FC Dallas 2024 Preview: will los toros improve and reach their previous heights?
Kevin Gonzalez
February 7nd, 2024
We’re only a few weeks away from the start of the MLS season.
One of the teams we are excited about in the Western Conference is FC Dallas. Originally the Dallas Burn, they are one of the founding members of MLS. This team leads the MLS in player development with thirty-five homegrown players including 14 academy players representing the USMNT. The last trophies FC Dallas has won were the 2016 US Open Cup, and a Supporters Shield that same year.
season recap
This last season, FC Dallas fell short of expectations. They ended the season with W11, D13, L 10. Dallas finished 7th place in the Western Conference and 14th overall. They qualified for playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round. It’s worth stating it was a new format of best-of-three against the Seattle Sounders in Game 3. This team struggled to find form throughout the season, having a poor run from late-may to early-July, winning just 2 game and losing 6 games.
There were a couple of things affected this team during their poor spell. They played in a 4-4-2, losing 4 of 8 games throughout that span. In addition, Jesus Ferreira left for the gold cup in June. It saw Dallas win only once and lose three in the time he was gone. In the last 9 games of the season, FC Dallas went on an undefeated run. They would go on to win 2 games and tie 7. Dallas would go on to change into a 4-2-3-1 for those last seven games, resulting in 6 ties and 1 win.
This was Nico Estevez’s second season in charge of FC Dallas. He likes to have a structured 4-3-3 when defending. It’s resulted in a good defensive record. They only conceded 37 times and only Seattle Sounders (32) and Nashville (32) had a better defensive record.
The attack was a different story this season. Known for having the likes of Jesus Ferriera, Paul Arriola, and Alan Velasco, Dallas should have performed much better in the final third. They only managed to score 41 goals this season, below the average in the Western Conference (but the same amount that, 2nd place, Seattle scored). They struggled on the creative end being in the middle of the pack.
Using the season data from Fotmob, this team struggled to get into the opposing team box. They ranked in the bottom half for big chances, shots on target per match, touches in opposition box, penalties award. The lack of getting into the opposing team box means less high-quality shooting, since closer to goal means less likely to miss. They tied 13 times, with 12 games either ending 0-0 or 1-1.
Roster
New signings so far for this upcoming season: Petar Musa (Benfica), Enes Sali (FCV Farul), Omar Gonzalez (New England), Logan Farrington (Oregon State, Draft), Tomas Pondeca (North Texas FC), Alejandro Urzua (North Texas FC), Patrickson Delgado (Independiente del Valle) and Malik Henry-Scott (Tulsa Hurricane, FA)
Petar Musa
Petar Musa is a 25-year-old, Croatian forward signed for a reported $9.7 Million from Benfica. He signed a four-year-contract with a possible 1-year extension as a designated player. This fee could rise to $13 million with all the add-ons. FC Dallas broke their club-record fee to sign him. He currently has 5 goals and 2 assist this season. For Benfica, he comes in as a super sub. He has only started 6 games so far this season, which is why his numbers are so good compared to other strikers. For this price, it seems very likely Musa will be the starting number 9 on this team moving Ferreira to the right or as a second striker, similar to the Ricardo Pepi years. With Petar in the line up we could see more of the 3-4-3 formation that we saw in preseason against Miami.
Enes Sali
Enes Sali was signed for $2.78m from FCV Farul Constanat. Farul Constanat is a first-tier team from the Romanian Superliga. He signed a four-year contract with a one-year club option, at the age of 17 as part of the MLS U-22 Initiative. Sali is a top Romanian youth prospect already breaking a couple of records such as youngest goal scorer in the history of the Romanian first tier (15 years, 6 months, 21 days) and youngest debutant in the history of the Romanian National Team (15 years, 8 months, 22 days). He primarily plays on the left wing; he is known for being dynamic on the ball and a talented dribbler. Sali adds a bit of flair to his game often times doing ball roles past defenders or trying to round the keeper. He likes to bring the ball out the left and dribble down the middle. This upcoming season he will try to get some first team minutes, with Velasco being out for majority of the season, Paul Arriola is the only established MLS caliber winger on that side.
