July 31 - FCD 5, Los Angeles 6

You read the score correct, 11 goals in this game...the team fought hard to try to comeback, but the four early goals proved too much to overcome...Arturo scored his second and third SuperLiga goals...the crowd was the largest to see and FC Dallas game at Pizza Hut Park...below Steve's post-game comments on the game (Juan's answers were in Spanish and since we wanted to quickly post, we didn't include them)...

On the injury front, Clarence has a right sprained MCL - he slightly hurt himself last Saturday in the Pachuca game, but felt ok and even trained fully on Monday...however, when he arrived to the stadium today his pain had increased, so he was put through a pre-game test...he came out of it feeling uncomfortable, so he was left off...

Ricardinho has a right hamstring injury - he'll need further evaluation before determining the extent of the injury...

Arturo and Carlos were both x-rayed following the game...Artie has a right shoulder sprain and despite the swelling in Fish's right foot, the x-rays did not reveal a broken bone.

July 31 - SuperLiga Gameday vs LA

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Wow...thanks for everyone that offered their opinions on David Beckham's absence. We appreciate everyone's support and feedback. For those that have called the office, you've probably already heard that since Monday we've been exploring a number of options on how we can make this up to those that are upset that Beckham is injured...stay tuned!

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Now for the rest of you that are psyched about tonight's SuperLiga game versus LA (can watch on TeleFutura or http://www.superliga2007.com/), with which a win would advance FCD to the SuperLiga semis, we can tell you the team is fully concentrated on the task at hand....for them, it doesn't matter who's on the field, or what name is on their back...we walked through our locker room earlier today, barely any lights on and very quiet...the CD player was off...so was the TV...Marcus used the ping pong to arrange the guy's training gear and training gear...as we walked around, we noticed two things - the shoe wall stood out to us...it's quite a collection of cleats - all clean and in their place - ready to be worn tonight...as we walked out, on such a day, we noticed the large photo the guys placed as they exit the locker room on one end - the fans! Hopefully we can pull this game out for all of you...

July 30 - Hitch on FCD v LA SuperLiga Game

Thanks to all of our fans - hardcore supporters, plan holders, casual fans and first time customers - for your support.

On July 31, a sold out Pizza Hut Park promises to provide a great atmosphere for arguably one of the most important games in FC Dallas history. We entered the SuperLiga 2007 tournament with one goal: Win the SuperLiga Trophy for our fans. The team has fought hard against two very good Mexican teams to put us in position to advance with a win Tuesday night against the LA Galaxy. It should be a great game. For those of you coming to the Park, plan on arriving early and have a great time.

As you know, on Monday afternoon, the LA Galaxy (through news reports) announced that David Beckham would not be traveling with their team to play FC Dallas. Obviously, we were disappointed to hear their decision - in large part, because we know that we had a very unique opportunity to host his first game against an MLS Team, and a large number of our fans and customers were looking forward to the opportunity to see David Beckham in his first North Texas appearance. (FCD fans will be interested to know that we sold over 200 standing room only tickets after 3 pm today, when the news was already out).

Although we have no control on the Galaxy’s decision, and, obviously, have no control on another player's health, we apologize to our fans and customers that they won’t have a chance to see David play on Tuesday. We want all of our fans to know that after we heard the news, we spent the entire day working with SUM, MLS, AEG and the Galaxy to find a solution and get David to PHP for the game. We waited until we exhausted all avenues before releasing our official statement on Monday evening.

While we won’t provide refunds, we will provide a special ticket offer to all fans who bought tickets to this game. More details to follow in the coming days.

We hope all fans and customers who reserved seats for this game will join us at Pizza Hut Park on Tuesday. It’ll be a great event, and it’s an important game for FC Dallas and all of our fans.

Thanks again for your support.

Sincerely,
Hitch
FC Dallas General Manager

July 30 - FCD Prepares for LA

FC Dallas has the first opportunity to secure a semifinal berth in the inaugural SuperLiga on Tuesday night. A win over LA here at Pizza Hut Park will put FCD into the semis, and depending on what happens between Chivas and Pachuca, we could win the group. Steve and Adrian share some thoughts following today's practice:

July 29 - FCD 1, Pachuca 1

After tying Pachuca 1-1 on Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park (Highlights), FC Dallas now has two points from the first two SuperLiga games. Chivas de Guadalajara also defeated the LA Galaxy 2-1 last night, which means FC Dallas is now in control of its own destiny - a win over LA on Tuesday and we advance to the SuperLiga semifinals.

So let's go at it again...your thoughts on getting points against arguably the two best Mexican First Division clubs? (we're going to resist questioning a few calls, such as questioning if Clarence was off or if that was a PK:)...so are fans (or should the team be) satisfied with the first two results or do you think FCD deserved more? Anyone standing out to you...what are your thoughts on SuperLiga so far...

July 27 - FCD Gets Ready for Pachuca

The guys had their last training session on Friday morning before facing Pachuca in Game 2 of SuperLiga 2007 on Sat. July 28...we know the starting lineup, but the only thing that coach would let us reveal is that .......

But what we can say is that Dario's knee seems to be improving...that it was incredibly hot out there today (we're still sweating as we type in AC)...and that the guys are pumped for the game...below are some comments following today's practice.


The morning started off with Pablo, Dario and Arturo doing some phone interviews on La Raza, El Norte, and La Ranchera radio stations from 8 to 8:30 am..the guys had fun talking up FCD to a Spanish speaking audience, and gave away a few sets of tickets to listeners who slowly are getting to know our players...the DJs had fun, as did the players...

However, we're thinking they all may have enjoyed their PR appearance earlier this week. On Monday, five Chivas Guadalajara players and Dario, Juan, Pablo and Arturo attended a PR event for SuperLiga, FCD, and Chivas sponsor Budweiser down in Dallas...the Senadoras from Univision's Replubica Deportiva sports show were in attendance along with Republica co-host Rosana Franco...we won't talk about how quiet the Chivas players were (or so the media told us), but Dario and the gang had the crowd and TV / print media cracking up throughout the day...

July 27 - Pachuca at the Park

Pachuca came out to Pizza Hut Park this morning for a last workout before tomorrow's game...they trained on Field 17, with the USYS National Championships taking place on a bunch of other fields and FC Dallas training their own exclusive Field 1...Pachuca then came in to do a walkthrough of the stadium field (which under competition guielines, the home team must make available)...please help us spread the word that the start of the game on Saturday is 7 pm. Also, Tuesday's game betwen FCD and LA is also at 7 pm CT.

Here's some background - Back when we printed season tickets, the games had an anticipated start time of 8 pm CT. But, similar to the NFL, NBA, and MLB, when national TV picks up a high profile game, they can often dictate the start times. In this case, the game will also be seen internationally - so, spread the word - the start is 7 pm CT both Saturday vs. Pachuca and next Tuesday vs. Los Angeles.

And, while we're talking about Tuesday's game, we've been getting a bunch of calls (we're assuming from 'new' soccer fans asking if LA will have all their players playing in the game vs. FCD - well, the answer is, we don't know. And, we think they don't either at this point. As of Thursday morning, when we last talked to LA execs, they had not ruled out Beckham's availability for LA's game on Saturday versus Chivas.

But then, we started thinking, we've never called a team and asked if player X or player Y would play against us - probably cause we realized we probably wouldn't tell them if they asked us about our team...for instance, if LA was planning a certain tactic to mark Toja, would we tell them, "hey, we plan on playing Juan at this position, make sure you prepare."...ummm, no!

So if you're on this blog looking to know for sure if Beckham, or Landon, or Ruiz, or Dario will be available for next Tuesday's game, you'll have to wait like the rest of us...

