SALCEDO'S HISTORY ALL ABOUT UCLA'S SUCCESS.

Byline: SCOTT FRENCH SOCCER

The memory is hazy, its substance formed from a photograph taken long ago, but it's filled with meaning for Jorge Salcedo.

He's 5 years old and standing in front of his childhood home, in Cerritos, dressed in a navy-blue UCLA sweatsuit.

``That's one of my first memories,'' Salcedo says. ``Way back when I was 5, UCLA was part of my life. I had a strong affinity for that sweatsuit and eventually a very passionate affinity for UCLA as well.''

It's a family thing. His uncle Hector played soccer for the Bruins in the early 1970s. His father, Hugo, now a FIFA official, was an assistant coach in 1978. And Jorge has played so many roles -- ballboy, star player, famed alum, assistant coach, now head coach -- as UCLA's men's program has risen among the top three or four, historically, in the country.

Salcedo was a 13-year-old ballboy when the Bruins won their first NCAA title, under legendary coach Sigi Schmid -- now in charge of MLS's Columbus Crew -- in 1985. He was a freshman midfielder when they captured their second five years later, an assistant to the late Tom Fitzgerald when No. 4 arrived four years ago.

Now, at 33, Salcedo enters his third season in charge of the Bruins, and expectations for a fifth crown are growing.

UCLA has lured the nation's No. 1 recruiting class three of the past four seasons -- this year's might be the best -- but his first two campaigns as head coach have ended disappointingly, with losses to St. John's in the Bruins' second NCAA Tournament game in 2004, then to SMU in their opener last November.

Defections to pro soccer, a mark of the talent that has come to Westwood, have been heavy -- only one player from 2003's No. 1 class remains -- but the Bruins head into their opener Saturday night at Drake Stadium against Cal State Northridge ranked anywhere from No. 1 to 10th.

``I'm surprised by all the hype we're getting,'' said Salcedo, who played five seasons in MLS, another with Mexican club Morelia and made three appearances, in 1994 and '95, for the U.S. national team. ``People who really understand the college game (know) these recruits we've got coming in, they're kids. A lot of them have accolades -- Youth All-American, national teams, Parade All-American -- but they're still kids. They're unknown, unproven and untested in college.''

And they figure -- especially top recruit Kyle Nakazawa, a U.S. U-17 star from Palos Verdes Estates -- to make an imprint on a team that has seen so many top players depart.

The Bruins have sent four players to the pro ranks each of the past two seasons, with half of them -- Chad Barrett and Benny Feilhaber after the '04 season, Marvell Wynne and Patrick Ianni last year -- leaving before their eligibility ran out. All four would be stars for this year's team, which is short on upperclass talent. With defender Brandon Owens sidelined with a knee injury and forward Kamani Hill sitting out for personal reasons, UCLA could struggle to match defending NCAA champion Maryland and other contenders.

Forwards Barrett (Chicago Fire) and Hill (pro offers anticipated), midfielders Feilhaber (Germany's Hamburger SV), Tony Beltran, Sal Zizzo and Greg Folk, defenders Wynne (New York Red Bulls), Ianni (Houston Dynamo), Owens and Kiel McClung, goalkeeper Eric Reed.

``I don't like to dwell on it,'' says Salcedo, whose team follows the CSUN game with showdowns at Maryland and fellow national powers Virginia and New Mexico, ``but if we had guys stay for four years, that would be our starting lineup. I don't think it's a stretch to say this team could compete with some MLS teams.

``With the amount of athleticism (in such a group), combined with technical ability, I would just sit up in the stands, roll a ball out at practice and say, `Guys, make sure you're fit enough and that you get enough touches on the ball, and we'll be ready for the weekend.'''

Of the 11, only Beltran, Zizzo, Folk, McClung and Reed will be wearing Bruin blue this fall. UCLA's 2002 championship team, Indiana's 2003 and '04 winners and Maryland last year boasted senior leadership. The pivotal players in UCLA's starting 11 this season, for the most part, will be sophomores.

