[U.S. U-14 SPOTLIGHT] Hugo Perez, who starred for the U.S. national team in the 1980s and early 1990s, is now head coach of the U.S. U-14 national team and has high expectations for the current crop.

“We have so much talent here,” Perez said in a USSoccer.com interview. “I’m with the U-14s and right now we have the ’99 group, which is an excellent group. The future is bright. We have to continue to work hard and make sure that we’re doing a good job as far as our development program. We’re not worried about results because, in the end, that doesn’t count. When the players get to the senior national team, that is when it is going to be important.”

On the U.S. Development Academy expanding to the U-13/14, Perez said:

“I think it’s going to help us because when they come to us in the National Team, we only have them for eight days and then they go back to their clubs. Now, with this age starting next year it will help us to have a clearer vision for them when they go back. They know exactly what we’re doing, so we want to transmit that to the clubs so after three months when they come back at least they have a general idea of what we do.”

Read the entire Perez interview HERE: