Victor Ulloa
Photo: Thomas Gosse / Prost Amerika
By Nayib Moran
In Mexico, Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz claimed a spot in the Mexican playoffs, also known as La Liguilla, after a 1-2 win over Leones Negros. Last Friday night in Houston TX, FC Dallas took home a 1-4 win over the Houston Dynamo. How can these two teams, Veracruz and FC Dallas, reach a meeting point?
The meeting point is FC Dallas’ holding midfielder, Victor Ulloa.
Back in December 2013, Ulloa didn’t have a professional contract. His first contract, a Homegrown player contract with FC Dallas, had ran out. Between 2010 and 2013 he was an FC Dallas player, but he hardly played for head coach Schellas Hyndman.
In Veracruz during their winter preseason, he was given the shot to train with Tiburones Rojos while Veracruz was preparing for the Clausura 2014 season.
When Ulloa talks about his time in Mexico, he emphasizes the opportunity he had to have a taste of Mexican football, and the fact that he was able to live away from home for the first time. During his time in Mexico, he was only 21-years-old.
“At Veracruz, my coach was El Profe Luna. They treated me very well; I trained with them for about a week,” he specified, “It was amazing the competition over there, you can tell that the style is a little bit different than MLS. I liked playing that style [in Mexico]; it can fit me very well. It was a good experience to be away from home since it was the first time away from my family.”
Before Christmas of 2013, Ulloa had playing time with Veracruz. He had minutes in two friendlies, versus Albinegros de Orizaba and Pachuca. Both matches were split into four parts of 30 minutes each.
Against Albinegros, Ulloa played the last two of the four parts and the same happened versus Pachuca at Hidalgo stadium.
But everything changed when Oscar Pareja returned to FC Dallas and became the head coach. Ulloa had been coached by Pareja in FCDs Academy.
“I had him [as coach]in the Academy, then he went to Colorado. I had a tough three years there [in FC Dallas], that I didn’t play,” he admitted.
“But he (Pareja) came back [to Dallas], and he knew how I played. I’m just thankful and grateful towards him because he gave me the opportunity.”
He has made the best out of the opportunity, and the numbers support it because since May 4, 2014, he has started all but one of FC Dallas’ games, including three playoff starts. Last season, he started in 25 of the last 26 regular season games, and this season he has started all of the first nine games and played them in their entirety.
Last Friday versus the Dynamo, FC Dallas was clinical on the counter. The main highlights came from Fabian Castillo and Mauro Diaz’s plays, but in the middle, there was Ulloa vocal, and preventing Dynamo plays that could create chances.
Ulloa specified the game-plan:
“We knew they had great players. We came in with the plan which made our wingers come in to the middle to help us [central defensive midfielders], so I think we outnumbered them in the middle, and that’s why they didn’t have many opportunities as they would have liked.”
FC Dallas’ no. 8 finished the game with 37 passes, a passing accuracy of 86.5%, and 4 out of 5 accurate long-balls, but the communication with his teammates around him was constant.
“Coach tells me that I need to have a lot of communication, especially from the position that I play, that’s what I try to do, just try to be everywhere, try to help my friends, so we can have a great game. Get points like we did today,” he reflected.
FC Dallas’s Texas Derby win has the team with 17 points and playing a vistoso football that has allowed the team to score 15 goals, the most in MLS. Ulloa is living a dream, one that he has always coveted.
“I still can’t believe I’m playing in MLS, but I’m really happy for the opportunity,” he declared and also took the time to leave a message to the kids.
“Football gives you a lot of opportunities, and you have to take them. To the kids, I tell them that dreams do come true, and I will always try to be an example for them.”
A couple of weeks ago in San Antonio, another edition of the Mexico v USA rivalry took place. Ulloa is a dual-national; he holds both passports.
When asked about the rivalry, he commented that through the years he has changed his stance on which team to support:
“My parents love football, and they have always supported Mexico. The truth is that I have been raised in the U.S., and in the beginning, we can say, that I supported Mexico, but now I have my doubts,” he stated.
When Ulloa trained for about a week with Veracruz, the team was fighting to avoid relegation and stay in First Division; nowadays, the team is vying for a chance to win the title. Ulloa is closely following Veracruz’s season, and is always checking on Liga MX games. He hopes to one day play in Mexico’s Liga MX.
“Definitely, the main thing right now is to finish this season and be champions with the club.
“But the truth is that I closely follow Mexican football, and knowing that I’m Mexican, I know that one day I could have the opportunity. In the future, I would like to play in Liga MX,” he concluded.
Stats via WhoScored.com
Photos Courtesy of Thomas Gosse