July 25 - Abe and Clarence on TV

Last time we had Dax and Bobby on Good Morning Texas on Channel 8 WFAA, many of you told us we should have given a heads up...so here's a heads up. Abe and Clarence will be on the show on Thursday morning at 9 am. They'll be the first segment since they need to get back for 10 am training.

For those that don't know, Abe and Clarence have been best friends and teammates since they were kids in Maryland: at W.T. Woodson High School, with the Braddock Road Warhawks soccer club, at Maryland University, and with the PDL-side Boulder Rapids Reserves - all before they became teammates on the professional level here in Dallas.

July 24 - FCD 1, Chivas 1

SuperLiga got underway on Tuesday night, with FC Dallas tying Chivas de Guadalajara 1-1 in a pretty interesting game at Pizza Hut Park. Arturo got FCD on the board first, but Chivas tied it ten minutes later.

Fans can keep up on all things SuperLiga by going to http://www.superliga2007.com/.

What an interesting night...taking advantage of this blog format, while avoiding our own opinions, letting you tell us your thoughts...

Was that a handball on Olvera on his goal?

Thought's on Ray's performance in his first professional game - what a debut, no?

Drew's red card - provoked? The fight?

Ricardinho's first official game?

Not a bad start to the tournament - a point to get things going with two more games to go... Pachuca is next on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park (7 pm CT start).

FYI - Dario injured his left knee at the end of training on Monday, but didn't think much of it at the time (well, other than it hurt)...well, he got up this morning and it was pretty swollen so he called Steve to let him know. At that time, Steve called Ray (who was in class at the time at UTD) to let him know he may be needed tonight.

When Dario got to the stadium, his swelling had gone down, and he wanted to give it a shot...so, Steve made him undergo a fitness test with Oscar and Robbie - which didn't last long.

July 23 - Hitchcock: "SuperWeek"

On the eve of "SuperWeek" - which we have internally called this week that includes SuperLiga and the USYS National Championships at Pizza Hut Park - I wanted to blog for all of our fans and recap the first half of 2007, and briefly preview what promises to be an exciting 3rd and 4th quarter.

We started the year with three clear objectives:
(1) Win trophies for our fans: SuperLiga, US Open Cup and MLS Cup
(2) Run a successful business operation as we continue to build the FC Dallas fan base.
(3) Make the community of which we live, work and play; a better place to live, work and play.

I'll briefly touch on all three of these objectives (in reverse order.)

We're working hard on our community outreach efforts through our Foundation. The FC Dallas Foundation through fundraisers, sponsors, and Foundation events will raise money that we will re-invest into the community.

The Foundation donated over $50,000 to Dallas SCORES through the Inaugural Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup...We've hosted a FC Dallas Team Clinic, called the Oscar Pareja Community Clinic Series, at least once per month in a different Hispanic Neighborhood throughout the Metroplex...We raised over $12,000 for the Frisco Education Foundation that will provide Scholarships to Frisco Residents for college...Plus literally hundreds of other events/ appearances/ programs that we support in the community.

Our Foundation work is very important to me and our entire organization. I believe we have an obligation to help the community (and in particular, help kids in the Metroplex who can benefit from our efforts.) And, we have a unique opportunity to succeed in these efforts by using our great facilities and our professional athletes as positive role models - which is the greatest resource we have to make a difference in their lives.

The Business Operation has been a success so far this year. Through a combination of great programming at the complex, showcase concerts in the stadium, Major League Soccer and international soccer, we have a profitable business model that works (with the hard work of a very talented staff of professionals that I'm proud to manage.)

Our primary focus as a business is to build the FCD Fan Base. That said, thanks to everyone who has come out and supported FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park, on the road at our away games, at the Londoner for our viewing parties, by joining Hoops Nation and attending our player appearances and community events. Your support is continuing to get bigger and better (as evidenced by increased attendance, improved merchandise sales, greater traffic to our website, better broadcast ratings, FC Dallas camp participation, etc).

We've created an FC Dallas Fan Plan that serves as our strategy to build the FCD Fan Base. Here's a very brief top line summary: This multistep plan starts with identifying prospective customers (through a database management effort that has generated over 100,000 prospective FC Dallas customers); then market/sell them so that they become customers; followed by trying to connect with them so that they become FC Dallas fans (through a great FCD/PHP experience and trying to connect with the customer through our blog, player interaction, broadcasts, etc); the final step is to turn our fans (which if you're reading this blog, than you're a fan) and create FC Dallas Ambassadors (more info on an Ambassador program will be announced later this year).

The Plan takes time but I'm happy to say it's working - based on increased support as mentioned above.

Why we're all here - To win trophies! And we have a master plan and strategy to fill our Texas-sized trophy shelf in our lobby at PHP.

We kicked off preseason over 5 months ago. Time flies when you're having fun (this statement couldn't be truer than right now)...we hosted our most successful preseason - competitively and financially - which featured a amazing trip to Brazil and quality matches in the US, Brazil and Puerto Rico; that accomplished our preseason goals and set the right tone for the season. Plus we used the opportunity of inviting some great South American players to train with us in Brazil; and we signed two of them who have been great additions to this team (Juan and Pablo).

Steve, Oscar and Marco have done a great job in building a locker room culture that would make any manager proud. The team (as you've seen) fights for one another and is continuing to improve as the season progresses. The MLS season (as they all do for every team) has some highs and lows but we accomplished our points goal at the midseason mark (15 games in) with a difficult schedule that included 10 road games and too many "3 games in 7 day weeks".

Our international partnerships with Tigres UANL and Clube Atletico Paranaense continue to provide great benefits to our franchise (in the board room and on the field). With the most recent highlight, the addition of Ricardinho to the FC Dallas roster. Ricardinho is a very very talented player from CAP who has a ton of potential. He's eligible for SuperLiga starting Tuesday.

Speaking of, back to my original point, Welcome to "SuperWeek" which is arguably the most important week in our franchises history. We have a golden opportunity to accomplish something very special in front of our fans at Pizza Hut Park, the local media and millions of soccer fans in the US and Mexico through the international broadcast of these important matches. At the start of the season, we set the goal of winning SuperLiga. This will be a great test for our team (and our fans). We hope to see you at the Park! It'll be a great experience and we want you to be a part of it. And trust me, you don't want to miss out on something special.

Next 5 months: we'll (knock on wood) host SuperLiga semifinals and finals, when we advance. We're one of 3 MLS teams that are still fighting for the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (which is very important to us). We'd love to host the US Open Cup semifinals and finals at Pizza Hut Park. And of course, the stretch run of the MLS Regular Season then the MLS Cup Playoffs. We plan to be in DC in November, and we know that you'll be there with us.

We're happy with the team that we've created. The players have done a very good job so far this season. We have the right group of guys that we can contend for Championships. Plus, we look forward to getting Kenny Cooper back on the field and seeing Ricardinho take the pitch (plus, we may make another international player announcement soon).

Most importantly, you have a team that you can be proud of. One that will fight from the first kick to the final whistle (ex: FCD @ DC United.) Anything can happen in this game that we all love, but what I will promise you is that your team will give 110% to ensure that we'll be playing for, and winning, some trophies this season.

Thanks again for your support - though reading the blog, buying tickets, wearing your FCD Gear with pride, spreading the FCD gospel to friends, co-workers, etc. We hope to see you at the Park for "SuperWeek," and for the rest of the MLS Season.

Sincerely,
Hitch

General Manager
FC Dallas / Pizza Hut Park

July 22 - Denilson

July 20 - Toja on the All-Star Game

Juan takes a team photo with the FC Dallas U-17 team at Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Wednesday. The U-17's defeated RSL on Tuesday in their final game of the SUM Cup, and then watched the MLS All-Star practice and attended the game.
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We're confident that all FCD fans saw that Juan scored for the MLS All-Stars on Thursday in the 2-0 win over Celtic FC. He returned to Dallas on Friday, arriving around noon. We caught up with Juan as he left the airport, and he gave us his thoughts on the All-Star activities.

