Let's Recap - 2007

As the year comes to an end, we've seen numerous media outlets recapping 2007...In staying with that theme, we wanted to get the FCD Blog faithful involved in helping highlight some of the best 'soccer' moments, experiences, stories, etc. of the past year...

So, we're asking you to post what you remember positively from '07 - it can be about FC Dallas, soccer in general, MLS, national teams, other leagues, individuals, funny or interesting notes or memories...

We'll get you started with this video, which brings you some off-the-field images of FCD from 2007...

Happy Holidays!!

The FC Dallas front office, the team and coaching staff, Pizza Hut Park, and the FCD Blog / FCD TV want to wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season!

The front office will be closed until Jan. 2 - though many staffers will be working (after Christmas) to ensure the Park is ready to go for the start of InterLiga. We here at the blog will also be gone for a bit, but we'll be sure to check back in before the new year to re-live 2007 one final time...so for now, Happy Holidays!

Dreaming of Beijing...

MLSnet.com has created a four-part original video series about four young MLS stars pursuing Olympic glory - including FCD's Arturo Alvarez. Click the links below to watch Arturo, Toronto's Maurice Edu, Houston's Stuart Holden, and Chivas USA's Sacha Kljestan as they chase their dream of representing the U.S. in the 2008 Summer Olympics in China.

Episode One

Episode Two

Episode Three

Episode Four - Coming soon...

Kenny Checks in from Manchester

We told you a few weeks ago that Kenny was heading to England... today, we caught up with him...he's been at Manchester United, where this weekend he finishes his second week training with his former club...here's a short QnA...

Kenny, walk us through your first day back with your former club...what thoughts did you have as you approached the training center...

KC: The first day, like all the others, was obviously very special. It was nice to walk into Carrington after being away for two years and to see so many familiar faces. I gave the receptionist a big hug when I walked in, and then headed upstairs to the cafeteria. Everybody was very welcoming and interested in how I have been doing.

Where did you go / who did you see when you got to the training center, and how did you know what to do next? Did they give you team gear to wear...

KC: The first day I met with Jimmy Ryan to find out what I was going to do for the day. They provided me with a kit, number 69. My training kit number used to be 75, and just yesterday at lunch I was talking to one of the young boys and looked up to realize he was wearing it. It was funny.

Has anyone recognized you from your first stint there - any players say anything to you?

KC: Everyone at the club is so friendly. It is nice to see people you haven't seen in two years and have them remember your name. Manchester United is a very special place. It is like a big family.

Can you tell us something about the team facilities...

KC: Manchester United is obviously a massive club. The facilities are all first class. Carrington has about a dozen fields outside, a speed training hill, a heated field, and an indoor academy that has artificial turf. Inside, there is a pool, a gym with tons of weights (in kilos), a basketball court, offices, and a cafeteria where many of the players can have breakfast and lunch.

As for training, which team have you spent the majority of time training with? Do you feel you fit in good after being in MLS for the past two years? What, if any, differences have you found with your play compared to the last time you trained there?

KC: I have spent some time with the Reserves, training under Jimmy Ryan and Brian McClair. Brian was actually one of my coaches when I was at the club before, so it is cool to have trained under him again. Every training session, we've started with a five v two box, just like in Dallas. We have played some small sided games, and have done fitness at the end of some sessions. The training as been first class, and so has the quality of play. I do feel I have fit in and I feel I've done very well. It is cool to come back and train after having had a lot of great experiences in MLS and with the national team in the last two years.

Did you give Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo any tips on how they can improve their game? Seriously, have you had the chance to talk to / observe any of the first team guys training - what stands out to you about them?

KC: hahaha. I have not given any of the first team players any advice. However, it is a great learning experience to see them train and be around them. They are some of the best players in the world, and to see their professionalism and the passion that they put into their training is a very unique experience. That is something that has always stood out to me about the first team players at Manchester United. They work so hard.

Finally, have you gotten out of the trip what you wanted to and what's next, a break?

