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Chivas USA's young new star has returned the club after he was dropped from the U.S. national team roster for the “five-game tournament” that begins with Saturday's friendly against Scotland in Jacksonville, Fla., and wraps up with next month's World Cup qualifiers against Antigua & Barbuda and Guatemala.

Juan Agudelo, a 19-year-old, Colombian-born striker acquired eight days ago in a trade from the New York Red Bulls, has been a regular for the U.S. under Jurgen Klinsmann, but his failure to make the cut from 27 to 23 players was not all that surprising. He has just returned from a knee injury and is still seeking his best form, having made only his second start of the season in his Chivas debut in last weekend's SuperClasico victory over the Galaxy.

Agudelo returned to the Goats on Thursday, is scheduled to train Friday morning and be available for Saturday's night's Major League Soccer game against the Seattle Sounders at Home Depot Center.

Also trimmed from the camp roster were Sporting Kansas City midfielder Graham Zusi and two German-born players, Hertha Berlin defender Alfredo Morales and 1899 Hoffenheim midfielder Danny Williams.

Agudelo was the only one of seven forwards in the Orlando, Fla., camp who did not make the roster for three friendlies -- the U.S. plays Brazil on Wednesday in Landover, Md., and Canada next Saturday in Toronto -- and for the qualifiers June 8 against Antigua in Tampa, Fla., and June 12 at Guatemala. The forwards on the list: Galaxy captain Landon Donovan, San Jose's Chris Wondolowski, Herculez Gomez from Mexican champion Santos Laguna, and European-employed Jozy Altidore, Terrence Boyd and Clint Dempsey.

Donovan (Redlands/Redlands East Valley HS) is five local players on the roster. The others are Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando (Montclair/Montclair HS and UCLA), Rangers defender Carlos Bocanegra (Alta Loma/Alta Loma HS and UCLA), Chievo Verona midfielder Michael Bradley (Manhattan Beach), and Rangers midfielder Maurice Edu (Fontana/Etiwanda HS). Two San Diegans -- veteran Hannover 96 defender Steve Cherundolo and Club Tijuana midfielder Joe Corona -- also made the cut.

Here's the full U.S. roster for the five games:

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Chivas USA had to do without its new arrival from New York -- Juan Agudelo is off with the U.S. national team in Florida -- but there's another Red Bulls veteran on the Goats' roster, and he made himself quite at home Wednesday night.

Juan Pablo Angel, New York's all-time goals leader, returned to Red Bull Arena for the first time since he departed the Red Bulls after the 2010 season, received a warm reception from the fans, then did his best to make their lives miserable.

His best performance of the season was rewarded with a spectacular goal at the start of the first half, and although Chivas couldn't turn it into three points, a 1-1 draw was a rather satisfying result.

The Goats' attack had spark, their defending was mostly exceptional, and had they done a better job holding onto the ball, especially under New York's second-half pressure, they might have boosted their road mark to 4-1-1.

“I think any time you don't get three points, there's some level of disappointment,” head coach Robin Fraser acknowledged to ESPN Los Angeles. “But, realistically, on the road against the first-place team in the East -- with a five-game winning streak -- you have to look at the big picture. A point in Red Bull Arena is not a bad result.”

It could have been worse. Nick LaBrocca, a Jersey boy who tested rookie Red Bulls goalkeeper Ryan Meara just two minutes in, was done by the fifth minute, tweaking his hamstring chasing Dane Richards into the Goats' box. He figures to miss Saturday's game at HDC against Seattle and next week's U.S. Open Cup match against the Ventura County Fusion, and tests will determine if he'll be out longer.

Richards was a handful for Chivas defenders -- he was the pivotal figure on Kenny Cooper's 56th-minute equalizer -- but the Goats did well limiting the effectiveness of Thierry Henry, returning to the Red Bulls' lineup after missing four games with a hamstring injury, and Cooper, who nonetheless tallied for the fourth straight game.

The Danny Califf-Rauwshan McKenzie partnership in central defense, just two games in, looks very good, and Oswaldo Minda was a force in front of them, keying Chivas' transition game while frustrating Henry and Cooper, both of whom confronted the Ecuadoran midfielder.

