Portland, Ore. - Kansas City Wizards (MLS) defender Jose Burciaga Jr. will be on a one-game loan to the Portland Timbers this weekend when they take on the Rochester Raging Rhinos on Sunday.
Portland requested the loan to help fill the void left after defender Scott Benedetti was suspended for the Rochester match after exceeding the A-League 's disciplinary point limit.
"Filling Benny's shoes is no easy task, especially the way he's been playing this year," said Jim Taylor, Timbers general manager. "Jose is a very talented player and should help us a great deal at the back on Sunday."
Burciaga, 19, is a Pro-40 player and was the 12th player selected in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by Kansas City.
The Timbers (9-6-2, 42 points) currently in second place in the A-League's Western Conference take on the A-League's defending champion Rochester Raging Rhinos Sunday (3:05 p.m. kick-off) at Frontier Field. The match can be heard on AM 1360 KUIK or on the Internet at Oregonlive.com.
About Pro-40
Created in 1997, Project-40 is a joint venture between U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer aimed at providing America's top young talent with the valuable training needed to develop their skills and further the United States' international success. The goal of Project-40 is to enable the United States to maximize the development of their young professional players and to compete with the top soccer-playing countries around the world.
Project-40 players earn the minimum annual MLS salary during their initial season and are awarded a five-year academic package covering tuition. In most cases, each MLS team will have one to three Project-40 players on their roster. These players do not count against the club's 20-man roster.
Project-40's eventual goal is to provide each player with the opportunity to participate in 40-60 quality matches each year, enabling the player to develop at an accelerated pace during the crucial ages of 17-22.
