Midfielder Judah Cooks

NEW YORK (Friday, November 12, 1999) - Eighteen Project-40 members and two guest players will cross the Atlantic Ocean as U.S. Pro-40 heads to Portugal for a five-game tour of Portuguese First Division reserve teams in an effort to gain international exposure for Major League Soccer's young professionals, MLS Vice President of Player Personnel and Managing Director of Project-40 Todd Durbin announced today.

Under the direction of Tampa Bay Mutiny Head Coach Tim Hankinson and Chicago Fire Assistant Coach Denis Hamlett, the squad will meet in Lisbon, Portugal on November 28 through December 17 for the second-annual U.S. Pro-40 foreign tour.

With a dozen U.S. Pro-40 players on the Portugal roster having suited up for the U.S., a possible seven current U.S. Youth National Team members will join the Project-40 squad for the trip overseas. The Portugal series will be the final training ground in 1999 for the many players vying for positions on the U.S. Under-23 National Team that will represent the United States at the 2000 Olympics. The U-23s will meet January 5-21 in San Diego at the ARCO Training Center for residency prior to a similar Portuguese tour on January 21-30.

Leading the charge for the Project-40 team's five-match tour of Portugal are, 1999 U.S. Pro-40 captain Ubusuku Abukusumo (Columbus Crew), rookie striker Dema Kovalenko (Chicago Fire), midfield power Sergi Daniv (Dallas Burn), veteran midfielder Eric Quill (Tampa Bay Mutiny), and first-year goalkeeper Scott Vallow (Dallas Burn).

Following a solid campaign as a 1998 Project-40 graduate, New England Revolution defender and U.S. U-23 captain Brian Dunseth joins U.S. Pro-40 for the second consecutive year for the international tour. In addition, Chicago Fire rookie and 1999 MLS College Draft first-round pick Evan Whitfield will add depth to Hankinson's defensive third. Following is the roster:

U.S. PRO-40 ALPHABETICAL ROSTER FOR PORTUGAL

Player             Pos.      D.O.B.        Hometown           MLS Team	

Ubusuku Abukusumo   D       3-24-77   Albuquerque, New Mex. Columbus Crew

Jamar Beasley       F      10-11-79   Ft. Wayne, Indiana    NE Revolution

Scott Bower         M       6-27-78   Tampa, Fla.           SJ Earthquakes

Jose Botello        F       4-24-76   Los Angeles, Calif.   LA Galaxy

Judah Cooks         M      11-29-76   Bethesda, Maryland    D.C. United

Nino DaSilva        M       5-26-79   Hoffman Estates, Ill. KC Wizards

Sergi Daniv         M       8-23-75   Lviv, Ukraine         Dallas Burn

Brian Dunseth       D        3-2-77   Upland, Calif.        NE Revolution

Francisco Gomez     M       1-25-79   Watsonville, Calif.   KC Wizards

Michael Green       D       7-16-78   Columbia, Maryland    KC Wizards

Dema Kovalenko      F       8-28-77   Rochester, New York   Chicago Fire

Matt Nyman          GK	    9-16-76   Middletown, Conn.     Tampa Bay Mutiny

Antonio Otero       M       5-20-77   Tampa, Fla.           D.C. United

Marvin Quijano      M/F     10-9-79   N. Hollywood, Calif.  LA Galaxy

Eric Quill          F       2-28-78   Missouri City, Texas  Tampa Bay Mutiny

Maurizio Rocha      M        8-2-76   Santa Cruz, Bolivia   Miami Fusion

Esmundo Rodriguez   M       5-25-77   Dallas, Texas         SJ Earthquakes

Tim Sahaydak        M        6-1-77   Bethlehem, Penn.      Miami Fusion

Scott Vallow        GK       6-8-77   Naperville, Ill.      Dallas Burn

Evan Whitfield      D       6-23-77   Glendale, Arizona     Chicago Fire

D.C. United's Chris Albright

Three graduates, D.C. United midfielder and 1998 MLS Rookie of the Year Ben Olsen, Chicago Fire forward Josh Wolff, and Tampa Bay Mutiny defender Chad McCarty, along with 1999 Project-40 rookie, D.C. United's Chris Albright, have all caught the eye of U.S. National Team Coach Bruce Arena. Wolff, Albright and McCarty recently made their National Team debuts on September 8 when Albright scored the game-tying goal in the 2-2 draw against Jamaica on September 8.

Since the signing of the Carlos Parra as the first Project-40 member on March 1, 1997, 36 young men have joined Project-40, the joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at providing America's young talent with the valuable training needed to develop their individual skills and further the United States' international success. During the regular season, these college-age players train with their assigned MLS teams during the week and play matches on the weekend with either their MLS squad or the A-League's U.S. Pro-40 team. The goal of Project-40 is to enable the U.S. to compete with the top countries of the world and to win both the 2000 Olympics and the 2010 World Cup.