Dan Kennedy was sharp, making a fine reaction stop on Henry's 51st-minute header, and Ante Jazic secured the point by clearing Dax McCarty's header off the goal line following a corner kick in the 83rd.

Angel, who is still finding his form after missing five games because of a concussion, was the sharpest he has been since his scoring tear last year. He hit the left post in the 25th minute, following a nice sequence involving Paolo Cardozo and Miller Bolaños, and brilliantly provided a 47th-minute lead.

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Juan Agudelo, after his first training session as a Chivas USA forward and again after his first game with the club, spoke of his excitement to return to Red Bull Arena and face his former club.

That game has arrived, but Agudelo is missing, off with the U.S. national team in Florida preparing for next month's World Cup qualifiers. He is, however, a big part of the conversation heading into Wednesday's Major League Soccer showdown against the New York Red Bulls.

So, too, defender Heath Pearce, who a week ago was on Field 6 at Home Depot Center preparing for a tough stretch of games on Chivas' schedule. Now he's anchor to the Red Bulls' backline, ready to take on his former club.

If ever a trade were win-win, Thursday's was it. Chivas (4-6-1) picked up a young, rising star that New York, for whatever reason, had no interest in. The Red Bulls' thin defense got a versatile veteran with national team experience. And then Chivas, in another trade, picked up Pearce's replacement, veteran Danny Califf. Everybody is happy.

Agudelo, just 19, already has impressed with the national team and is a regular on U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann's rosters. But he didn't fit in stylistically at New York and struggled for playing time last year behind Thierry Henry and Luke Rodgers and this year behind Henry and Kenny Cooper, although he also was dealing with a knee injury.

Henry is happy to see him at Chivas.

“[Red Bulls GM] Erik Soler said it at halftime [last weekend]: He wanted to go. So you’ve got to respect that,” Henry told the New York Post. “He wasn’t playing here, so I thought and he thought actually that it was a waste of time for him. ... I know some people were upset about it, had [something] to say about it, but at the end of the day, if you think about Agu, he had to play. It’s good for him.”

Klinsmann weighed in when he announced that Agudelo, who debuted for the Goats in Saturday's 1-0 SuperClasico victory over the Galaxy, was coming into camp with the U.S.

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CARSON -- Chivas USA has had its share of legends and big stars, most of them -- Claudio Suarez, Ramon Ramirez, even Francisco Palencia and John O'Brien -- near or at the ends of their careers.

Juan Agudelo is something else: a superstar in the making, and his Goats debut in Saturday night's SuperClasico victory over the Galaxy could go down as one of the signpost events in club annals.

The tall, talented teen with bearing beyond his years did nothing spectacular and a whole lot of things really well in his first start with his new club, playing a key role setting up Jose Erik Correa's penalty kick and showing flashes of what he, Correa and Miller Bolaños -- and Juan Pablo Angel, too, perhaps -- can achieve once they're all on the same page.

“I think Juan had a good debut,” coach Robin Fraser said after Chivas (4-6-1) ended a 12-game winless streak against their cross-stadium rival. “He’s a player that wants to be on the ball, he’s a very attack-minded player, he’s got very solid feet. You can see there are times when he wanted the ball, he wants to run at people, he wants to make things happen, and I thought his impact was immediate.

“We’re extremely excited to have him, and we’re extremely excited to watch him develop. He’s very special.”

Agudelo, whose excitement was such that he experienced “probably one of the most anxious feelings that I’ve had before a game ever,” was happy with how things went:

• “I felt great, and at times I wasn't able to find the spacing [with teammates] that I wanted, but I think that it's something that over time I'll improve, knowing the positions and holes with this team.”
• “[My chemistry with Correa] is going great. We're both Colombian, so we speak Spanish to each other, and I think that connection of South America is working.”
• “[Fraser's system] suits me really well. Just with my height [6-foot-1], I felt like crosses to the far post, I was dangerous then, and I think that moving forward that could be something that could help us get some goals. I feel like sometimes with my heading that I’ve got more power on it, and in this type of system, I love it that the coach encourages freedom.”