"Everything was great, it was an incredible experience. The best part of it was obviously the game.

We got together for our only practice on Wednesday. Of course I recognized who the players were, but I didn't really know any of them. So it was nice to be able to get to know them - through the training, and at the meals, and then the other events they had planned for us, I was able to spend some time with a lot of them. They are great soccer players, and now I also know them as great people too.

Like I mentioned, we only had one practice, so we didn't really have much time to get to know each other on the field. But all these players know the game and know how to work for each other, so we felt good going into the game. Our coach (Steve Nicol), it was a little difficult understanding him at times because he has this really strong accent. But throughout the days I learned he's a funny guy and a real good person, as was the assistant coach (John Spencer).

When we got back from practice, they had other events for us to do. After some autographs and a photo shoot, one of my appearances was a soccer tennis tournament, along with our coach and assistant coach and Marcelo Balboa. We came out as champions - they even gave us a trophy. Then we had some additional interviews to do with various TV stations and an evening reception with many people from around the league.

After the game last night, we had a fun night at a casino type of event up on a top floor that overlooked the city - people could play games, and I was was able to meet more people and to socialize, and all the guys were able enjoy the event.

The game itself was really a great spectacle. From seeing the planes fly over to the atmosphere and being around some of these great players. And of course the game - it was a great opportunity. Celtic is an excellent team and I was fortunate to score our second goal and we were able to get the win.

Overall the entire experience was nice, and of course it was a little bit of a busy, but I had a good time doing all of these things. So I'm a little tired but fortunately we don't play this weekend. The game itself was great for me because I was able to stay active during an off week.

Now we get back to business with FC Dallas. We're going to face some of the best teams from Mexico, which we know is going to be a challenge because they come with a lot of experience. But this is a big tournament for us, and we know that our team is in good form right now. We want come out strong in these games, with the mentality that we're going to win from the start."

July 18 - Morrow: Attention Hoops Fans!

ALL - as we approach the All-Star break – and traditionally the half-way point of the season, I wanted to take this opportunity to show my appreciation for your wonderful support thus far this season both personally and more importantly for the TEAM.

We are approaching a point in the season where we need your support more than ever. With SuperLiga coming up – a tournament that is very important to our organization – having our fans come out to support the team and be even more vocal than normal will help our cause enormously. This is a tournament that we want to have success in and help raise our profile not only in this country but world-wide. With the Galaxy and Mr.Beckham coming to town, the eyes of the world are going to be on us!

I want you to be aware that your support is very important to me, my coaching staff and all of the players. I believe that we are going in the right direction. We have put ourselves in a good position in both the League and Open Cup. I will work tirelessly to continue to improve the team and give us the best possible chance to win the Open Cup, the MLS Cup and have success in SuperLiga. Your continued full support and commitment to the cause will help us achieve these goals.

Look forward to seeing you all at PHP on July 24th.

GO HOOPS!

Steve Morrow
Head Coach
FC Dallas

July 17 - The Field Comes Up

Those of you who have been to the stadium recently (or have seen our games online / TV), noticed the condition of the stadium playing field. So did we.

Earlier this year, we tried to best explain certains procedures - from Adrian's surgery, to Roberto's knee, to the concussion tests, isokinetics tests, to the change over from soccer field to concert and back, to Pablo's visa,etc, etc...well today, we'll try to explain to you what we learned about the grass, as we here at the blog become agronomists for 20 minutes....become agronomists for 20 minutes....here we go...

In Texas, playing surfaces like the stadium field at Pizza Hut Park use a combination of rye and bermuda grass. The rye grass is dominant during the fall and winter seasons (cooler days), and the bermuda is typically the dominant seed during the spring/ summer (hot days)...

Which means that in late summer, we start over seeding the field with rye so it can be used for the playoffs, high school football, InterLiga, and then for preseason and other international games in the spring....Conversely, in early spring, we overseed with bermuda so there is grass to play on during the summer...

Well, with the unusually rainy and cooler spring / summer this year, the rye grass had an extended time to grow dominant...so what's happened is that with a longer growing season, the rye became so dominant that it has more or less 'choked' the bermuda...with the weather turning hot, the rye of course dies out, but since the bermuda has been taken over, there's also no bermuda left - which is what we see, neither rye nor bermuda grass - and a lot of sand / dirt.

On Monday, Dr. McAfee, an agranomist from Texas A&M that specialized in sports field management, was brought in to do a site survey. Didn't take long...today, we started lifting the field.

The doc basically said that our complex, compared to say the Ballpark in Arlington, is used throughout the year, and the rye has a dominant stage of 8 months to 4 months for the bermuda...so, since the Ballpark is not used in the winter, they have no need to overseed, whereas we do.

We had a crew on stand by until the word was given to replace the field. This crew is using a technique called Koro-vating, which is a maching developed and used in Holland that more or less grinds up the top surface (seen in the picture below). While its a bit more expensive than other ways to lift the field, it's also faster and should provide a cleaner 'lift'. The procedure started in Holland, when they had limited time to prepare their soccer fields between seasons...now, they have these machines throughout the U.S., including one here today.

We should finish this process by midnight tonight...tomorrow they'll begin to bring in sand and lazer-grade and level the surface...and by around 4 pm we should start laying down new sod and it should be completed by Thursday evening.

There's a farm about 30 minutes north of us that provides the sod - which will be a thicker cut this time around - which, though it may slightly affect drainage if we continue getting these monsoon rains - it should be ready to play in a few days. We're expecting the seems to be visible for the next couple of weeks, but it shouldn't affect the play on the field...

Wow - not sure that was the best explanation but hopefully, if anyone read this far, you have a little more 'behind the scenes' on what's going on here over the next couple of days..

July 17 - FCD Scrimmages San Luis

It's been a busy day out here today with some fun video bits and news...it's keeps going tonight. Many people already know that we hosted Mexican First Division clubs Tigres and San Luis here at the complex the past week. Tigres of course beat FC Dallas last Wednesday, then on Saturday San Luis defeated Tigres 2-1 also in front of 3,398 at PHP . This evening, San Luis claimed a 1-0 victory over FC Dallas in a scrimmage held on the FCD adidas training field.

FCD Lineup: Ray (Shaka), Blake, Andrew, Goodson (Rhine 30, Chase Wileman 70), Drew, Wags (Arturo 70), Ramon, Pitch (Ever Alvarado 70), Dello, Ricardinho (Carlos 85), Francis Doe (Dom 75.

Bobby Rhine Hits 200

So most fans know that Bobby played his 200th regular season game on Sat. July 14...for the milestone, he was given the captain's armband for the game, in which Dallas became the third team in MLS history to surmount a 3-0 deficit to get a point. Bobby became the 15th different player to play 200 games with one team...out of the 1,330 players to play an MLS game over the 12 years of the league, only 35 have played in more regular season games than Bobby.

Bobby talked to FCD TV about the milestone and his career to date...we put it on video, along with some fun images of Bobby throughout the years...Here's the YouTube version for the diehards that check this blog before the team site:

July 17 - Toja Wins MLS Player of the Week

We were informed today by the League office that Juan was selected as the MLS Player of the Week today for his two goal performance on July 14, helping FC Dallas mount a historic comeback to earn a 3-3 at D.C. United.

You can click here to see both goals.

He becomes the 15th different Dallas player ever to win the award...A Dallas player has won this 26 times since 1996, with Jason Kreis claiming the most with seven.

