U-20’s of any player in 2008, playing in several international tournaments, including the Copa Chivas (Mexico), the Campos Verdes International Tournament (Portugal), and the Milk Cup (Northern Ireland). In 2009, Flores first helped the U-20’s qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship, and played in all three games (two starts) in the U-20 World Cup in late September/October 2009.

The U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team was drawn into Group A of the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament and will face Canada, Cuba and El Salvador. The teams will play their group matches from March 22-26 at LP Field in Nashville. The two finalists from the tournament will qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London next summer. CONCACAF will announce the schedule for the qualifying tournament later today.

U.S. UNDER-23 ROSTER BY POSITION  -  Link to Full Roster  -  Link to Villafaña’s Career Stats

GOALKEEPERS (4): David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes), Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire), Zac MacMath (Philadelphia Union)

DEFENDERS (8): Gale Agbossoumonde (Eintracht Frankfurt), Royal-Dominique Fennell (Stuttgarter Kickers), Sebastien Ibeagha (Duke), Kofi Sarkodie (Houston Dynamo), Zarek Valentin (Montreal Impact), Jorge Villafaña (Chivas USA), Andrew Wenger (Duke), Sheanon Williams (Philadelphia Union)

MIDFIELDERS (10): Freddy Adu (Philadelphia Union), Bryan Arguez (Montreal Impact), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabæk), Dilly Duka (Columbus Crew), Jared Jeffrey (Mainz), Sebastian Lletget (West Ham United), Amobi Okugo (Philadelphia Union), Michael Stephens (LA Galaxy)

FORWARDS (6): Will Bruin (Houston Dynamo), Teal Bunbury (Sporting KC), Jann George (Nürnberg), Joe Gyau (Hoffenheim), Jack McInerney (Philadelphia Union), Andrew Wooten (Kaiserslautern)

About Chivas USA: Founded in 2004, Los Angeles-based Club Deportivo Chivas USA has achieved remarkable success in seven full seasons in Major League Soccer. From 2006-2009, the Mexican-owned club qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs in four consecutive seasons, to the delight of its passionate supporters. In addition, Chivas USA’s innovative grassroots programs demonstrate its deep commitment to the Southern California community, while the club’s youth teams and Soccer Academies offer unprecedented opportunities to the region’s best young talent. For more information on Chivas USA, please call 1-877-CHIVAS-1 or visit cdchivasusa.com.

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