It has been an often-harsh introduction to pro soccer for Pacific FC’s youth brigade. But the Island club believes its strategy to concentrate on promising youthful players in the inaugural Canadian Premier League season will eventually pay off on many platforms, including national-team call-ups and potentially significant transfer fees.
That appears to be bearing out with the call-up of 17-year-old PFC prodigy Ahmed Alghamdi to the Saudi Arabia Under-20 team for two friendlies against Tajikistan.
It follows 20-year-old PFC midfielder Noah Verhoeven’s call-up by John Herdman to the Canadian practice roster for the recent CONCACAF Gold Cup. That makes Verhoeven almost a certain candidate for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament team, in what is a U-23 event.
Alghamdi, meanwhile, is the youngest of the seven players age 21 or under who have started for PFC this season, as injuries to veterans such as Canada-capped players Marcel de Jong and Marcus Haber have ravaged the roster.
Born in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Alghamdi is a dual citizen, raised in Vancouver. He was signed to his first pro contract in June by PFC even before he graduated from St. George’s Secondary School.
“We know Ahmed has a very bright future ahead of him,” said Rob Friend, CEO and general manager of PFC.
Alghamdi scored a spectacular goal July 1 in his debut as a professional, catching the top of the net at Westhills Stadium against Cavalry FC of Calgary.
Alghamdi’s inexperience was exposed, however, with a defensive lapse that allowed a Cavalry goal in a 3-2 loss on July 6, also at Westhills Stadium.
But learning those kinds of tough lessons in the pro game is what the CPL is all about.
Former Germany Bundesliga pro Friend and former Dutch top-level Eredivisie pro and PFC head coach Michael Silberbauer have been through it.
Friend won 32 caps for Canada and Silberbauer 25 caps for Denmark, including at Euro 2012. They both know the value of international play, and it starts at the youth levels.
“It’s positive,” said Silberbauer, who played for the Danish U-17, U-20 and U-21 teams.
“He [Alghamdi] is developing fine. He’s still very young, so a call-up to a national team is positive and is a chance for him to get an experience. It shows everybody that the youth national team is not that far away.”
The PFC roster is dotted with former Canada U-17, U-20 and U-23 players.
“I hope that the youth national team is not the goal for these guys, but to go onto something bigger,” Silberbauer said.
The next game for PFC (1-3 in the fall league and 3-5-2 in the spring) is Wednesday against Valour FC (0-1-2 and 3-7) at Investors Group Field in Winnipeg.
