Jan. 13, 2010
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State freshman midfielder Jose Altamirano (San Diego/Southwest HS) recently was called up to the U.S. Under-20 National Team camp, which was held at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in nearby Chula Vista, Calif. Altamirano was one of 36 players picked to the event and one of just 12 collegiate players.
The camp, which was held from Dec. 16-23, was the first in the new two-year cycle of players born in 1991 or later, making them age-eligible for the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Altamirano impressed U.S. U-20 National Team head coach Thomas Rongen with his play.
"(Jose) has always shown the ability to play at the highest level," Rongen said. "He continues to do quite well in our environment and is still in our pool for consideration (for the U-20 World Cup)."
"I was very fit going into the camp and I thought I played well," Altamirano said. "It was tough competition, because everybody is trying to prove themselves to make the (2011 U-20) World Cup. But I learned a lot more about soccer in my first year from (SDSU) coach (Lev) Kirshner than I ever expected and I think that translated into my play at the camp."
Last season, Altamirano earned honorable mention all-Pac-10 accolades after playing in all 18 games, starting nine of them. One of just six freshmen of the 45-member all-conference team, Altamirano registered four points on one goal and two assists. He added 17 shots, including six on net. Altamirano, whose 1,362 minutes players were the second most among non-defenders and goalkeepers, had three points (one goal, one assist) in league action.
Altamirano came to The Mesa as one of the most heralded recruits in the program's history. He has been a member of three U.S. National Team age groups (U-20, U-18, U-17) and was a three-time NSCAA Youth All-American (2006-08). Coming out of Southwest High, Altamirano was ranked as the third-best prospect in the country by ESPNRISE.com and No. 5 by TopDrawerSoccer.com. He garnered All-America honors from EA Sports, Parade Magazine and ESPNRISE.com, and was both the CIF and San Diego County player of the year.