The 19-year-old, Colombian born striker, who departed Sunday to join the U.S. national team's Florida preparations for next month's start to its World Cup qualifying campaign, has impressed in international play but didn't fit into the New York Red Bulls' Eurocentric approach, and his trade Thursday to Chivas has rejuventated his young career. The Goats are a far better fit stylistically, culturally and in terms of opportunities to grow.

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CARSON -- Chivas USA ended the most painful drought in club history Saturday night, beating its hated rival for the first time since 2007, but more than that, the Goats offered a tantalizing glimpse at what their future could look like.

Juan Agudelo, acquired in a trade Thursday from the New York Red Bulls, made a fine impression in his debut, teaming up front with Jose Erik Correa and Miller Bolaños to create an attack that, once everyone is on the same page, could lead to something very special.

The Goats dictated play most of the first half and, with new defender Danny Califf anchoring a fine backline performance, held off a resurgent Galaxy after halftime to claim a 1-0 triumph before a sellout crowd of 18,800 at Home Depot Center.

The goal came on a 72nd-minute penalty kick by Correa, who had to take it twice -- the first was waved off when Jorge Villafaña encroached before the shot -- firing both to virtually the same spot.

That's two goals Chivas (4-6-1, 13 points) has scored at home this year, both on penalties, but this one meant a lot more, giving the club its first home victory in six tries.

That it came against the Galaxy (3-6-2, 11 points) made it all the more spectacular. L.A.'s unbeaten streak against its cross-stadium rival had reached 12 games, with victories in the last five meetings and in the last six regular-season encounters.

“It's big,” said Chivas coach Robin Fraser, a former Galaxy star. “I think I underestimated the level of rivalry between the two teams when I first got here. I was surprised by the nature of the comments after our first game last year, and it was very evident that there is very little respect for this club [from the other side]. We talked a lot during the week that the only way to get respect is to go out and earn it and I thought they did a good job of that tonight.”

Chivas came closest to scoring in the first half -- Bolaños hit the base of the right post from 24 yards after stripping the ball from Juninho near midfield in the 34th minute -- and got big back-to-back saves from goalkeeper Dan Kennedy, on Pat Noonan and Kyle Nakazawa, five minutes into the second half -- and got the only goal following a rather odd play.

Oswaldo Minda, returning from a yellow-card suspension, lofted the ball into the Galaxy goalmouth, and goalkeeper Brian Perk leapt over Agudelo to knock the ball away. As both crumpled to the ground, it fell to Correa, who volleyed sharply past A.J. DeLaGarza and at former Chivas defender David Junior Lopes, who was standing on the goal line.

The ball caromed off Lopes' left arm. Referee Mark Geiger showed him the red carded and gave Chivas the spot kick.

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CARSON -- It took Juan Agudelo all of an hour, not even that, to feel more at home with Chivas USA than he had in two-plus seasons with his hometown club.

This, he believes, is going to be great.

The 19-year-old striker, the most exciting young player in America, was the big prize in Chivas USA's pick-ups Thursday, a big (6 feet 1, 183 pounds), strong, skilled striker who has impressed with the U.S. national team while wilting under the New York Red Bulls' disinclination to use him.

Heading west, he figures, is the best thing that could have happened for him.

“I was happy in New York,” the Colombian-born forward, who moved with his family to New Jersey when he was 7, said Friday morning following his first training session with the Goats. “I wish things would have worked out better, but I feel like the best place, honestly, for my development was not a team like New York.

“I'm just happy to be here. I truly believe already from the first day here that my development is going to shoot up and the sky's the limit here. I feel valued here.”

He hopes to start repaying Chivas for setting him free Saturday night in the SuperClasico against the Galaxy at HDC. No word from head coach Robin Fraser that he'll be in the starting XI, but don't bet against it.

Fraser and his staff's initial instruction to Agudelo was simple: enjoy yourself.