``When you ask how we're going to be this year,'' Salcedo says, ``on paper, we're a very good soccer team. But the reality is we're very young. ... I love the fact that people anoint us as being the top recruiting class, because that means we're doing a good job recruiting. But if we can get these guys into their junior and senior years, then I think we have a very competitive chance of winning a national championship.''

Winning is imperative at UCLA, which has 99 NCAA titles in all sports. The men's soccer team has won the past four Pac-10 championships, and No. 5 is anticipated this fall. Developing players for the next level -- UCLA's alumni includes dozens of players who have played in World Cups (former Bruins Carlos Bocanegra, Jimmy Conrad and Eddie Lewis were on the U.S. team in Germany), for European clubs and in MLS -- is just as important.

``Of course, we want to win,'' says Salcedo, who counts Schmid and Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley, whom he played for in Chicago, among his mentors. ``We're going to win here -- we have to win here. It's my job to win. ... I was fortunate enough to be a professional player. I know what it takes to play the game at a higher level. I'm not going to sacrifice player development for results. Hopefully, they will go hand in hand.''

Ellinger-Beasley reunion for RSL?

The hottest team in Major League Soccer, to everyone's surprise, is Real Salt Lake, which has won four in a row behind striker Jeff Cunningham, who has a league-best 14 goals, nine assists and has finished first or second in the past three Player of the Week votes.

RSL's run is turning the Western Conference playoff race into a thriller, but it's not doing the Galaxy much good. L.A. (7-11-5) has lost just once in its past 10 games, but it remains in the cellar, three points behind fifth-place RSL (8-10-5), which is two points behind fourth-place Chivas USA (7-6-10).

The streak has no doubt saved coach John Ellinger's job, and he's now looking to bring U.S. national team winger DaMarcus Beasley to Salt Lake City. A deal, which would need to be made by Aug. 31, is contingent on salary-cap issues and RSL climbing from the fourth spot on the allocation list.

Beasley, who has won two Dutch titles in two seasons with PSV Eindhoven, is among America's most talented players, but he endured a dismal World Cup following a tough half-season last spring in Holland. He developed under Ellinger -- alongside Galaxy captain Landon Donovan -- at U.S. Soccer's U-17 residency in Bradenton, Fla., in the late 1990s.

Everything is going right for Real, and Beasley's addition would be the second-best news the franchise has received this summer. The best: groundbreaking earlier this month for a new stadium in suburban Sandy, a project that appeared dead a month earlier.

Throw in the TV deals -- ESPN, Univision and Fox Soccer Channel agreed, for the first time, to pay for MLS content, $15 million per season in all -- Bruce Arena's return to the league, as coach of the New York Red Bulls, and the Red Bulls' planned ground breaking on a 25,000-seat stadium in Harrison, N.J., MLS suits are smiling.

U.S. rolls on

The United States on Monday romped into the last eight at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Champion ship in Russia, routing Argentina 4-1 to improve to 2-0-0 in Group D. UCLA's Danesha Adams scored a goal and assisted one by Jessica Rostedt, and Bruins defender Erin Hardy set up Casey Nogueira for another strike. Allie Long also scored.

The Americans take on France, also 2-0-0, on Thursday, and defending champion Germany (a 9-1 winner Monday over Mexico) or North Korea likely awaits in the quarterfinals.

What a start

The Low Countries provided the biggest thrills and disappointments in last week's internationals. Striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar, whom every Ajax Amsterdam fan will testify belonged on the Dutch World Cup squad, scored twice in his international debut, a 4-0 rout of Ireland.

Once-mighty Belgium got off to a disastrous start in its Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, settling for a scoreless tie with visiting Kazakhstan.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) Jorge Salcedo has been part of three UCLA national titles. He's looking to guide the Bruins to a fourth.

(2) UCLA coach Jorge Salcedo sports a talented roster featuring Kyle Nakazawa (10), Jason Leopoldo (2) and Tony Beltran (9).

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(3) BEASLEY

Box:

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