FC Dallas’ newcomers continued to get acclimated this week as the club prepares for its next Major League Soccer match March 18 against Seattle.
Dallas actively signed players during the offseason in an effort to revamp the roster after a poor 2017 campaign. The team added players from Europe, including left back Anton Nedyalkov and centerback Reto Ziegler, and continued to target South American players, such as new midfielder Harold Santiago Mosquera.
Ziegler, a Swiss international, started in the back for both of Dallas’ CONCACAF Champions League matches and its MLS season opener, a 1-1 draw with Real Salt Lake. Mosquera started in two of those matches while coming off the bench in one.
“Reto and Santi have been a part of the trainings more,” Dallas coach Óscar Pareja said. “They’re more adapted now, and obviously it’s a long journey for them. … But I see them very happy with the club and they are happy being among us and that’s a big step.”
Meanwhile, Nedyalkov continues to struggle with Achilles tendinitis. The Bulgarian international played 53 minutes in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 match against Tauro FC, but has not returned to game-day roster since. He is now back in training.
“With Anton, it has been a little bit more challenging since he has been in the nursery,” Pareja said. “But this week, we finally got him. He’s starting work normally with the team, which is very good news.”
Adjusting to a new league is always a challenge. Each has its own unique style of play.
Ziegler knows that first-hand.
He came into the team with a dearth of experience, including play in Switzerland, England and Italy. He also represented Switzerland in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups. To him, MLS has distinct characteristics and he and the team need to make adjustments and improvements to excel in the league.
“It is always difficult to compare different leagues,” Ziegler said. “It’s really physical and you have a few technical players in each team. We have to be really focused and concentrated [defensively]. On the other side, what I’m really happy about is that I see that we have a really good team. We are really close to winning these games. We play really well, but we miss something at the back. Maybe it’s luck, maybe it’s concentration. And in the front, we create a lot but we don’t score as many goals as we like. But we are really close to being on top.”
FCD captain and centerback Matt Hedges, the 2016 MLS Defender of the Year, is aiding Ziegler’s adjustment period in the back.
“I think we do really well together,” Ziegler said. “He covers me a lot, I cover him and I feel comfortable with him and if you ask him, I think he’s going to answer the same. We keep working together and hopefully, we will do well together this season.”
Gonzalez injury update
Pareja gave a status update on goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez, who was absent from practice today with a knee injury that kept him out of the season-opening 1-1 draw against RSL.
“Jesse is going through protocol with the medical department and the strength coaches,” Pareja said. “We don’t want to pound him too much on the field. Instead, we want to get some better strengthening of the knee first and make sure the swelling is disappearing. Once, we have the have that knee strong, then we will have him on the training ground.”
Drafts picks return
FC Dallas’ 2018 MLS SuperDraft picks, Ema Twumasi and Francis Atuahene, were at training today.
FCD loaned Twumasi and Atuahene to the Oklahoma City Energy last week. They are expected to play in OKC’s opening United Soccer League match March 17 against the Tulsa Roughnecks.