“They told me go out there, play with a smile and have fun,” Agudelo said. “That's really all I need to hear to excel myself. I just want to have that free feeling. I feel like I understand how the game is and the things I have to do to help out the team, and it was awesome for them to give me that freedom.”

Just looking around, he felt at home.

“A lot of Hispanics here,” he noted. “It's awesome. To feel welcomed. A lot of Colombians, [the team will] speak Spanish, English. It's great. It's got a little bit of flavor from my hometown [Manizales] in Colombia. ... It's a South American-kind-of-style team, and I think it's great because it's somewhere I feel like I fit in.”

He didn't fit in with the Red Bulls, who have a European owner, European GM, European coach and a bunch of European players -- and little use for a South American player with different qualities that need to be refined.

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Heath Pearce had no clue his time with Chivas USA might be nearing its end, not until he was called into Fraser's office Thursday morning and given the news.

The veteran defender, a U.S. national team pool player who served the Goats so well the past season plus two months and a third, was sent to the New York Red Bulls in exchange for forward Juan Agudelo, just 19 and already a rising U.S. national team star.

It was a brilliant trade for Chivas, even if they had to surrender allocation money -- more than the minimum $75,000, Red Bulls GM Erik Soler has intimated -- and pay part of Pearce's salary this season.

Agudelo has superstar potential but needs playing time, and he wasn't getting it with New York. The Goats need goals, and that's one of Agudelo's specialties. Chivas also picked up veteran defender Danny Califf from Philadelphia, for winger Michael Lahoud, to fill the hole Pearce leaves.

Pearce, who came to Chivas in a preseason trade last year from FC Dallas, is a boon for the Red Bulls, whose ailing backline has been troublesome even as they've put together a four-game winning streak that included three shutouts. That didn't make the news any less stunning.

“If it was sudden from your perspective, it was more sudden from mine,” Pearce told media in New Jersey following the Red Bulls' training session Friday. “I had no idea. It was kind of out of left field, but I’m excited for the opportunity, obviously, to be traded to a team like New York Red Bulls that have so much tradition here and demand and pressure to get results. I like that environment.”

He had kind words for Chivas.

“Obviously, on a success level, we didn’t achieve the playoffs last year, but the principles that they’re instilling into the club there are good principles,” he said. “It was an honor to represent Chivas while I was there, but now my focus is here. There’s no time to sit and think about what my time was like there.”

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CARSON -- Danny Califf wants to be clear: He did not ask the Philadelphia Union for a trade, did not want one. He and his family were happy in Philly, and he had no desire to come home.

That runs counter to Union manager Peter Nowak's comments as the deal that sent the veteran defender to Chivas USA proceeded this week, but there's more: Califf is ecstatic to be wearing the red and white stripes and happy to be back home.

He's not bipolar, by any means, and he saw no need to explain his sentiments to his new teammates when he joined them for his first training session Friday morning at Home Depot Center.

“I was unhappy with the way it was handled and the way it was said I had asked for a trade. That's what I was unhappy with,” said Califf, 32, who still has a home in Orange, his hometown, although he'll have to pay off his renter to move back in. “I understand trades happen. We were happy in Philly, but by no means does that mean I'm not happy to be here. That's ridiculous.

“It's a new chapter for me and it's going to be a transition, but I'm not worried about what these guys are going to think. After they know me and have been around me for a little bit, they'll know what I'm all about, so I don't have any worries about that.”

Neither does Chivas coach Robin Fraser, whose final year as a player with the Galaxy was Califf's rookie season.

“He's the kind of guy,” Fraser said, “that once he puts the shirt on, he's completely dedicated to where he is.”

Assistant coach Greg Vanney, technical director/head scout Simon Elliott and midfielder Peter Vagenas also played with Califf during his 2000-04 stint with L.A.. Director of Soccer Operations Kevin Esparza was his coach at Orange High School.

“I feel like I'm coming home,” Califf said.

He's done so to provide experience, leadership and bite to a pretty good defensive unit, and his presence, at least on paper, improves Chivas' backline, even with Heath Pearce leaving for New York. Califf's acquisition was to replace Pearce, who was traded Thursday for forward Juan Agudelo.

