May 11th, 2007 . 6:17 pm . By: Jason Benfield

Fun Facts

- Since 1998, Dallas are 0-8-5 at KC, and have been outscored 29 to 11.
- KC leads the league in scoring 2 goals per game. Dallas is 9th in allowing 1.5.
- Eddie Johnson has been caught offsides almost twice as many times as
any other player in the league this year.
- Dallas leads the league in fouls committed. KC leads the league in fouls suffered.

It’s not magic, they’re just good

After missing the playoffs in 2006, the management in Kansas City had a tough decision – either change the manager or change the squad. The Wizards went with the former, naming Curt Onalfo as the new head coach heading into the new season. The gamble seems to have paid off. With changes in formation and attitude far outweighing changes in the roster, Kansas City are off to a great start to the 2007 campaign.

Offensively, Kansas City dropped the oft-injured Josh Wolff and an out of form Dave Van Den Bergh for former Middlesbrogh and Boca Juniors player Carlos Marinelli. This has the look of a fantastic move. Marinelli, who never quite found his form in the EPL, has been great in limited action so far this year. He has a wonderful feel for running an offense, is nifty on the ball, and has strong vision. He gives the Wizards an aspect to their game that has been missing since the retirement of Preki.

Defensively, the addition of Kevin Hartman between the pipes has solidified an already talented Kansas City backline. Although Hartman struggles with his footwork from time to time (as Dallas fans saw with his gaffe against the Hoops when he played for the Galaxy), his positioning and shot stopping ability have solidified the defense of the Wizards and vaulted them back into the upper tier of MLS.

The biggest change from a personnel department, however, has been the arrival of a healthy Eddie Johnson. Last year, as a tentative player who was both out of both form and out of shape, EJ struggled to make much of an impact and finished the season with just two goals. He has already exceeded that total by a goal this year, and looks like a completely different player. Although some have pointed to his use of a sports psychologist in the off season, the fact is that Johnson is still an inconsistent player who struggles with runs off the ball, decisions making around the box, and confidence in his finishing. This was evident in their away match against Toronto, where he had several opportunities to go one-v-one against Sutton, but attempted to pass to other players or place the ball rather than aggressively go after the goalkeeper. However, what was also obvious in that match is that physically, nobody in MLS can match up with Eddie. Through his size, speed, and athleticism, he was able to gain possession in the Toronto penalty area time and time again, until he finally finished a chance and grabbed three points for the Wizards (Roy Lassiter, anyone?). PHysically, Eddie is back to his form of a couple of years ago; if he puts it together mentally, he will lead the league by scoring over 20 goals this season.

Curt Onalfo has brought something new to Kansas City: a focus on offense. He has loosened the reigns quite a bit. First, he moved from the 4-5-1 of 2006 back to a 4-4-2. Just as importantly, though, he has moved away from Gansler’s concept of outside midfielders that spend equal amounts of work on offense and defense to a more modern approach, pushing them up as wingers and pouring more numbers into the offensive attack. The offense is not as dynamic with Victorine running the middle when Marinelli is injured, but the strong work of Victorine and Zavagnin in the middle allows the wingers to fly forward and consistently attack. Harrington has been a revelation as a rookie on the left side, scoring in just his third minute of action as a professional against DC in the Wizards’ opener. He is quick, aggressive, and puts a great cross into the box. Davy Arnaud, a former forward, mans the right side. He is not the best crosser in the world, but is good at taking players on and loves to get into the box and take shots. If the game stagnates, the Wizards will hold the outside midfielders back defensively, attempt to pull up the opposing defensive line, and then attack straight up the middle on the counter through Victorine and EJ. This strategy has been very effective against less disciplined teams such as Toronto and DC. Up top, Johnson is joined by Scott Sealy, a physical player who scored 10 goals last season; combined with Johnson, they provide a lot of size and speed, and will be one of the top scoring tandems in the league this year.

Kansas City is also a very good defensive team. Everyone is aware of his ability to join the offense, but Burciaga has made a more concentrated effort to actually play some defense this year. He still gets caught lazily marking away from the ball, but has done a much better job in staying back and helping out his mates on the backline. Garcia is a very solid player who gives physical forwards fits (hello, Carlos Ruiz). Jewsbury has been quite a find for the Wizards after moving to the right back position from the midfield. A player who seemed to have the physical abilities to play in the league, but lacked initiative on the offensive end, it looks like Jewsbury has found his calling as a professional. Although he still tends to dive in a bit when isolated, he has done a good job in his first few games at the new position, and looks like he will grow into a very good defender as the season wears on. Losing Conrad to a jaw injury, however, is huge for Kansas City. Conrad is a classic central defender – good size, just enough speed, and the uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. He is the best central defender in MLS, and the Wizards must replace him with either a rookie (Holbein) or a veteran of the reserve squad (Wahl) because they unloaded Shavar Thomas earlier in the year. Still, even with Conrad sidelined, this is a strong unit; with national team fringe player Zavagnin in front of it and the solid veteran Hartman behind it, is tough to create quality chances against.

