Juventus juniors hit town to play Sounders

They're among the youngest, brightest soccer stars in the world.

Members of Juventus Primavera, Italian power Juventus F.C.'s developmental program for players ages 17-19, will offer a glimpse of tomorrow's stars today. Juventus Primavera makes the first of three stops on a preseason tour of the United States against the Seattle Sounders tonight at 7 in an exhibition at Tukwila's Starfire Sports & Entertainment Complex.

"You'll probably see at least one of these players go on to play for our big club," said Juventus Primavera team manager Riccardo Cavallari, the only fluid English-speaking member of the club. "We like the fact that we've been invited to the U.S. We like to measure ourselves with American soccer."

That vast talent to showcase comes in the form of goalkeeper Carlo Pinsoglio, forward Oussama Essabr, midfielders Luca Marrone, Fausto Rossi, Daud Ayub and Simone Esposito and defender Yobie Bassaoule.

Many of Primavera's top players have suited up for Juventus' first team, which plays in Italy's top tier, Lega Calcio Serie A.

"They are young guys from a world-renowned club from Italy's top league," Sounders general manager Bart Wiley said. "We've made a habit of scheduling these kinds of games every summer."

Notes

• The Sounders lost defender Danny Jackson to plantar fasciitis, which was aggravated in Saturday's 3-1 home win over Minnesota.

• Defenders Noah Merl (groin) and Jason Cascio (ankle) are expected to miss three to four weeks while midfielder Yousouff Kante (Achilles tendon) is listed as day-to-day.