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CARSON -- Things always are a little more intense around Home Depot Center when the SuperClasico nears, but given all that's occurred this week -- on both sides -- Saturday night's showdown might provide a respite from all the madness. Imagine that.

Ninety minutes on a patch of green, no matter how heated the atmosphere, has to be simpler than everything the Galaxy and Chivas USA are going through, what with middling form, poor results, blockbuster trades, White House visits, international call-ups and the biggest star in town's jaunts across Europe carrying a flame.

It has made for hectic preparations for a match that, rivalry aside, is vital for both teams. The Galaxy are 3-5-2, have already matched last year's loss total and are looking to end a four-game winless streak while buoyed by their performance of the second half of last week's 1-1 tie at Montreal.


Chivas is 3-6-1, has scored just six goals in 10 games, given away five points by conceding end-of-game goals, and is 0-5-0 in home matches with just one goal, on a penalty kick. The Goats are the home team for the first of three meetings this season.

“It's a little different than in some years past, because we're both struggling a little bit,” Galaxy captain Landon Donovan noted. “So there's probably added meaning in that way, because we both need the points.”

L.A., a preseason favorite to repeat as champion, has only 11 points, 15 behind Western Conference (and Supporters' Shield) leader Real Salt Lake and 11 out of third place. Chivas is only a point behind, but it's also only a point out of the Western cellar.

“It's an important game in a number of ways,” Chivas coach Robin Fraser said. “Both teams are definitely looking for points. It's the rivalry, it's where we are in the table. There's a lot riding on this game.”

Fraser and the Chivas technical staff has been working overtime this week, engineering a pair of trades that, together, offer a major statement of purpose. They brought in 19-year-old striker Juan Agudelo, the most prized young player in America, and then to replace defender Heath Pearce -- who went to New York for Agudelo -- they acquired veteran center back Danny Califf from Philadelphia (for winger Michael Lahoud). It appears to be a move forward up front and in the back.

It will be the first Clasico for Califf, who spent his first five seasons with the Galaxy but was gone before Chivas debuted. First Clasico on the Goats side for his former L.A. teammate, former Galaxy captain Peter Vagenas, too.

“I peaked my head in [the Galaxy locker room] today and told them I'm excited,” said Vagenas, who signed with Chivas during preseason. “This is obviously a special game for me. I've never hidden my emotion for the [Galaxy] and everything that goes on there, but nobody wants to beat the Galaxy more than I do Saturday night.”

If Chivas pulls it out, there will be blame to go around.

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CARSON -- The Danny Califf trade we've been hearing about the last few days finally came down Thursday, but the big news was that it wasn't the big news.

Chivas USA made two deals, and by far the sexier is rising U.S. national team star Juan Agudelo's acquisition from the New York Red Bulls, a move the Goats have pursued for some time and for which they had to give up plenty.

Off to New York is defender Heath Pearce, a natural left back converted to center back by Chivas, along with allocation money, “future considerations” (almost certainly a percentage of Agudelo's future transfer fee) and, according to the New York Post, an agreement to pay part of Pearce's salary this season.

To replace Pearce, Chivas sent fourth-year winger Michael Lahoud, among the Goats' fastest, smartest and most versatile players, to Philadelphia for Califf, a deal that's been tracked since Union manager Peter Nowak mentioned it Sunday, to Chivas' consternation.

Agudelo and Califf are expected to arrive in Los Angeles on Thursday night, train with their teammates for the first time Friday morning, and be available for Saturday night's SuperClasico against the Galaxy at Home Depot Center.

The Colombian-born Agudelo, just 19, has superstar potential. He's big, strong, skilled, with savvy and insight well beyond his years, and his initial success with the U.S. national team -- he scored in his debut a week before his 18th birthday and has looked quite at home against older, more experienced competition -- has him facing heavy expectations from soccer fans across the country and around the world.

Chivas head coach Robin Fraser, looking for something different after his team scored just six goals in a 3-6-1 start to the season, looked to deflect those expectations after signing off on the trade Thursday morning.

