This weekend New York Cosmos attacker David Diosa and defender Alexis Velela will travel to Spain for a weeklong training session with Málaga CF. The two Cosmos players will tour the club’s facilities and meet with members of the coaching staff, then start practicing with Atlético Malagueño, Málaga’s reserves, on Monday, Jan. 25.

Before their week of training, Diosa and Velela will take in the first team’s home match against league giants FC Barcelona at La Rosaleda  on Saturday, Jan. 23, then watch Atlético Malagueño take on Antequera CF Sunday, Jan. 24.

“We’re excited for David and Alexis to have this opportunity,” said Cosmos Technical Director Luke Sassano. "As younger players, being able to learn from Málaga's exceptional coaching staff and training environment will help to further their development.”

Diosa, 23, first competed for the Cosmos’ Under-18 and Under-23 teams, where he played for current Cosmos Head Coach and Sporting Director Giovanni Savarese. He scored the first goal for a Cosmos side in 25 years in a U.S. Soccer Development Academy match against Connecticut’s South Central Premier. In 2002 the Medllín, Colombia native moved to Queens, N.Y. with his mother and sister. He signed his first contract with the first team on July 5, 2013 and has since appeared in 16 matches over three seasons, registering a goal and two assists.

Velela, a United States U-17 international from San Diego, joined the club in August 2015. A two-way player capable of playing defender, fullback and central midfielder, Velela has been in the national team program since 2011. He was on the 21-player roster at last year’s U-17 World Cup in Chile, starting for the U.S. in a 2-2 draw against Croatia.

Founded in 1904, Málaga CF has competed in Spain’s top flight for eight consecutive seasons and 15 of the last 17, finishing as high as fourth during the 2011-12 campaign when Spanish stars Isco and Santi Cazorla donned the club’s colors. The first team, managed by Javi Gracia since 2014, currently sits 12^th on the 2015-16 La Liga table.

Diosa and Velela follow in the footsteps of midfielder Sebastián Guenzatti and former Cosmos defender Hunter Gorskie, who trained with Málaga before the Cosmos’ preseason tour in 2015.