Patrickson Delgado
Patrickson Delgado signed on loan from Independiente del Valle with an option to purchase. Patrickson spent the last two season at Jong Ajax. His last season at Ajax he played 403 mostly coming off the bench, he started only 3 games, and played in 16 total. He played 6 games for Independiente last season when returning from loan. He started 2 games but was subbed out. From the information we have from his games at Valle, Patrickson plays in the midfield and cuts in from left side of the field. He is a physical player that plays a box-to-box role.
Omar Gonzalez
Omar Gonzalez is a US National capped, Liga MX and MLS champ veteran. Having had early success early in his career, with the LA Galaxy winning 3 MLS cups, and 2 supporters’ shield. He went on to add two more trophies under his belt, winning the Clausura in 2016 and the CONCACAF Champions League 2016-2017. Gonzalez would also go on to win the 2013 and 2017 Gold Cup with the United States national team, being named in Gold Cup Best XI in 2017. Omar, now 35 years of age, was traded from the New England Revolution to Dallas. He played 32 games for the Revolution, but started just 17 games. Omar Gonzalez will most likely be the backup defender to this young FC Dallas team.
Designated Players
Alan Velasco
Alan Velasco one of the three designated players for the FC Dallas. He played 29 games in 2023 season, for a total of 2,275. While on the field FC Dallas went on to win 9 tie 11 and lose 9. Velasco was originally signed to play the number 8 role for his ability to progress the ball up the field, this previous season he played majority of the time on the left wing.
He scored 4 goals, from 54 shots, having a goal conversion of just .07, he surpassed his XG of 2.8 goals. He had the 2nd most shots this season (54) behind Jesus Ferreira (61) for Dallas. Velasco got injured in the first game of playoffs vs Seattle. He tore his ACL and will not likely be back till July 2024.
Jesus Ferreira
Jesus Ferreira played 27 games this season. he was out for 6 games this season while traveling with the United States for the Gold Cup. Ferreira is a proven goal scorer in the MLS. He surpassed his expected xG of 11.3 goals. He scored 12 goals and record 4 assists. He struggled compared to his previous season where he scored 18 goals and got 6 assists.
When Jesus Ferriera is on the field this team has 1.16 XG, compared to 0.9XG when Ferriera was out with the USMT for the Gold Cup. Jesus Ferreira is a hard working forward often tracking back to chase the opposing ball carrier.
His strongest abilities are distributing the ball to other players, high work rate, being on the end of line breaking runs between defenders, and his ability to make late runs into the box. Ferriera likes to play at the top of the box and also play off the right side of the field. Jesus Ferreira can play as a number 10, second forward, or a number 9. This next season he will continue to play a big role for FC Dallas.
KEY PLAYERS
Paul Arriola
Paul Arriola is the former third DP player before his contract was bought down by TAM. He signed from DC United last season. In his 2022 debut season for FC Dallas, he scored 10 goals and 5 assist. This season, similar to the other DPs, he had a challenging time finding his previous season form. In the 2023, Arriola scored 2 goals and 4 assist. Arriola was hampered by injuries being ruled out for 3 months between May to August. If Arriola can stay healthy this next season, he could produce similar numbers to his 2022 debut season for FC Dallas with the new talent being added to the roster.
Paxton Pomykal
Paxton Pomykal is going on to his 7th year with the FC Dallas. He rose out of the youth academy in 2017. He is known for his versatility and his ability to play all around the field. This season he’s played in 5 different positions. He predominantly plays on the right side of the midfield, but he’s also have played in a number 10 role. Early in the season, he played as a right midfielder. He only managed to play 24 games this season, also being limited by injuries throughout the campaign. He is a solid played that can play in a number 8 role for this FC Dallas team as well.
