Football Season Guide

FC Dallas did make it to the playoffs last season after having missed out completely the previous year but 2018 will be seen as a bit of a disappointment as they finished fourth in a weakened Western Conference before failing to progress beyond the Knockout Round. Last season ended with the news that Oscar Pareja will be leaving the club after four years and Dallas have once again turned inwards for their replacement, appointing academy director Luchi Gonzalez as their new head coach. Pre-season has promised a year of change for Dallas with Gonzalez showing preference to a 4-3-3 formation compared to the 4-2-3-1 system under Pareja. He will need to juggle his options wisely though with the Dallas roster looking weaker compared to last year following the departures of Akindele, Urruti, Victor Ulloa, Maynor Figueroa and Roland Lamah. Paxton Pomykal, Brandon Servania and Jesus Ferreira are expected to be given more minutes this season but are still inexperienced to be consistent at the top level, something which may prove to be a major concern should any of the first choice players suffer long term injuries. Zdenek Ondrasek has been brought in as replacement for Urruti while Bryan Acosta has been signed on a Designated Player contract and will be starting the campaign as the first choice in the midfield. They do have a settled look in the offense though with Michael Barrios and Santiago Mosquera manning the flanks and providing support for Badji or Ondrasek