FC Dallas versus the Colorado Rapids
Toyota Park-Tonight, 8PM EST/7PM CST/5PM PST, MLS Live
Expectations were sky-high this time a year ago. FC Dallas entered the 2017 season declaring it was “MLS Cup or bust.” Dallas started strong in the league, and performed impressively in the Champions League, missing out on the final heartbreakingly to reigning champions Pachuca 4-3 over two legs. Then came the total collapse with FC Dallas eventually missed out on the playoffs for the first time in four years, after going winless in August and most of September.
With the addition of a number of starters at the beginning of the season there was a feeling that Oscar Pareja was just incapable of getting this team to click, with new faces failing to impress. It’s possible Dallas’s biggest issue was suffering from burnout. To win an MLS Cup you have to treat the season like a marathon, and with the adrenaline flowing from their CCL run, the team started at a pace they could never maintain. At the end of the season Pareja declared that the cycle had ended and it was time to reload.
If this is a period of transition for FC Dallas they are taking it slowly. The core from last season is still there including Carlos Gruezo, and even Kellyn Acosta is still on the roster for the time being, although we’ll see what happens once the European transfer window opens. The team was also boosted recently with last season’s top goal scorer Maxi Urruti signing a 3-year contract (although the news was somewhat of an anti-climax after the social media team overhyping the announcement).
Dallas have stated their intention to re-build from the back. They have strengthened their defense with the signing of 32-year-old Reto Ziegler, who has had successful periods in the EPL and Serie A, and was also playing at the back when Switzerland famously defeated eventual World Champions Spain 1-0 in the group stages of the 2010 World Cup. They also signed Bulgarian international Anton Nedyalkov from CSK Sofia.
On the field FC Dallas crashed out of the Champions League on away goals to Tauro FC, but they have made a promising start in the MLS going unbeaten in the opening three games. They made a stuttering start against Real Salt Lake in the opening match. Going a goal down despite dominating most of the possession, Dallas managed to scrape a draw thanks to a Marcelo Silva own goal in the final few minutes. The following week FC Dallas dispatched a struggling Seattle Sounders side with a 3-0 victory, Sounders who making the task a lot easier with the sending off of Clint Dempsey. Roland Lamah, one of the new signings who failed to light up the Toyota Stadium last year, made a statement by bagging two well taken goals, with Urruti grabbing his first of the season. Lamah scored again as Dallas shared the points in a 1-1 tie with the Portland Timbers. Next up Dallas welcome the Colorado Rapids for their fourth home game in a row.
After going into last season with such high expectations, in 2018 FC Dallas now find themselves as underdogs in the west. In reality Pareja is still working out quite what went wrong last season. But The Western Conference really is a Wild West this season so anything could happen, and we genuinely don’t know what this team is capable of. Their start to the season, while not being spectacular, has been encouraging, particularly from a defensive perspective.
While Lamah can be frustrating, no-one will complain if he continues to find the net. Urruti also needs try and recapture the form he had at the early part of last season. The other key factor to their season is Mauro Díaz. He missed most of last season through injury, but if he manages to play in the way we all know he’s capable of, then this season could start to get interesting.
FC Dallas
MLS