Possible Lineups

FC Dallas

After two straight scoreless outings, FC Dallas is under pressure to create offensive chances. Although they won’t change the formation, changes in personnel should allow Toja and Dax to be involved in the attack a bit more. Ricchetti and Sala coming in will give enough defensive stability to allow the other central midfielders to attack. Yi comes back from his calf injury, and Abe Thompson replaces Ruiz due to his antics earlier this week. Saragosa is not fit to start, but could be on the bench. Mina and Wagenfuhr are still out.

KC Wizards

Scott Sealy, banged up earlier in the year, is back to full fitness and will pair with Eddie Johnson up top, sending Ryan Pore back to the bench. Onalfo will have a tough decision in a couple of weeks, when he has to decide between keeping Victorine or Arnaud on the field; for now, however, Marinelli is still recovering from a hamstring injury and is relegated to coming off of the bench. Holbein started the opener for Kansas City when Conrad was with the national team, but that was only due to injury to Wahl. Wahl will get the start against the Hoops.

When Dallas Attacks

At the top, Garcia excels against physical players, and will likely mark Cooper. Wahl is a bit of an unknown, as he has been strictly a reserve up to this point. Abe should be able to get the better of that match up. It will be very important for Dallas to constantly move up top. Garcia can be pulled out of position with a lot of movement and Conrad often covers for his mistakes. Abe and Cooper are both active players, and without Conrad to cover for him, Garcia’s habit of chasing players can be taken advantage of.

Dallas has been most successful on offense this season when Nunez has the space in the middle of the field to run at the other team with speed, but unfortunately, Zavagnin and Victorine are very disciplined players, so that type of space doesn’t open up very often against KC. If Nunez is closed down, it is going to vital that Dax, Toja, and the overlapping backs get involved with the attack and provide service to the forwards in order to take advantage of Conrad’s absence. We could see this formation morph at times into more of a pure 4-4-2 when Dallas is on the attack, as the presence of Ricchetti and Sala allow both Dax and Toja move forward. Dax, especially, is important in this regard. With no midfielder directly opposing him, Burciaga will be tempted to get very involved in the KC attack, especially if Dallas is able to frustrate the Wizards early on. This leaves a big hole on the left side of the KC defense that Dax will be able to probe on the counter.

When Kansas City Attacks

As Columbus exposed last week, when Kansas City plays against a well-organized defensive opponent without the vision of Marinelli, they can struggle to create chances. Columbus did not get pulled into the counter attack traps, the attacking down the wing got repetitive, and neither Victorine nor Zavagnin have the vision to feed Johnson and Sealy the ball in compressed spaces.

The 4-3-1-2 formation of FC Dallas matches up very well against this type of attack. Ricchetti should be able to handle Victorine in the middle, and Dax and Toja will both pinch back on the outside to help Gbandi and Moor mark the wingers. EJ and Sealy each have a substantial advantage over Yi and Goodson, but it is going to be difficult for them to get quality service over the course of the game. It is going to be essential that Dallas limit Kansas City’s free kick opportunities. Burciaga and Arnoud both have wicked shots from free kicks, and Sealy and EJ provide good targets in the air. Defensively, Goodson specifically has a habit of losing his mark on set pieces. If KC starts piling up these opportunities, Dallas is going to give up a goal.

Final Analysis

It will be interesting to see who gives in first. Kansas City will send 5 people into every attack, but the 4-3-2-1 should handle it well. If the Wizards get impatient and start sending either Zavagnin or Burciaga forward, it will open space up on the Dallas counter for Nunez and Dax to exploit. On the other side, if Dallas starts getting frustrated and both Dax and Toja get caught up in the attack, Kansas City is a fantastic countering team and will be able to exploit mismatches against the center backs.

I would look for Dallas to start out playing very conservative. They will sit back, possess the ball, and attempt to draw KC forward. This should produce a first half of limited opportunities for either side, assuming FCD doesn’t allow an early goal. At the break, FCD will introduce Ruiz for Abe, while KC brings on Marinelli for Victorine. As the second half progresses, KC will attack with vigor, expose themselves to the Dallas counter, and the game will open up significantly. The Wizards grab a goal off of a set piece after half time, then add another through EJ on a counter before Dallas brings one back on a Cooper header.

Kansas City 2, FCD 1

Categories: Match Preview.

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