“For us to improve our place in the standings, it's about everybody continuing to improve,” he said, “and certainly [Agudelo and Califf] come in and we incorporate everyone and we figure out what's best for the team to go forward. I don't feel it's the type of situation where Juan is being brought in here to save the day. Juan is a good player, and we look forward to seeing him grow and develop, but the onus is still on the team. We have a lot to do as a team.”

Chivas loses one of its most important players in Pearce, an MLS All-Star last year with national team experience, and a player seemingly on the verge of a breakthrough in Lahoud, who was set to start on the right flank before a hamstring injury two days before the Major League Soccer opener sidelined him for nearly two months.

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CARSON -- The trade Chivas USA appeared to be making turned out to be two trades. Put together, they're a real blockbuster.

The Goats acquired teenage forward Juan Agudelo, a U.S. national teamer considered the country's brightest young star, from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for defender Heath Pearce and allocation money.

Pearce's spot will be taken by veteran center back Danny Califf, whose arrival from the Philadelphia Union has been trumpeted since Philly manager Peter Nowak began talking about it Sunday. To get Califf, the Goats gave up fourth-year winger Michael Lahoud and allocation money.

Here's a quick look at what Chivas picked up and gave up in Thursday's deals:

• CHIVAS GETS ...

JUAN AGUDELO: The 19-year-old, Colombian-born striker carries huge expectations, not just in Major League Soccer, but among soccer followers all over the country. He's made 15 international appearances, scoring the winning goal against South Africa in his U.S. debut in November 2010, a week before his 18th birthday -- and he's been in all but three camps with the national team since then, missing January's HDC gathering because of injury and the February game in Italy while preparing for Olympic qualifying.

Agudelo signed with the Red Bulls in March 2010 out of the club's academy following a trial in Colombia with Millonarios. He made two league appearances for just 16 minutes as a rookie but played in 27 games last year, with 12 starts, six goals and two assists. He's seen action twice this year after recovering from knee surgery after he was injured during the Olympic qualifier.

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The bad news arrived for the U.S. under-23 national team before kickoff, and it just got worse. And now the Americans' qualification for this summer's London Olympics is in doubt.

U.S. Soccer announced before the game that star forward Juan Agudelo had suffered a torn meniscus and was returning to the New York Red Bulls for rehab. The team responded with a listless performance against Canada, marked by criminal defensive work on two set pieces that irretrievably altered CONCACAF's Olympic qualifying tournament.

The expected outcome -- that the Americans and Mexico would be the region's representatives in London -- appears almost certainly dead.

Canada tallied twice off corner kicks for a stunning 2-0 victory Saturday in Nashville, and it can win the Group A title with an expected victory Monday over last-place Cuba, a 4-0 loser to El Salvador.

The U.S. needs a victory over the Salvadorans to finish second, which likely would set up a clash with Mexico with an Olympic berth on the line. Form (and Agudelo's absence) suggests the Americans would struggle in such a matchup; one of two upsets -- Cuba over Canada or, Sunday at Home Depot Center, Honduras over Mexico -- would be necessary to avoid the showdown.

Only the semifinal winners March 31 in Kansas City, Kan., qualify for the Olympics.

Keeping tabs on the road to London:

• WHAT HAPPENED?

The Americans lacked spark, were outbattled and fell apart defensively, and that was enough for Canada to claim a deserved triumph.

Both goals came from corner kicks on which D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid's shortcomings were key.

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Joe Corona's hat trick led the United States' under-23 national team sprinted to an easy victory in its opener in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, and Canada held on for a draw with El Salvador in the other Group A game.

Keeping tabs on the road to London:

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AP Photo/Mark HumphreyJoe Corona had a big game to lead the U.S.'s rout of Cuba.
• WHAT HAPPENED?

Corona, who chose to play for the U.S. after attending a camp with Mexico's pre-Olympic team, scored three goals as the Americans grabbed a four-goal lead by halftime en route to a 6-0 rout of Cuba in Nashville.