Also, ironically, Toja's award comes almost a year to the date of the last time a Dallas player won it. Kenny Cooper scored the winning goal and added an assist in a 3-2 win at Chicago on July 15, 2006 - for which he was also recognized.

Fans can watch Juan again on Thursday, as he represents FC Dallas in the MLS All-Star game versus Celtic FC in Colorado.

Congrats Juan!

July 17 - FCD U-17 Bow out of SUM Cup

The FC Dallas U-17 team lost its final game of group play on Monday night, falling 3-2 to the Kansas City Wizards U-17's. Dallas took a two goal lead but KC came back with three unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes to claim the game.

Even with six points in the group, FCD did not advance to the semifinals. The three groups consisted of four teams in each, with the top team in each group advancing along with the second place team with the most points. (We have not received all the final standings, but apparently two teams with 6 pts each faced each other in the final game of the group and tied, giving both seven points).

FCD's Keegan Terry scored on a penalty kick in the 30th minute. In the 54th, Matt Bonano scored his third goal in three games when he split two defenders down the center and beat the keeper on a one-on-one.

"Overall for the first-time effort, all the coaches felt it was a great event and we expect the level to continuing improving," said Marco Ferruzzi, FC Dallas assistant coach and coach of the FCD U-17's. "We had some exciting matches and the kids really enjoyed the experience of playing against other MLS team.

"However, the kids are heartbroken by the final result. They are taking it very hard, but we'll use it as a learning tool and take the positives out of it. They were within reach, but unfortunately it didn't go our way."

The team will next participate in a tournament in Greensboro later this month.

July 16 - Traveling with Gbandi, Part II

A few weeks ago, FCD TV brought you on the road with Chris Gbandi on his way to Toronto. We've now finished Part II, which gives fans a different perspective on the travels of Chris and FC Dallas, at least for one road trip. We intended to have this posted last Thursday, but some issues have kept this FCD TV from getting posted on the team site, which is why we're glad we have the YouTube page to allow us to show it...you can watch it here on YouTube or by clicking here for the website version.

July 15 - Reserves and U-17's

The FC Dallas Reserves lost to the DC United Reserves 2-1 on Sunday morning on the auxiliary fields of RFK Stadium, with Abe heading in the lone FCD goal. Should have more on the team site later this afternoon, but for now here's the lineup (4-2-3-1): Ray, Blake, Pitch, Andrew, Dello, Wags, Chase, Ramon, Scott Jones, Sandy Gbandi, and Abe.

On Saturday night in Colorado, the FCD U-17's defeated the Chivas USA's U-17's 1-0, with a goal from Matt Bonano off a corner kick in the 52nd minute. The team trained this morning, and plays its final game of group play on Monday night versus the KC Wizards' U-17's. A win or tie guarentees a trip to the semifinals.

Dario's Jersey

Some fans may have noticed Dario wearing a different jersey on Saturday at DC. It was actually the white training-top the coaches use.


We saw Dario do this last year, when Marcus recommended he wear the grey and white striped jersey, which is the field-player's away uniform. If you recall, he was told this year he could not use the striped one since it's not an adidas keeper jersey.


Some fans may have also noticed that over the past three games, when Dario and the defense recorded three consecutive clean sheets, Dario had been wearing the short-sleeve, dark grey with green trim jersey...heading into Saturday's game, he was informed that the dark color of the jersey was too close in color to DC's black (hmm, didn't Chivas and Colorado also wear dark colors?)


So, Dario and Marcus came up with this 'new' white goalkeeper jersey. Now we'll have to see if he wants to wear it again, and then, if he'll be permitted by MLS.

July 14 - FCD 3, DC United 3

Hopefully many soccer fans caught this game...as much drama and excitement there was for FCD fans, and we're thinking disappointment for DC fans, it was one of the most entertaining games to watch (yes, we don't usually editorialize but we've already heard from some soccer fans who agreed)...as normal, box score, summary, and highlights are on www.fcdallas.net... below are some more notes (we forgot the cable to upload the video of Steve's post-game comments, sorry)...

• The three goal deficit was the largest margin the team has overcome in its 12 year history. Never before had Dallas been down by at least three goals and come back to earn a point. The last time FCD scored three goals in the second half was in a 4-1 win over Colorado on July 29, 2006 at PHP.
• UPDATED (JULY 15, 12:30 pm CT): we learned today from the Elias Sports Bureau that prior to last night, only twice in league history had a team come back to earn at least a point after being down by at least 3 goals...The MetroStars did this to Tampa Bay in 1996 and then to New England in 2003.
• FCD has now played 11 of its 15 scheduled road games of the season, with the All-Star break still to come. Dallas holds a 5-4-2 road record, having earned 17 of its 30 points on the road.
• United’s goal in the 8th minute ended FCD’s shutout streak at 278 consecutive minutes. Prior to that goal, the last goal Dallas had surrendered was in the 90th minute on June 17th at Toronto.
• Midfielder Bobby Rhine today played his 200th regular season MLS game, becoming only the second player in team history to reach the milestone (Kreis – 247 games). Out of the 1,330 players to have played a regular season game in the league’s 12-year history, only 35 have played in more games than Rhine. Additionally, only 14 others have played at least 200 games with one team, as Bobby has.
• In honor of reaching the 200 game mark, Rhine was given the captain’s armband for tonight’s game.
• Toja today recorded the first two-goal game of his professional soccer career (top division). His six goals are a team high.
• Carlos Ruiz today scored his third goal of the season, and first in regular season play since April 12, a 2-1 win at LA. Since that goal, Ruiz had appeared in 10 of the team’s 15 games.
• Ruiz today picked up a yellow card and is one card away from a one game suspension.
• Abe Thompson’s assist tonight was his fourth, tying him with Dax McCarty for most on the team.
• Defender Adrian Serioux today made his first appearance in a regular season game for FC Dallas. He was acquired in Nov. 2006 but had off-season knee surgery which has kept him out until this game.
• Midfielder Pablo Ricchetti was a late scratch from the lineup. He underwent a workout prior to the game to test a tight groin. After the evaluation, the coaching staff decided he was not fit to play tonight.
• Steve Morrow’s team is now 4-1-1 versus other teams led by first-year head coaches.
• FCD will now take a break from regular season play to participate in the inaugural North American tournament, SuperLiga, which will crown the best club team among Mexico and the United States. FCD will host Chivas Guadalajara (July 24), Pachuca (July 28), and the Los Angeles Galaxy (July 28). The team’s next regular season game is on August 4 when they host Colorado at Pizza Hut Park.

Steve Morrow on the game: “From start to finish tonight we really took the game to them. I thought we looked dangerous in the first half and didn’t deserve to be down two nil at halftime. We were very, very disappointed when we come in here (locker room) at halftime because we felt we played very well. We always felt we could get back into the game if we continued to play well. Even going three nil down I didn’t lose hope because of the way we were playing. We showed great character for the whole game; a lot of credit to boys, they fought very, very hard for the whole game and I thought we deserved even more than a point.”

July 14 - FCD U-17's 2, NYRB U-17 1

With all the games this past week, we got a little behind on the blog...for those that haven't seen the team website, there's a U-17 tournament going on in Colorado this week - it's called the SUM U-17 Cup, and features the U-17's team's of all the MLS teams (except New England and Toronto)...Here's the release from MLS...and the FCD release, which lists the kids on the FCD U-17 team...

Marco Ferruzzi coached the FC Dallas U-17's last night in Denver, leading them to a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls U-17 team in the opening game of Group B play. It's the second time this year that an FCD Youth Team defeated a NYRB Youth team...if you recall, the FCD U-19's defeated the NYRB U-19's 2-0 at the Dallas Cup back in April...