KC: The trip has been fantastic. I am so thankful to Sir Alex Ferguson, Jimmy Ryan, Brian McClair and the club. I feel so privileged to have been able to come back here to the club that I love so much. I had an amazing two and a half years here, and like I said before, it has been very special coming back. I come home on Sunday to spend Christmas with the family, and my fingers are crossed that I will get a call up into the men's national team camp in January. If I do, this has been incredible preparation.

MLS Rule Changes for 2008

On Tuesday, MLS announced several amendments to the 2008 competition guidelines voted on and approved by the MLS Board of Governors during its most recent meeting, held in Washington, D.C. prior to MLS Cup 2007. We’ll try to bring you up to speed as best we can (click above for the official release):

On the International Player Rule Changes:

• Previously, teams could have four Senior International players on the active 28-man roster...these players were non-U.S. citizens or residents (green card holders) that either were or were turning 25 during any part of that year...Senior International slots could not be traded...
• Teams also had X number of 'slots' for Youth International Players - that is, international players (per above) 24 and under during the particular year. The reason we say 'slots' is because teams started off with three YI slots, but these youth slots could be traded and acquired for any pre-determined length of time...so a team could, in theory, have multiple youth international players - if they acquired more YI slots...If you recall, FCD had four Youth Internationals at the end of 2006: Ramon Nunez, Roberto Mina, Dominic Oduro, and Marcelo Saragosa...the extra YI slot had been acquired from Colorado in 1996, but had to be returned at the end of the 2006 season...since Marcelo was turning 25 in 2007, he moved up to take the final SI slot for 2007...
• Now, each team will start the 2008 season with eight (8) International Slots - age no longer matters and all of these slots can be traded / acquired...for FCD, the international players at this point are: Carlos, Marcelo, Denilson, Juan, Pablo, Roberto, Dominic, and Adrian...(though the team has said it is not picking up Denilson's option for 2008, but would explore bringing him back under a new contract)....
• So now, if Dallas decides to more than eight international players in 2008, they can either move a current international or acquire a slot (or more) from another team, which is different from...
• ...last September...Dallas already had four Senior International on the roster when Denilson was about to sign...in order to fit him in, since teams couldn't trade for Senior International slot at that time, the team either had to remove one of the currents SIs or, what ultimately happened, Marcelo decided to have his knee surgery - thus was placed on the Season Ending Injury List and his SI slot and roster spot was occupied by Denilson.

Another Rule Amendment involves the Designated Player...

• Most everyone knows that teams are not permitted to publicly discuss players' salaries...however, MLS has identified that Carlos Ruiz, Landon Donovan, and Eddie Johnson are players that are paid a salary that would classify them as Designated Players -that is, a salary at or in excess of $400K per season...however, since they were signed before the Designated Player rule was introduced at the end of 2006, they will continue to be grandfathered in for the next two seasons...
• What does this mean: A team will not need to have a DP slot in order to have one of these three players on their roster (in 2006, each team was given one DP slot, which could be traded)...however, their salaries will count against their team's salary budget (cap) as described by MLS, and anything over that number would be the responsibility of the team (under the MLS Single Entity Structure, all players on the salary budget are paid by the League office, not the individual teams).

Click here for more from the official release which also includes the 2008 MLS Competition Calendar.

The Lost Tapes - III

With a holidays break on the horizon, we here at the FCD Blog asked our colleagues at FCD TV to come up with some more videos to keep the blog active until we come back from break...so, today we give you another episode of The Lost Tapes - ESPN Intros. (Click here for Episode I, and Episode II)

Portions of this episode has been leaked before - first in April, and then later in the year with the Toja Wig Night clips...Back in April, we let fans in on how the ESPN Intros are filmed, as they first had the guys sit down ahead of the LA game on April 12...then, in October, the crew taped some more intros ahead of a home game...those that saw the ESPN2 broadcast of the FCD vs. Chivas USA game on Oct. 11 could tell that the crew very much enjoyed the Toja wigs...it started the day before, during the taping of intros...

FCD Supporters Recognized

We, ummm, didn't get the best of pictures last night (forgot there was a flash!)...but at least everyone seemed to have a good time...
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Last night, we hosted the FCD Supporters' Holiday Party in the Verizon Wireless Club here at Pizza Hut Park...among the fans attending were members of FCD Hoops Nation, The Inferno, La Raza, Los Toros and Guardia Roja supporters clubs...

Hitch recognized all fans for their supports, and gave special mention to the number of fans that traveled to watch the team play in 2007...we saw the Red and White jersey or Hoops Nation t-shirt pretty much everywhere we played this year - at each road game in MLS, at Charleston and Seattle, in Puerto Rico, in Monterrey, and even Trinidad (and even in Curitiba, though the ones we saw in the stands were FCD staff)...In fact, fans traveled over 200,000 miles in support of FCD in 2007.

Thanks to FCD fan Travis for helping put the following list of traveling fans together...from preseason through October, these fans traveled these many miles, to both home and away games...if you're not listed, contact Kevin at the office so he can tell you how to get in touch with some of the supporters groups that track these stats for next year...

-------------------------------TOTAL---------HOME GAME---- AWAY GAME
--------------------------------MILES----------- COUNT--------------COUNT
Warren A.-------17,377----------17-------------9-----
Travis B.---------14,443----------24-------------8-----
Parrish G.-------13,570-----------3--------------7-----
Richard----------11,752-----------22------------5-----
Dana C.---------11,465-----------22------------5-----
Joey M.-----------9,982-----------13------------5-----
Matthew W.----- 8,765-----------21------------6-----
Harlan H.---------8,003-----------22------------5-----
Amy K.------------6,722------------8-------------2-----
Daniel R.---------5,901----------11------------ 3-----
Josh M. --------- 4,824------------0-------------2-----
John H. ----------3,397------------5-------------3-----
Dustin C.--------3,236------------0-------------2-----
Jen Z. ------------2,592------------0-------------1-----
Charlynn H.-----2,077-----------23-------------1-----
Alex W.----------1,467------------1------------- 2-----
Mark L.------------862-------------0-------------1-----

Dax and Arturo finish China Trip

Dax with the U.S. U-23 MNT in China...photo: USSoccer.com / isiphotos.com
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Dax and Arturo are on their way back to the U.S., having finished their camp with the U.S. U-23 MNTteam on Sunday with a 3-3 tie versus the Chinese U-23 National Team at the Yue Xiu Shan Stadium in Guangzhou, China. ...Dax started and played 90, while Arturo played the final 45 minutes...Click here for the complete recap and boxscore.

The U-23’s will take a break for the holidays before regrouping at the IMG Academy for a two-week training camp from Jan. 6-20 in Bradenton, Fla. The camp will continue the team’s preparation for final round action of the 2008 CONCACAF Men’s Under-23 Championship to be held from March 11-23, 2008, in Los Angeles, Tampa and Nashville. The eight-team tournament will send the two finalists to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

U-23's - Dax and Arturo in China

FROM U.S. SOCCER - The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team came away with a scoreless draw in their first of two games against China. In front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Changsha He Long Sports Centre, the spirited match ended 0-0, despite both teams hitting posts in the second half.

Dax and Arturo both started, with Dax going 90 and Arturo going the first 80...Dax was named the Sierra Mist Man of the Match by ussoccer.com.

Holiday Time - Party and Toys

Dom, Sandy, Chase, Tex Hooper and Santa Claus took part in the FC Dallas Foundation Kicks for Kids Holiday Bowling Party on Wednesday at Main Event Entertainment...despite the traffic, over 150 kids from the Boys and Girls Club Richardson and Grand Prairie, the Heart House Dallas, the Larry Johnson Recreation Center, and KidCare America were able to make it, enjoying food, bowling and challenging the FCD players in all the games...a great time was had by all...

Around the same time, Chris and Pablo were at a Fire Station in Frisco for the WFAA Toy Drive...families dropped off toys that would then be donated to underpriveldged local kids...

Tis the Season...team stays busy, also

News on the team side of the organization: Upon returning from Trinidad, the coaching staff had some decisions to make - first off, player options. Steve talked to MLSnet.com about some of the decision.

Yesterday, Dec. 10, was the first day that teams could submit names of potential new player as "Discoveries"...what does this mean? In short, teams may submit names of players to MLS which they may want to look into signing...if more than one team submits the same player to the league, and that player then decides to want to join MLS, the team that submitted his name first would have the first right to negotiate with that player...(click here and go to letter "E" for more)...this doesn't mean that all players that are listed are signed, and this list can change quickly, by simply removing one player and adding another...

In deciding which players to list, the coaching staff has stayed pretty busy over the past few days / weeks, taking tons of calls from agents, looking through many DVDs, and of course looking at some players in person...As such, Steve will not be attending the NCAA College Cup this weekend...Marco will, and he'll also be taking his FCD U-17 team to Cary to participate in a tourney...Steve will be heading over to England to have a look at a few identified players in games over the next couple of weekends...

We currently also have a few players overseas...Dax and Arturo are with the U.S. U-23 in China, and Kenny is currently in England...Blake was in Germany on Monday for his surgery...we're working to get in touch with them to see how they are doing...

Some guys have also returned to their hometowns, while others are still here...Pablo is keeping himself busy with appearances...on Tuesday, he was distributing toys for the U.S. Postal Service in Fort Worth...on Wednesday, he'll be joined by Chris Gbandi in collecting toys for the WFAA Toy Drive...also on Wednesday, Drew, Alex, Dominic, and Sandy will be at the FCD Foundation Kicks for Kids Holiday Bowling Party... finally, at least for this week, Pablo will join Bobby Rhine and numerous other athletes and local celebs at Thursday's 103.3 FM ESPN Radio Jingle Ball, which benefits the Dallas All Sports Association...

Tis the Season...to stay busy

Updates From the Front Office side (team info to follow):

On Monday, following an all-day off-site Director's 2008 Planning Meeting, the Sponsorship Department hosted a Holiday Party for PHP and FCD partners...on Wednesday, the FC Dallas Foundation will be hosting the Kicks for Kids Holiday Bowling Party at Main Event Entertainment in Grapevine...next Monday, Dec. 17, we'll be hosting the Supporter's Holiday Party here in the Verizon Wireless Club (contact Kevin for more info - 214.705.6700)...

Some Front Office staff has been and continues to do some work related travel...last week, the FCD Ticket Sales Department joined the other MLS teams' Sales Department in Las Vegas attending two days of MLS meetings, sales seminars, breakout sessions, and panel discussions(we here at the FCD blog are hoping our MLS meetings also take place there)...

This upcoming weekend, GM Michael Hitchcock and Director of Soccer Business Development Giampaulo Pedroso will be heading to Cary, North Carolina for the NCAA College Cup - the main reason, since we're hosting the 2008 College Cup here at Pizza Hut Park, the Hitch and GP will be attending planning and operation meetings with Cary and NCAA officials, and use this as a site visit so we can begin preparing for next year's Cup...finally, PHP Director of Grounds Tom Jones will be attending an expo in San Antonio in the next week to stay up on any new products and findings to keep our fields in the best shape possible...

The Lost Tapes, II

A couple of weeks ago, we introduced our first installment of the Lost Tapes, featuring Dom and Chris trying to get through a Public Service Announcement...today, we bring you another episode of The Lost Tapes , taking you all the way back to preseason...let's set it up...

One of the memorable '07 fun team moments came in March, on the bus ride back from a preseason game in Oklahoma...if you recall, Dom scored late in the game, going about 75 yards to secure the 4-3 victory over Chicago...

On the bus ride home, the four rookies at the time - Anthony Wallace, Scott Jones, Tommy Krizanovic, and Sandy Gbandi - were given the task of entertaining the team...they had something like five minutes to come up with a song, memorize the words, and then sing it to the rest of the bus - without music...the bus' cordless microphones were not working, so the players had to lean over the front seat and use a permanent mike that was positioned above the driver...

The rest of the team would be the judges...if you were good, they let you know with a positive cheer...if they did not approve, they'd let you know with a different cheer...

2007 NCAA College Cup

Following trips to Trinidad and Argentina, the coaching staff will continue its in-person scouting next weekend when they travel to Cary, North Carolina for the NCAA College Cup...On Sunday, the Final Four teams were finalized...

Ohio State scored four goals in 12 second half minutes to defeat Bradley 4-0 in Columbus, advancing to its first ever Final Four, and joining the school's basketball and football teams in advancing this far in 2007 ...also on Sunday, UMass defeated UIC 2-1 to also advance to the final four for the first time in their history...UMass will now face Ohio State in one semifinal on Friday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. ET (live on ESPNU).

In the other bracket, Virginia Tech defeated UConn 1-0 on Saturday to become the third team to advance to its first ever College Cup this year...they will face Wake Forrest in the second semifinal...Wake, which is returning to the Final Four for the second consecutive year, needed a sudden-death overtime goal to defeat Notre Dame 1-0 yesterday.

Marco Scouting in Argentina

Last week, while the majority of the team was on its way to Trinidad, assistant coach Marco Ferruzzi was on his way to Argentina for a scouting trip. An agent that Steve and Marco know had arranged a combine for Marco and other MLS coaches to check out some of their talent in Argentina. Another agent that our staff is familiar with helped Marco with the logistics of the trip, even taking him to the combine before talking about his own players…

Marco got back on Monday…Steve and the team got back early Tuesday morning…later that afternoon, while Steve was talking to some players here at PHP, we caught up with Marco, who gives us his first-hand account of his trip…here’s a recap…

Wednesday, Nov. 28
2:30 p.m. – Marco arrives at DFW Airport to catch a 4pm CT flight that is scheduled to land in Miami at 7:45 pm ET, in order to catch a connecting flight at 8:30 pm ET. Because of a delay, the flight to Miami arrives at 8pm…not sure how they did it, but his bags made the connecting flight, and he landed in Buenos Aires as scheduled at about 7:45am local time Thursday morning.

Thursday, Nov. 29
8:30 a.m. - Marco is picked up at the airport and taken straight to the soccer combine, which started at 9 am.

Having just gotten off the plane, in jeans, Marco notices other MLS coaches looking a lot more comfortable in the 90+ degree heat (we’ll add that Marco seems to always be in sweats here, even in the summer time…so when he says it was hot, we can imagine what it felt like to him)…he joins Jason Kreis, Curt Onalfo and Tommy Soehn who are all sitting together.

The combine was held at a fieldhouse type of facility with two fields that were…umm, not in the best of shape. It was organized by a group of promoters, who have players that were out of contract and no longer affiliated with clubs. Of the roughly 40 participating players, there were a few younger guys, but most were in their mid 20’s.

1:00 p.m. – after the combine, Marco joins the promoters and Curt Onalfo for lunch…later, he heads to the office of another agent contact…there, he’s shown videos of some players that currently play for top flight teams in Argentina, Chile and other South American countries…some players definitely catch his attention, so more info is requested from the agency…

Wanting to give Steve a quick update, Marco realizes the international phone he took with him is not working…he borrows a computer at the agent’s office to check emails, and send our staff in Trinidad a note…

4:30 p.m. – finally reaches his hotel…(funny explanation from Marco about how badly he needed to clean after the overnight flight, straight to combine, straight to agents office)…finds a place to eat and crashes…

Friday, Nov. 30
8:15 a.m. – Gets picked up at the hotel and taken to Club Atletico Quilmes, commonly known simply as Quilmes, to watch their U-19’s and U-18’s train which started around 9am. Following the practice session, which ended at about 11:30am, Marco meets with Adrian Czornomaz – the Quilmes youth coach. Impression – Quilmes has a great program, in which they actually had a group of players training that day that were basically trying out for the Quilmes youth system.

12:30 p.m. – He heads back to the same agency as the day before, spending around a few hours watching more videos, and then catching up on emails. Together with the agent, they decide which games they were going to attend on Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, Dec. 1
3:00 p.m. - Goes to watch Chacarita Juniors vs. Defensa y Justicia game which starts at 4 pm. These teams play in the Nacional B, which is the second division in Argentina, and Chacarita ends up winning 2-1.

6:00 – They quickly move on to the next game - Racing vs. Huracan, a Primera Division game... Huracan was the home team, but due to stadium renovations the game was played at Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, which is the home of Argentino Juniors, another Primera Division team…like many stadiums in South America, this one had a tall fence with barbed wire surrounding the field to keep spectators off... the scene outside and inside is quite impressive…Huracan scores early and dominates the rest of the way..three Racing players receive red cards, and Huracan goes on to score two more late goals…

Sunday, Dec. 2:
8:30 a.m. - Marco again is picked up, and the two go back to the Quilmes facility to watch their U-16’s and U-17’s train from 9-11:30am. Similar to his experience here a few days ago, Marco comes away very impressed with the set up and the skill and technical ability the kids display.

5:00 p.m. – They drive to another Nacional B game, this time it was Instituto AC Cordoba vs. Almirante Brown. Almirante is one of the top teams in this division and Instituto is at the very bottom, so this one was pretty one-sided. Almirante ran away 3-0, saving all of the scoring for the second half. Having to get to the airport, they need to leave the shortly before it ends…

7:30 p.m. – Marco is dropped off at the airport…
9:30 p.m. – Finally gets through checking in, security, and passport / customs patrol…
10:15 p.m. – Boards plane…yes, an empty seat next to his…time to rest…

Monday, Dec. 4:
6:30 a.m. CT – Lands at DFW, clears customs quickly…much easier
8:00 a.m. – Arrives at Pizza Hut Park, catches up on email / voicemails for a few hours before heading home...

Next weekend, Marco and Steve will attend the NCAA College Cup in Cary, NC to do some more scouting. Marco will be taking the FCD Youth U-17 team to compete in a tournament that coincides with the College Cup…next, the MLS Combine in Fort Lauderdale from Jan. 10-15…followed by the MLS SuperDraft in Baltimore on Jan. 18...check back for more on those trips...

Dancing Clinic in TT

Two more items to let you discuss about our trip to Trinidad...first, some details on the alliance that was finalized ahead of the Shaka Cup between the TT Pro League and FC Dallas (and as a result, with our other club partners as well)...the first steps already took place last weekend - with us and CAP participating in the games against their teams, the business summit, and each of us conducting a clinic for area kids... Click here for more details.

Next, a video of the clinic that Denilson, Ricardinho, Kenny, Chase, and Scott had fun participating in...

2008 Season Opener - March 30 vs. Chivas USA

The day get back from the post-season trip, we get confirmation from MLS that we'll host our 2008 season opener on Sunday, March 30 against Chivas USA (2 pm) at Pizza Hut Park. We then head to Houston for our first road game of '08 on Sunday, April 6, also at 2 p.m.. .

DYI...
* This is the 12th time that Dallas will start a season at home...only in 2007 did we start the season on the road (2-2 tie at Real Salt Lake).
* Dallas is 7-3-2 all-time on home openers...we're 6-3-3 all-time in season openers...and we're 3-4-5 in the first road game of the season...

Tickets for the season opener are currently available online by clicking here or calling the front office at 888-323-4625).

Trinidad in Pictures

Here we are, back in our offices at PHP (with high-speed internet!)...the final travel leg went relatively smooth, and we finally got off the bus at PHP around 1:20 am Tuesday...the players that are still here will be coming in at 5:30 for their exit physicals...as promised, here are some more photos from Trinidad...a special thanks to the TT Pro League for all there attention and for providing us these game photos...

Halfway home...

Ahhh...the last trip of the year...it was a hot morning in Port of Spain...we had the bags down in the lobby by noon, then put on a flatbed cargo truck that was scheduled to transport them to the airport ahead of the team bus...same as when we arrived, some of the guys were a little nervous at having their personal bags on this truck (we usually place bags underneath the bus)...the guys go in to eat some lunch, and we're off by 12:30...

we arrive at the airport, with no site of the cargo truck...we tried to joke with some of the more nervous players, telling them the police had been called to look for a large truck carrying our bags...some guys bought it, some didn't...even so, it would have been a normal part of this year's trips...so, now the guys know the bags are supposedly on their way - we start checking in, looking up at the monitor above the desk - where it says, Flight #1668 - Delayed...kind of funny we thought, since we've become used to seeing that word next to so many of our flights...

