On all fronts, Eduardo Salgado, father of Vancouver Whitecaps rookie Omar Salgado, loves Vancouver.

“I come from Juarez, the most dangerous place in the whole world,” Eduardo says. “I told my wife, even the part that’s not the nicest place in Vancouver, that would easily be the nicest place in Juarez."

Eduardo Salgado raised his family across the border from Juarez in El Paso, Texas, but maintained businesses in Juarez, one of the centers of Mexico's drug wars.

Omar Salgado, the No. 1 pick in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, has received a lot of attention, but his father is glad his son is with the Whitecaps.

“I tell him, ‘You’re just like any other kid, you haven’t done anything yet, my friend,’” says Eduardo. “Right now, he has to make sure he helps his team be No. 1 in North America. Good things will come after that. I feel very comfortable with his team, his coaches, his teammates. I think it’s the best environment Omar could have to develop himself. My job is to make sure he keeps his feet on the ground.”