Last night, NY opened the scoring in the 60th, but FCD came back five minutes later with a goal from Steve 'Cody' Adams off a dead ball. Matt Bonano ended the drama with a last minute goal, scoring the game-winner in the 89th minute from a cross from Cody.

The guys will next face the Chivas USA U-17's on Sat. at 7:00 pm MT. Chivas tied the Kansas City Wizards U-17 team on Friday 1-1. FCD's final game of group play is on Monday versus KC, also at 7 pm MT.

Marco is now on his way to DC and should arrive prior to tonight's game. Tomorrow, he'll coach the FCD Reserves here against the D.C. United Reserves. FCD Youth Director of Coaching Chris Hayden is with the U-17 team in Colorado until Marco returns for Monday's game.

July 13 - Hello, Goodbye...

"Hello, Goodbye" - the Beatles song that is in our heads and that of anyone that's watched any bit of ESPN over the last couple of days - it's part of the commercial which announces the arrival of David Beckham to the United States and Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy...we've even heard some of the guys signing this on our way to DC today (we're here by the way)...you can get a good fix of Beckham news on the league's official site by clicking here. There, you can see the ESPN commercial, the behind-the-scenes video of his photo shoot (not the one from W Magazine), and a bunch of stories...

Yes, we know he doesn't play for FC Dallas, but how we could we not at least mention that Beckham has arrived...it's hard to deny the impact he's had already through all the media outlets showing, talking, and voicing their opinions (some are pretty funny, as some 'media' have been forced to talk soccer without much of a clue)...there's an incredible buzz and excitement about what this means for soccer and MLS here in the United States...everyone has opinions, so we wanted to provide you a chance to let us know your thoughts...is this good, bad, are you excited?

Also, if you haven't done so, we'd suggest buying your tickets as soon as possible...

July 10 - FCD vs Charleston in Open Cup Quarterfinals

Well we saw first hand on Monday what the Open Cup is all about - USL team's doing what they need to in hopes of upsetting MLS teams...tonight, both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Houston Dynamo lost to USL teams and are therefore eliminated from the tournament...LA lost 1-0 to the Richmond Kickers, and Houston was beaten 1-0 in overtime by the Charleston Battery...

Now, FCD will head to Charleston for the Quarterfinal game on August 7, in a rematch of last year's 3rd Round game...Dallas (and we're thinking Charleston) fans will recall that Kenny scored in the final minute of the first half, of regulation, and of the second extra time period to register his first career hat-trick. Then, Dario saved Charleston's fifth PK and had Simo Valakari convert his for the win.

July 10 - Wally Checks in from Canada

FC Dallas rookie Anthony Wallace is with the U.S. U-20 team competing in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. On Monday, he gave us his take on the tournament, from when he knew he would be playing his first game, through the team mentality heading into the second round. However, unlike Drew and Dax, we had to prod Wally a bit more, so it turned into a QnA.

Wally started at left back in the 6-1 win Poland and the 2-1 upset of Brazil. The U.S. won the group and advanced to the Quarterfinals, where they’ll meet Uruguay on Wed. July 11. As you read this, imagine a laid-back 18 year-old, chilling and having both fun and getting serious…hopefully, it comes across…

When did you know you would get to start against Poland:
“Basically I had a clue in about the 60th minute – the second half – of the first game, when coach called me over to come into the game. But he thought the pace of the game was just too fast for me to come in, and everyone was already settled in. But that’s what gave me a hint that I could be starting the second game.”

And then you guys pull off the tie…what was the team reaction after the game:
“We were just happy to walk away with the tie, because coming out with a loss in the first game, opening up the tournament, would have been real bad. So we were happy overall”

Who are you rooming with?
“I’m rooming with Amaechi Igwe…

And how’s that going?
“It’s going good.”

Do you guys know each other?
“Yea, we do. He was in residency with me.”

Does he snore a lot or are you the snorer?
“Oh he snores sooo much..ha ha.”

So do you even get a lot of sleep in?
“Yea I do. But when I roll over, that’s all I hear.”

Ok, back to the game…what did you guys do after the Poland game?”
“The next day, the starters and the people that played more than 45 minutes, they just did like a light jog and stuff and all that. But people who didn’t start or play did more stuff.”

Tell me about the atmosphere?
“It was actually good, especially with the guys that didn’t play or start. We just put everything into training the next day.”

No, I meant the World Cup atmosphere in general…the crowd, did it feel big-time?
“Ohhh, of course! It was like…I don’t even know how many people were there, but all I know it was a lot! And for the first time in a long time, I was a little nervous. I’d never played in front of a big crowd like that before…Game one wasn’t that bad because I just walked past the crowd. But game two, when I was actually standing out there, for the national anthem and all that….”

So let’s back up…walk us through the day of the game…did the day get long or did the game come quick?
“I wouldn’t say either. It was kind of like I was going through the motions the whole day…actually, coming to realize that I’m actually starting. So I was kind of excited, but nervous at the same time.”

So how did you pass the time?
“We played some Nintendo Wii. Tennis.”

Who plays and who’s the best on the team at tennis?
“Me and Jozy. It goes back and forth, I just beat his butt two times this morning…haha (Wally and whoever is in the room with him laugh at his answer)…but then he beat me right after (more laughs).”

Ok…good stuff…now tell us about your ride to the game?
“No one was really talking on the bus; we were just trying to get focused for the game…listening to music. I had some RnB on.”

So you’re at the stadium…did they tell you why you were starting game two?
“Basically they (Poland) didn’t expect me play on the left side is what they were telling me. I was looking the sharpest in all the other practices out of the people that weren’t starting, and I would’ve been the next left back, is what they told me.”

So had you played left back before for the U-20’s?
“I played it like a year ago, in the first camp, I think.”

But in most of the camps, what position had you been playing?
“Either center mid, center back, or left mid.”

So at practice, what position did they put you in...did you train at left back?
“No, not until two days before the Poland game.”

They tell you you’re starting a World Cup game, at a position you started training at after the first game of the World Cup…what’s your thought when you hear this?
“I was a little surprised, because I thought they would’ve chosen the other ace left back that was here. But I was fine with the decision cause it was something I already knew how to play.”

Ok, so we’re back to the national anthem…big moment…you’re first touch..nervous?
“Actually no. I was just trying to work myself into the game. Make my first everything clean – first ball, first pass, all that.”

Everyone was scoring in that game…where was your goal?
“Yea, but I play defense.”

So they wouldn’t let you take any shots?
“No, they would’ve been perfectly fine with that, but, I….”

Did you just want the attention to go to Freddy, Jozy, Danny and company?
“No. I would’ve liked some to (laughing). But unfortunately I had to come out of the game.”

So what happened to you, injured, cramp?
“Yea, it was a cramp, and when I got up and came back in and tried to run it was just real tight. They said it was a slight strain.”

So what did you make of your performance in your first game?
“Overall good. Especially to come to the second game like that and to be starting all of a sudden.”

And what about the performance of the team…six goals!
“Yea we didn’t back down at all. We felt since we got scored on first, we just came back and didn’t put our heads down.”

NOTE: Wally is so laid back by nature, that we had to ask a ton of questions to get more out of him…the next few questions were about exchanging jerseys…mostly one word answers – and no, he didn’t get a Poland jersey.

Next up was Brazil…what was the team’s mentality heading into the Brazil game, which everyone thinks is a big deal?
“We weren’t nervous about it. We were just….we had like a real good vibe going around because we know that we can play with anyone in the world now-a-days. And after Poland beat them in the very first opening game, we knew that we could give them the same challenge or if not, beat them too.”

Good attitude…

So now you guys change cities…tell about the Irish dancers we read about on the U.S. Soccer Blog?
“Haha…Oh man, (more laughs)…they were everywhere! We would get out the bus, not even at the hotel yet, get off the bus and there was like three girls and one guy and they are doing like these skips and jumps across the street…we were like “what the heck is going on?” (more laughs)…

Did anyone join them in skipping?
“No, no.”

Did you get to watch the full National team games?
“Yea we saw them…I thought Drew was one of the players that stood out in that game.”

What about FC Dallas, have you kept up?
“Yea, I keep track of us. I know we beat Colorado, tied Houston, beat Chivas…”

Back to the Brazil game…you know you’re starting, confident…ESPN picks up the game so a lot more people are watching…some people thought it was a big upset…what was the team mentality throughout?
“It was actually a cut-throat mentality. If we knew we could go at them, then we would just keep on pushing. No mercy, basically. We knew we wouldn’t give up anything.”

Was there anything different about the Brazil team compared to the others?
“They were definitely a lot more skillful. They had that Alejandro Pato, who just signed for I don’t even know how many millions.”

Was he good?
“Yea he was pretty good, but wasn’t really effective.”

How’d you do…
“I played pretty good”

Did anyone ‘school’ you at all?
“I don’t think so but one of my friends said that I got schooled on one play where the guy ended up crossing it to nobody…so, I guess..”

Do you remember that play?
“Yea I remember the play. It was like, he does like a little stutter step and then touches the ball down the line, and I wasn’t like even half a second late. So…I don’t think I got schooled. It was one of my friends from back home. He’s just talking crap.”

So what was the feeling like when Jozy scored the second goal?
“Oh man that was relief right there (laughing)…but we knew that we were still going to keep on getting chances, cause we had chances from like the opening 5-10 minutes, and we were just on top of them. So we just worried about finishing them.”

Tell us about after the game, did you guys celebrate?
“Yeaaa. We ran around like three times. Na, we ran back and forth cause we had a lot of fans that ended up coming closer and closer to the field, so we were thanking them.”

And afterwards, night off?
“They gave us the night off and most of us went out to eat with our parents.”

Saturday, Sunday?
“The next day we drove here to Toronto, like a four hour bus ride. We’re in a nice hotel that has flat screens.”

How did you guys watch / find out you were playing Uruguay?
“We were watching the result of a couple other games, like Cameroon and Congo game, and the umm…I think that was it.”

So how did you find out you were playing Uruguay, did they tell you?
“No, a bunch of the guys figured it out on their own last night (Sunday). They pulled the standings from the FIFA website. And then our coach was telling us this morning at breakfast.”

Ok. Now you guys know…what’s the thought going into the game?
“The mentality is that we definitely know that it’s not going to be easy, because it’s the round of 16 now and nobody has anything to lose, so they’re just going to put it all out. And we’ve played teams like this like Chile, right before we came to Canada…real crafty players, real skillful.”

Couple more…

How’s the security been. Drew told us they had all kinds of security down in Venezuela?
“From what I was hearing - actually this morning I was hearing about that security cause we have some guys here with video of it that were with them – it’s not really anything like theirs, not even close. We just have our one security guy that follows us around wherever we go. But when we go to games, that’s when we have like three police cars, in the front and back and side. But that’s about it. I heard for them they had to have like a helicopter follow them around the practice and all that.”

How have the other team’s been…how are the people from Canada taking in the World Cup?
“Yea people are into it. Some of the other teams like Brazil and Korea, they were..no, no, not Brazil. But Korea and Poland were good sports, put it that way. When we beat Brazil they went straight to the locker room after it.”

Why is that?
“I have no clue.”

So no jersey exchange?
“No, our guys tried to exchange some jersey but they just left.”

And what’s the vibe around the team now?
“We’re definitely taking it game by game, but we definitely as a team feel like we can do this.”

What makes you guys feel that?
“We have a lot of camaraderie here. Everyone has each others back. We’re close like that. We have a lot of heart. Everybody’s working for everybody.”

Thanks Wally for your time, we’ll be watching!
“Thanks guys.”

July 9 - FCD wins Open Cup 3rd Round

Whew...that was close...but that seems to be the case in these Open Cup games...of the last eight Open Cup games Dallas has played in, five have gone to overtime, and three of those five have been won on penalty kicks...We'll be back with some interesting bits...in the meantime, here's Steve's post-games comments:

July 8 - Touch and Go

Only hours after last night's game in Monterrey, the full team was back out on the Pizza Hut Park training field this afternoon. Breakfast was at 6:30, the bus left the hotel at 7:15 am, and our flight left at around 9:50 am (again, on time) ...we get through customs, board the bus at DFW around 12:15, and get to the stadium by 1...by 2:30, practice had ended under an intense sun and incredible humidity...

The guys that saw a lot of minutes last night had a recovery session, while the rest of the guys that didn't travel met the full team at the Park - including Drew, back from Venezuela...the coaches put the guys through a good workout, which included guys like Carlos, Abe, Pitch, Wags, and Ramon - all who saw time last night...

For those that can't make tomorrow's game, we plan on webstreaming on www.fcdallas.net... expect a pretty strong FCD lineup...

July 7 - FCD 0 v Tigres 2 - FINAL.

FINAL - FC Dallas 0 Tigres 2. The Rio Grande Plate continues at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco on Wednesday at 7:30pm . Dallas will need to win by 3 to win outright or win by 2 to send the series to PKs. We removed the 'blog-version of the matchtracker to cut down some scrolling...click here for the condensed version.
=======================
FC Dallas arrived at Estadio Universitario at 5:30 pm today, with Tigres fans already spreading throughout the 40,000 plus seat stadium.

Here's FCD's starting lineup:
---------------------Burse----------------------
---Dello-Russo----Yi------Daniels--------Wagner---
----------------Serioux------Wileman---------------
---Oduro------------------------------Wagenfuhr---
---------------Ricardinho----Thompson-------------

Available Subs: Shaka, Ruiz, Ramon, Pitchkolan, C Gbandi, S. Gbandi, Scott Jones. There's some confusion on how many subs each team can use - the refs said five, so our coaches are heading over to the Tigres coaches to see about changing that...

Also, we talked to the local radio broadcasters, and they tell us to pass on their website so that FCD fans can listen in....http://www.rg690.com.mx/- click on Escuchanos en linea and the live webstream should open in a new window (and yes, we know it's in Spanish)....we'll do our best to keep you updated, all the while also trying to capture some video.

July 7 - Fishing for Turtles

Today we write to you from the fourth country we've visited this year...incredible, no? We've been in Brazil, in Canada, of course the U.S., and now Mexico...kind of cool if you think about it...that our team is not just a team that plays in MLS / Frisco...but one that has reached a few places already, in just seven months...

Following Friday's practice at Pizza Hut Park, 18 players, three coaches and four additional staffers were on our way to Monterrey, Mexico - leaving DFW (on time) at around 4:50 pm.

SIDEBAR # 1 - But, before the team left PHP, we noticed that a group of players had been attending to a new 'teammate'. We walk into the lounge, where the guys eat before leaving for road trips, and we see a few of them feeding a turtle....you read correctly, a turtle.

Upon arriving for training on Tuesday, Fish parked his car in the Gold lot, which is next to the Dr. Pink field but also borders the reservoir used for watering the fields. As he parked, he noticed that crawling near his car was this 10 inch turtle.

Carlos brought the little fella into the locker room, and the rest of the guys immediately started with the questions and the attention. As one person tells us: "we saw Marcus taking these small bits of crackers to the back room, so we followed him and noticed he was sneaking to turtle some food."

On game day (July 4), while the guys put on their jerseys, they also gave the turtle his FCD colors and name - placing an FCD logo sticker on it's shell with the words, "Bobby H". We've asked the guys why that name, but they only laugh...In reality, you've seen it before with the Gbandi video, no one is safe from getting 'ranked on'...you can stop all the shots, score all the goals, or make all the travel arrangements - but if the opportunity comes to make a joke, there are plenty of guys that will take...it's all in fun, as we all know that's just a sign of friendship among this circle...

Anyway, the turle has lived in the locker room for the past few days...it's been well fed, and definitely has plenty of water and exercize...we're told they've found it in all areas, from the weight room to the shower to behind the couches...however, it's been accepted that we'll soon have to bring Bobby H back out to the pond...

We landed in Monterrey at about 6:20 pm, got through passport control, and then to our bags...everyone grabbed their personal one and a team bag, and we were heading through the final customs control when...Chase realized he didn't have his personal bag.

Of course he got his share of 'ranking'...see, Chase hasn't been on most of the trips with the rest of the guys this year, and for the blog faithful, you know what kind of hiccups we've had traveling...We all walk through and Bobby Hammond stays back with Chase to look for his bag or file a claim....as the rest of us approach the bus, we turn around and see the two of them right behind us...it turns out, another passenger picked up Chase's bag by accident, and as they were looking around, the person dropped it off to them...thanks!

We're on the bus and some of the guys had been asking about the U.S. U-20 vs. Brazil game...we quickly pull out the computer, find out we can get online, and turn on our Slingbox...a crowd gathers in the aisle and over seats to watch the the final 20 minutes on the small computer screen on the way to the hotel - happy for Wally to be starting and hoping to see Dax get on the field soon. Either way, the overall sentiment was a happy mood that the U.S. was winning 1-0 going into the half (that is, everyone but Ricardinho, who had played with a lot the Brazilian players).

We get to the hotel - the same Radisson we stayed at last year. A photographer quickly takes pictures of Fish, who as always obliges the request for an interview....there's a wedding party congregating in the lobby, and our team meal was in the open hall right behind the lobby...the guys drop their stuff off in their rooms and head back down - and what do the have for dinner? ...steak, mashed potatoes, pasta! This has to be the longest we've seen the players hang around a team meal...we were especially glad they didn't touch the cheesecake, because it left more for the staff table! Thanks to Kevin back at the office, we're receiving text updates on what's going on in the game, all the way to through injury time and even Dax's shot on goal...the U.S. wins!

By the time we were done, it was already 10 pm so the guys went up to their rooms.

From the first floor rooms, we could hear music well into the night coming from downstairs. This morning, we learn that it was a 'variety show" type of event going on...

Breakfast was optional this morning, especially with the late meal...they'll have a team snack at noon after the walk around...then the team meal at 3:30....game time is 7 pm.

It's pretty warm here, that is when the rain stops...our hotel is on a freeway / expressway and faces the mountains ...the morning rain and clouds has made them nearly invisible, though they appear to be only about a mile away.

Some nice coverage in the papers this morning...it seems a few Tigres players are a bit disappointed in having lost the Plate last year...we'll come back later if there's more to report, otherwise, we'll see how the situation is at the stadium before we know if the 'running-blog commentary' is possible.

July 5 - The Traveling Party

Here's the 18-man roster that will travel to Monterrey, Mexico on Friday ahead of Saturday's Rio Grande Plate versus Tigres UANL. Unfortunately, many factors kept us from being able to broadcast the game on Saturday...as it is, would people be interested in following a blog-version type of 'matchtracker', that is if we can pull it off?

Traveling Roster: Shaka Hislop, Ray Burse, Michael Dello-Russo, Andrew Daniels, Alex Yi, Adrian Serioux, Chris Gbandi, David Wagenfuhr, Blake Wagner, Aaron Pitchkolan, Ramon Nunez, Carlos Ruiz, Abe Thompson, Scott Jones, Dominic Oduro, Ricardinho, Sandy Gbandi, and Chase Wileman.

July 5 - Toja Selected to All-Star Game

FC midfielder Juan Toja recieved some great news today, when he was officially named to the MLS First XI for the Sierra Mist MLS All-Star game. He's the youngest player on the team, and joins fellow Colombian Juan Pablo Angel on the roster. We'll see if MLS All-Star head coach selects Juan to start the game versus Celtic FC on July 19.

Here's a breakdown on the percentage of votes he received from each of the four groups (25 per cent to online voting, to media, to players, and coaches / gms)...as you see, Juan was fifth overall in the voting:

___________________Online__Media__Players__Coach/GM__Total
Juan Pablo Angel___4.050__18.243___15.336___19.079___56.738
Dwayne De Rosario__5.336___7.432____9.878___17.763___40.410
Eddie Johnson______3.017__14.189___11.829____7.895___36.930
Shalrie Joseph_____1.919__10.135___10.000___12.500___34.554
Juan Toja__________1.528__12.162____5.976___14.740___34.139
Jimmy Conrad_______3.304___6.757____6.829___15.132___32.022
Jonathan Bornstein_2.078___8.108____7.439___10.526___28.151
Michael Parkhurst__1.935___9.459____6.098____9.868___27.360
Matt Reis__________3.075___6.081____6.707___10.526___26.390
Ricardo Clark______1.545___4.730____8.780___11.184___26.239
Christian Gomez____2.428___3.378____7.439____7.895___21.140

July 4 - FCD 2, Chivas USA 0

Nice 4th of July win today...and those that stuck around for the fireworks / video / music show received an extra treat...we'll give some props to our video dept who put together the cool video, and to the Zambelli Family for the cool fireworks show...

As always, game summary, highlights, and box score can be found on www.fcdallas.net... A couple additional notes:

• Today’s win raised FC Dallas’ record to 9-6-2, 29 points and increased its lead over second place Houston to six points in the Western Conference. Houston plays New York on Thursday.
• Goalkeeper Dario Sala and the defense have now recorded three consecutive shutouts...and in four over the last five games....
• The win brings the team’s home record in 2007 to 4-2-1, having outscored their opponents 10-5 over the seven games.
• FCD is now 7-2-2 versus Western Conference opponents, including 4-0-1 at home against the West. Chivas had won three and tied one of their last four meetings against FC Dallas until today.
• Ramon Nunez entered the game in the 12th minute for Marcelo Saragosa, who suffered an injury to his right knee. Saragosa will have an MRI on Thursday and be further evaluated. While Ramon had played in each of the team’s first 11 games, he had only played 45 total minutes over the last five matches prior to today.
• Today was the 8th time Dallas played on the 4th of July since 1996. The win brings the team’s record on Independence Day to 3-4-1 overall.
• Although not quite the streak that Kenny Cooper has when scoring a goal, Dominic has scored four career goals – and FCD is 4-0-0 when he scores. When Kenny scores, the team is 13-0-2.

July 4 - Drew's Venezuela Blog - Part III

FCD defender Drew Moor made his international debut on Mon, July 2 when he started and played the full 90 minutes for the U.S. National Team against Paraguay in the Copa America tournament, which is being staged in Venezuela...he continues his updates, bringing us along through his experience leading up to his first CAP...

"The flight from Maracaibo to Barinas was about 25 mins long on another chartered jet. It was so short that we literally reached our cruising altitude, leveled off, then started descending towards the runway (my kind of flight!). The equipment guys do an awesome job of taking and loading our bags for us. It was kind of funny because the plane's cargo area did not have enough space for all of our personal/equip. luggage....so we had to put about 30 bags seat-belted into chairs on the back of the plane.

Security was just as tight in Barinas too, and the city is not nearly as big as Maracaibo. In fact, our hotel was a 1/2 mile from the runway, and the stadium is about a mile from our hotel. There is not really a "downtown" area, but the stadium and it's surrounding area would be considered the "center" of Barinas. The hotel is more of an inn, and we have rented pretty much every single room there (50 or so). The people who work there are extremely friendly and are all about pictures. One interesting thing is the artwork all over the hotel. There are pieces of art full of naked women....from the hallways, to the stairwells, to the dining area...we cannot escape them.