It turns out we're only about 30 minutes behind...the flight to Miami seemed longer than the 3.5 hours they told us it would take, but at least we had plenty of space...some guys slept, and pretty much all of them at some point seemed to be playing on their PSPs...Denilson and Marcelo claimed four hours total - playing some kind of soccer game...Chase, Ricardinho, Jamie, Daniel - also played...Andrew, Dello, Wags, Blake and Scott had a long game of cards going...Dom, reading, as he normally does...

We land in Miami at around 6:30 pm ET - our first time change of the day...we get through passport control and find ourselves at baggage claim, looking for one missing bag...we soon find out that Ray had already picked one team bag up and had already passed customs, so we're good to go - all bags are accounted for...

Juan goes person to person giving everyone hugs - he's not coming back to Dallas with the guys tonight...instead, he's staying in Miami for a day and then flying to Colombia for the holidays on Wednesday morning...he assures all he's remain in touch over the next 4-5 weeks until he sees them again...Blake follows shortly thereafter - he's going to Tampa for a week before he heads to Germany for his surgery...Marcelo is next...he's got an even longer travel day than the rest of the group - he's heading to another terminal to catch a 10 hour flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil tonight...he's already scheduling a barbecue with Denilson and Ricardinho for next weekend...

The guys were looking forward to many things - one of those being pizza, which they quickly found...second, Starbucks - check!...next, the NFL - and they're all now watching the Monday night football game as we wait for our flight...we'll arrive at DFW around midnight...the guys that haven't had their exit physicals yet will do them on Tuesday at PHP...Denilson and Ricardinho then fly to Brazil later on Tuesday...Kenny's on his way to England on Thursday for a few weeks to train with Manchester United (we'll have more on this later)...we'll try to track all the guys this off season, and of course, as much as we can, we'll keep you up on their whereabouts...

The Second TT Game

We're thinking that those of you that follow us regularly realized that we were having internet issues, which is why we haven't been able to post anything since the pool recovery session on Saturday morning...when we returned from the beach later that day, the hotel internet was down, and still down past Sunday morning...and, there's no internet connection at the stadium...and finally, when we got back to the hotel after the game, the internet speed was so slow that we couldn't even log on to write up a report...well, enough with the excuses...

FCD lost tonight 1-0 to the TT Pro League Local All-Stars, in Shaka's farewell game...Ray got the start in goal, giving way to Shaka to wear our colors one last time - as he played the final 15 minutes of the first half for FCD...unfortunately for him, the TT scored three minutes after he entered...he then played the first 15 minutes of the second half for the local all-stars before exiting to a standing ovation before doing a farewell lap...

Throughout the game, FCD had numerous chances to score...ten minutes into the first half, Martin Pautasso sent in a great cross from the right after a nice buildup that Dom narrowly headed wide...Martin also sent a cross from the right to the head of Ricardinho, who's header early in the second half went over the goal...Kenny also had a great chance to tie it up late in the game, but his low header from a Jamie Watson cross was handled easily...the final chance came even later, when Pitch headed down a set piece inside the box - the ball was redirected by the outstretched arm of a defender - however the referee did not see the handball, therefore no whistle...

Despite the loss, it was a nice event to be part of...Shaka is definitely loved here, as evident by the post-game ceremony which saw trophies handed out to the captains of both FCD and Atletico Paranaense, as well as a Shaka, thanking him for all he's done to raise the profile of TT players internationally though his career...Shaka was also presented a check from the TT Pro League for 100,000 Trinidad dollars, which he's said he's donating entirely to four different local organizations...

We're set to return to Dallas on Monday afternoon, leaving here around 3:30 pm local time...and, we're hoping to have a better internet signal when we connect in Miami, so that we may be able to provide more photos and details of the past couple days...otherwise, it may not be till Tuesday, since we arrive in Dallas at 11:58 pm Monday night...

In the pool

The guys got to experience a little nightlife last night following the game, as Shaka took a bunch of them to a nearby dance club...and, since they all played on Friday, today's 'training' session followed regular routine - it was a recovery session, but rather than the tubs in the home locker room, today's was at the hotel pool...we're now heading to a beach, which they tell is an incredibly scenic one hour drive away...we'll check back in tonight...