Omar Gonzalez
Omar Gonzalez is a US National capped, Liga MX and MLS champ veteran. Having had early success early in his career, with the LA Galaxy winning 3 MLS cups, and 2 supporters’ shield. He had gone to add two more trophies under his belt, winning the Clausura in 2016 and the CONCACAF Champions League 2016-2017. Gonzalez would also go on to win the 2013 and 2017 Gold Cup with the United States national team, named in Gold Cup Best XI in 2017. Omar now 35 years of age was traded from the New England Revolution to Dallas. He played 32 games for the Revolution and started just 17 games. Omar Gonzalez will most likely be the backup defender to this young FC Dallas team.
Asier Illarramendi
Asier Illaramendi was signed toward the end of last season, where he played 11 games and started 7. He plays as a center defensive midfielder, having played for Real Sociedad for majority of his career. He also had a brief stint at Real Madrid. Illarramendi debuted in late August for the FC Dallas. With him on the field, this team would go on to win 3 games, 7 ties, and 1 lose. Illarramendi had the highest passing completion for this team in the 2024 season at 89.2 percent. He also was ranked number 7 for interceptions with 18, only 12 short of the top (30) while only having played 11 games for a total of 695 minutes. Illarramendi is a player FC Dallas will look to play around. His experience and his ability to read the game will make this team better.
Nkosi Tafari
Nkosi Tafari is a two-sided center back. He played on the right and left sided center back almost equally last season. He played 30 matches for FC Dallas. He is another youth product of this FC Dallas team, becoming a consistent first-team starter this season. He was called up for the USMT 2024 January Camp. Nkosi scored 3 goals and 3 assists this season for Dallas. He can play long balls out from the defense, and at 6 ft 4 inches, he is pretty solid in aerial situations. Tafari will be one of the starting center backs this season, it will just depend with who. Even if FC Dallas uses the 3-4-3 formation, we can see him paired with Sebastien Ibeagha.
breakout players to watch
Bernard Kamungo
Bernard Kamungo is another youth academy player from FC Dallas. He plays on the right wing. This last season Kamungo played 16 games for Dallas, often as a sub. In the January transfer window, he also was called up from the USMT where he started and played 61 minutes in their friendly against Slovenia. Kamungo played 500 minutes for Dallas, scoring 6 goals, and averaging 1 goal every 83 minutes. This next season, we can assume he will be playing a lot more in this Dallas team with Velasco being out for some time and if we see Arriola playing on the left.
next season expectations
This team will look to improve from last season. They signed Musa, one of the most expensive forwards the league has ever seen, yet . This team will score more goals than last season by just not relying on Jesus Ferriera, but with the additional talent added will also bolster his output. We could see Jesus get called up by the USMNT for the Copa America. That could leave Dallas without their star player from June to July. Alan Velasco injury does leaves the winger position pretty weak if Arriola or Kamungo are out.
This midfield does have a lot of depth with Sebestian Lledget, Paxton Pomykal, Liam Fraser, and Asier Illarramendi. All these midfielders have proven they can play in the MLS. For the defense, this team has added more experience with the signing of Omar Gonzalez. They also have Marco Farfan, who can be an MLS regular for many teams. For the past two season, this team has one of the best defensive records. They should continue that streak with Nkosi Tafari who is becoming one of the best center backs in the league.
This team could shape to play a 4-3-3, which has been Esteves’ most commonly used formation. With the signing of Illarmendi the team has pressed more up the field and focused on transitional play.
We did see this team change their formation for their first preseason game against Miami beating them 1-0. Inter did have Messi, Suarez, Busquet, and Alba all starting. They lined up in a 3-4-3 with a couple of things to note. Ferreira and Arriola played behind Ansah, who played as a forward this game. With Musa, we could see more of this formation. We also saw Illarramendi pair up with Liam Fraser in the middle. I expect to see more of that this upcoming season.
Summary
This FC Dallas team is looking good going into next season. They added a new designed forward, that can score goals. They have a strong starting 11 with key players, in key positions. We’ve seen players on this team perform better than they have last season. If the starting 11 for this team stays healthy, they can achieve more points than they did last season. This team has a lot of young players still not proven in the MLS, which could be difficult for this Dallas team, if their starting 11 gets injured.