Corona, who was born in Los Angeles, raised in San Diego and plays for Club Tijuana in Mexico's Primera Division, tallied in the 11th (volley after a chest trap), 40th (one-time finish inside the right post) and 88th (inside the left post after two 1-2s with Mix Diskerud) to send the U.S. atop Group A.

New York Red Bulls forward Juan Agudelo, with a can't-miss header, and Philadelphia Union midfielder Freddy Adu, with a forceful blast, also scored goals, and FC Dallas winger Brek Shea was a force on the left flank, setting up the second and third strikes for the U.S.

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Rarely, if ever, has there been a day quite so golden for U.S. Soccer -- involving multiple teams -- as was Wednesday.

Consider:

• The full men's national team beat Italy for the first time -- and in Italy, in Genoa -- as Clint Dempsey finished from Jozy Altidore's finish up top. Also splendid: midfielder Michael Bradley and German-born left back Fabian Johnson.
• The U.S. women's national team won its Algarve Cup opener in Portugal, dominating Denmark, 5-0, as Diamond Bar's Alex Morgan scored two more goals -- her 17th and 18th in 34 international games -- and assisted another by Hermosa Beach's Abby Wambach. UCLA products Sydney Leroux (goal) and Lauren Cheney (assist) also contributed in the scoring.
• The U.S. under-23 national team, preparing for the Olympic qualifiers in March, outclassed Mexico's U-23s, 2-0, in Frisco, Texas, on goals two minutes apart by Juan Agudelo and Freddy Adu.

One more international event to report, from Tuesday night. UCLA looked good in holding Mexico's under-20 national team to a scoreless draw at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys.

CARSON -- The foundation Jurgen Klinsmann and Caleb Porter are building this month at Home Depot Center will support U.S. Soccer's primary men's teams through what could be a pivotal year for the sport in America.

The start of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup and the London Olympics dominate the calendar, but as important as results might be, more crucial is the steps forward the national team looks to take in Klinsmann's first full year in charge and the role the under-23 national team will play in developing talent for the top side.

The teams tangoed late Friday afternoon on Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field, right outside HDC's main stadium, with the full nats -- starting the So Cal portion of their annual January camp -- scoring four times in 15 minutes late in the first half for a 4-0 victory over the U-23s.

They'll scrimmage one more time at HDC before Klinsmann's group returns to Phoenix for next weekend's friendly against Venezuela, with University of Akron coach Porter's younger group, which is preparing for the Olympic qualifiers in March, sticking around through Jan. 25.

The national team has the usual January collection of top MLS talent and secondary players from European leagues with winter breaks, with two midfielders from the 2010 World Cup side (New England's Benny Feilhaber and Eintracht Frankfurt's nearly forgotten Ricardo Clark) and two players from the preliminary World Cup squad (Chivas USA defender Heath Pearce and Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando).

They've been working the past 10 days in Phoenix, with a lot of fitness work, and will focus on technical and tactical work before the games Jan. 21 against Venezuela and Jan. 25 at Panama.

“This scrimmage gives us an idea of how they are comfortable on the field,” Klinsmann said afterward. “How they shift. How they take a couple of guidelines that we gave them and implement them. And now we can real the players a bit better. Because you never know when you get a fresh group coming in how their understand is of each other, how they read reach other. We know about their personal capabilities, but not in the context of a team, so that's why we need those games to see that.

“And then we can go ahead and modify training sessions and talks where we kind of want to guide them towards on the tactical side as an entire team together.”

There is some crossover between the national team and the U-23s. Freddy Adu, who has been called into only one full camp under Klinsmann after a stirring performance in the CONCACAF Gold Cup title-game loss last summer, is the most prominent name on the roster, but the most important players are with Klinsmann's bunch.

Juan Agudelo, the 19-year-old New York Red Bulls forward, is the most significant -- Klinsmann calls his abilities “special” -- and Sporting Kansas City forward Teal Bunbury are age-eligible for the Olympic team, and so is FC Dallas winger Brek Shea, who is drawing considerable interest from Europe. D.C. United's Bill Hamid and Chicago's Sean Johnson, both goalkeepers, also can make the U-23 roster.

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