FC Dallas check-in: 5 things to watch the with 9 games to go
FC Dallas check-in: 5 things to watch the with 9 games to go
Checking in on Peter Luccin’s team as the home stretch commences
FCD gets back on the field tonight at DC United following more than three weeks away. The side we’ll see tonight at Audi Field (still trying to collect the first road “W” of 2024) will look significantly different than the out-of-gas version we saw eliminated in Leagues Cup group play on July 31. Yep, it’s been a while.
It should look like a recharged, reenergized squad.
It needs to look like a recharged, reenergized squad.
Five things to know ahead of tonight’s 6:30 kickoff. (Our radio pre-game show begins at 6 pm. on the FCD app or on 1190 a.m.)
Luccin: “We have nine ‘finals’ ”
Just like the rest of us, manager Peter Luccin can do the simple math.
FCD has nine games remaining, and likely needs to win six of them for a place in Major League Soccer’s 29th playoff season. (Well, five Ws and then two or three draws “might” get the job done. Maybe.)
Either way, it’s a heavy lift. Not impossible, but here’s a look at the math: The team has managed 1.8 points per game since Luccin took charge, a damn impressive number, quite near what the leaders in each conference are averaging for the season. Having done so while fighting a brutal combo of injuries to key men and a jam packed schedule says a lot about the job FCD’s French manager is doing. He’s already gone a long way to winning the job on a more permanent basis.
And yet …
That same rate of point collection may not be enough. That rate of ppg (points per game), prodigious as it is, would get FCD only to 46 points. Last year that would get you into the playoffs – but in a lot of recent years it wouldn’t.
Complicating matters is that only four of the remaining nine are at home, where Dallas has been quite good. But that leaves 5 on the road, where FCD is approaching “historically poor.” Only four clubs in MLS history have gone an entire season winless on the road – and FCD is getting uncomfortably close to joining that inglorious list. Saturday’s match against D.C. United and another one later against San Jose are the best chances to win away from North Texas.
All of which is why Luccin has said it repeatedly: “We have 9 finals to play.”
Here’s the thing: There's a big cost to that – physically and emotionally. A true lean into that mentality can be draining. But that’s the deal; that’s just where this team is.
Players are back, mercifully so
The proverbial team bus isn’t full just yet – but it’s a hell of a lot closer than when FCD last took the field.
Asier Illarramendi, Jesus Ferreira, Alan Velasco and Patrickson Delgado are all available for selection now; none of them were as FCD bombed out of Leagues Cup worryingly early, leaving them with this 3 ½ week window of inactivity.
Delgado is probably a depth piece, but those others are all potential game-changers. The team’s midfield suffers enormously when Illarramendi is absent; his high-soccer-IQ brain and his passing ability are sorely missed. Ferreira is the team’s best chance creator. Velasco will be a worthy attacking threat, although expectations should be tempered until he gets his legs beneath him again. If the young Argentina attacker gets on the field Saturday, it will be in limited minutes, as this would mark his first appearance since an ACL tear more than 9 months ago.
Geovane Jesus, Liam Fraser and Paxton Pomykal remain sidelined, Pomykal for the season.
New men in the house
In addition to the returning players, Luccin has two newly acquired options available – and don’t be surprised to see both of them in some kind of role Saturday, either in the first 11 or off the bench.
Brazilian defender Ruan was acquired two weeks ago from Montreal for a relatively small sum ($50,000 in Guaranteed Allocation Money, although the final amount could grow if he sticks around for 2025.) He’s been among the better right backs in MLS for a few years. Not elite perhaps, but a steady Top 10.
Oh, he’s fast. Real fast! And that speed makes him a consistent attacking threat up the right side, one that defenses will have to account for. Once he arrives in the final third, his crossing can be a mixed bag. Still, he’ll supply “volume,” so even if some of the crosses are duds, the net out will be more chances in and around the “six” for Petar Musa.
By the way, you say it like “who-AHN.” The “r” is silent.
“Show” Cafumana is FCD’s other summer arrival. I’ve just seen small bits at training, so it’s hard to say what, precisely, he’ll bring. Luccin and team technical director Andre Zanotta both tell me he’s a ball winner and ball recovery specialist. Let’s hope so, because FCD needs that very thing – and badly.
Luccin also says he likes Cafumana’s energy – and Luccin loves him some energy. He talks about it a lot. Which is why I think we’ll see the 25-year-old Angolan international at some point Saturday against D.C. United.
More competition for spots
It’s not just that Luccin now has more players available – and that he’s not scrambling to piece together the least imperfect patchwork of a lineup he can come up with. There’s actual competition for spots now. And every manager loves training ground competition for spots.
Delgado, Tsiki Ntsabeleng, Bernie Kamungo, Eugene Ansah and others were getting starts in June and July. Results were mixed, but that’s not the point. They’ll have to work harder for their next opportunities. Same goes for others who were coming off the bench. Because now the Kamungos and Delgados are less likely to start, so they’ll be taking those sub minutes.
But the veterans, too, can’t be assured of their places. Ferreira will need to perform. Same for Sebastian Lletget, Paul Arriola just to name a couple. (Although, to be honest, the back line depth remains an issue, so the veterans in defense have a little less to stress about.)
This team needs the “good Ferreira”
Musa and Logan Farrington were scoring regularly before the break; the team is set pretty well at striker.
But in terms of chance creation in the final third? That’s a lot more iffy. One thing that would help tremendously: if Ferreira can find form.
Everyone is happy to have the home grown Designated Player back. But the truth is, Ferreira’s season was up and down before the latest injury setback. We haven’t seen the best Ferreira for about 15 months now.
Obviously it’s not all on him, but here’s the hard reality: with such a small margin for error in the nine games remaining, they probably can’t get there – “there” being the playoff chase – without his clever, creative craftsmanship.
A lot of things happen downstream if Ferreira can demonstrate a threat: Ruan is more effective in wide areas; Musa or Farrington have more room to operate near goal; the build-out has a higher percentage of success (because Ferreira will be involved), and; the team’s collective soccer IQ rises.
Won’t be long before we find out which Ferreira is arriving following his two month injury absence.