We did not actually train at the stadium. Instead, we used a very nice, small practice facility on the outskirts of the town. It was a perfect pitch surrounded by cornfields and it rained the entire session, which was great. Also, there were approximately 40 or so military guys placed all around the cornfields/bleachers looking away from our field for our protection...kinda intimidating!

On a side note, we have all kept up with the U-20's and all MLS games. Our game against Houston was actually televised (though delayed) in Maracaibo, so I really enjoyed watching my boys.....well, i wouldn't say "enjoyed," because I really wanted to be there. I was also curious/disappointed that neither Dax (McCarty) nor Wally (Anthony Wallace) started against South Korea...they are both quality players that deserve to be on the pitch.

We didn't hear an official line-up announcement until our meeting after the pregame meal on Monday. However, there are different ways that we can tell who will probably start during the training sessions leading up to the game. I knew from training that I would be in the 11 and was obviously extremely excited/nervous/anxious.

Although I was nervous and anxious, I felt a certain confidence inside myself that I would perform well....I feel that throughout my soccer career so far, I have always played some of my best soccer when the competition is at a very high level. So I felt a certain comfort when I thought about the level I was about to compete in. Of course I immediately called my parents and girlfriend. However, I've made a huge mistake in not telling Coops (Kenny Cooper) also.....he is someone who I tell everything to, and I feel bad that I didn't pass this on to him. So Coops, I'm sorry....

I've talked to coach Morrow a couple times to see how training is going and wishing them luck in the games. We've also spoken about whether he wants me to meet them in Monterrey if we do not advance here in Venezuela....We still have yet to decide (probably depends on if I play on Thursday against Colombia).

I usually sleep just fine the night before games, and this night was no different. We all have our own rooms in this hotel, so it was quite easy to fall asleep (w/ the TV on, as i always do...).

The meals on game day are very similar to the Argentina game day, except there are only two because of the earlier start. I continue to remain very calm and confident. In fact, I try not to even think about the game that much so it doesn't drive me insane.

The drive to the stadium was only about 1 1/2 miles, however, it took about 25 mins because of the pedestrian traffic around the stadium. As we walked underneath to our locker room, we could see that the stadium was already packed to capacity an hour and a half before kickoff, unbelievable!!

It felt like we were in the locker room FOREVER before we finally took the field for warm ups, welcomed with a huge roar from the neutral fans. In fact, although there were thousands of Paraguay supporters at the match, I felt as though the neutral/Venezuelan crowd did a great job of supporting the US team at times during the match....especially when Rico (Ricardo Clark)scored.

I somehow continued to stay calm even during the national anthems. It's an incredible feeling to hear your national anthem in a different country by the way....

I felt that overall I had a good performance...played some very nice balls from the back... could've been a little tidier on the defensive side of the ball....but I felt that Benny Olsen and I did a great job of keeping their left side quiet for most of the match.

However, the one thing that continues to jump in my head (no pun intended) every time I think about the game....is the missed header. Of all the good things I felt like I did throughout the match, it's that play that haunts me. I feel that that is a header I will convert 99% of the time, and what a terrible time to miss.

Of course, everyone I've talked to - parents, former club and college coaches, teammates - have told me to not let that chance take away from my overall performance. So for now, I'm somewhat at peace about it, but will continue to bang my head on the wall over it.

I will be curious to see how we line up in the final match, because as of now (wed. morning), we are not mathematically out of it...although the results did not go our way last night. I still hope that I will be in the starting 11 tomorrow night, no matter what the circumstances may be. I do know that coach Bradley will no doubt play to win this match, and this US team is too good to go through this group without a win.

Side note......good luck to the boys tonight against Chivas...again, we owe these guys. And, Happy Independence Day to everyone back home. Let's get 3 points tonight."

July 3 - Dax Checks in from Canada

FC Dallas midfielder Dax McCarty, not to be outdone by Drew, brings provides us his World Cup update. As most know, Dax and rookie Anthony Wallace are with the U.S. U-20 team participating in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. The U.S. will play their second match today, July 3, versus Poland (4 pm CT, ESPNU and Galavision):

"Just wanted to start off by congratulating the guys on their 0-0 draw with Houston. Even though we were the home team, I consider that a good result because Houston has been on a bit of a hot streak lately. So congrats to the guys for getting a point. Even though a win would of been great, every point counts.

The few weeks leading up to the World Cup was a pretty intense one. First, we started out in New Jersey training at the PDA (a NJ club team) training facilities. They have some nice fields, which also included turf field we could use to prepare for the surface we would be playing on in Canada. Once everyone got into camp we had 2-a-day training sessions for about 4 days, which was pretty intense. Training was short and sharp.

We played a few friendly matches that were very good tune-ups for us going into the World Cup. First, we played against Chile at Giants Stadium. It was a great test for us because they are also in the World Cup. The game ended 2-1 in our favor in a hard fought match.

Next, we played against a slightly different opponent in terms of playing style in New Zealand (who is also in the tourney). They were very physical and big, which turned out to be a good test for us. We played very well and ended up beating them 4-0.

Next it was off to Montreal...Once we arrived in Canada, we got settled into our hotel which is very nice. We have a whole wing on the 10th floor to ourselves so everyone is nice and close to each other.

The next few days consisted of us training once a day until our opener against South Korea. In the afternoons we did quite a bit of video work - not only watching our own play, but also watching S. Korea.

Quick story to show everyone how smart the Koreans are. They played a friendly match against Canada in Canada to prepare for the WC. Our head coach Thomas Rongen took a quick 1 hour flight up there to scout them and see what players were playing and all that good stuff. They obviously had some idea of what we were planning, and proceeded to change all their jersey numbers so our scouts couldn't distinguish who was who by number. Needless to say, it was very hard for our scouts to learn much about each individual player because they were wearing numbers in the 50's and 60's. Well done Korea!

My room mate is GK Steve Sandbo, who actually had some Dallas connections. He plays GK for SMU and is going into his senior season with them. Before our opening game, we had to go through some meetings and get credentials made and what not. Its definitely very exciting to be a part of all this. It really feels like nothing I have ever experienced before going into the opening game.

Saturday finally came, which means our first game against S. Korea was finally here.

We had breakfast at 9, and our pregame meal at 1. Kick-off wasn't until 5 so everyone spent the next few hours in their rooms focusing on the task at hand. Once we got into the bus going to the stadium, we were immediately surrounded by 4 cops on motorcycles who escorted us to the stadium. Once we got there, we went to our locker room and then went out to the field to watch a little bit of the Poland-Brazil game. The atmosphere was electrifying to say the least....
50,000 people chanting and cheering was pretty cool to see. Once the game ended we warmed up and our game got underway shortly after.

Disappointing is really the only way to describe how we played against the Koreans. We ended up tying the game 1-1, but to say we were lucky to get that result is an understatement. They really took it to us and for some reason we didn't play well at all. I came off the bench and played about 40 minutes. Getting a taste of my first minutes in a World Cup was pretty unbelievable. Once I settled down a little bit I thought I helped the team out a bit, which was nice.

After the game, we were very disappointed in how we played, but satisfied that we saved a point from the game. Now, its time to prepare for Poland, who will be just as difficult a test as Korea was. If we can get 3 points from this game that will put us in the driver's seat in the group and give us quite a boost. There is no doubt in my mind that we will play better than we did against Korea. We can't play much worse to be honest, so were raring to go and prove that we deserve to be here.

Just wanted to give a quick thanks to all the FC Dallas fans that support not only Dallas, but also the National teams as well. Your support goes a long way and is definitely appreciated."