February 17th, 2008 . 7:23 am . By: Jason Benfield

Ed note: this is not a match report, that will be forthcoming.
 
The following is an analysis of the players FCD used during the Saturday night scrimmage against Memphis. All of the players were on the field for 45 minutes. At this point in the preseason, players are either battling to make the team or establishing a pecking order, so the players are presented by position played so that direct comparisons can be made. The players listed first at each position played the first half.
 
 GK – Burse – Did not have much to do. Allowed a goal that was called back for offside when the ball was crossed into the box, and the opposing player got a head on a ball that Burse went out for. Would have been a bad play by Burse if it had stood, but he could have seen the flag early. Also almost misplayed a ball that was sent down the right side, just outside the box. Burse went out for the ball, tried to dribble around the opposing player, and was fortunate that the challenge the player made caused the ball to go over the end line.
 
 GK – Lambo – Also did not have much to do. Had one nice save on a shot that came after a blown whistle, where a Memphis player took a low, hard shot from inside the 18 and Lambo was able to get down and smother the rebound. Showed good quickness going down. Not given many opportunities to play the ball with feet or distribute.
 
 LCD – Yi - Did very well from a pure defensive standpoint. Challenged well physically and did not allow marks space to open for the ball. Very strong challenge in the air once to win possession. Did well to open for the ball when the defense maintained possession. Also had a great read and step up at the beginning of the game to force an offside. Only fault was a failure to distribute the ball up the line to the left midfielder. Tried it once early and played the ball out of bounds on a poor pass. Every other opportunity, either gave it to Saragosa checking from DM or sent the ball across the field to Serioux or Rhine. Needs to be able to pass the ball up the line from that position in order to give the team the width that Morrow desires.
 
 LCD – Daniels – Adequate. Still a bit clumsy on challenges. Had to cover for the other two backs once at the beginning of the second half and awkwardly shouldered into the forward for what could have been called a penalty. Still doesn’t look like he is ready to challenge for playing time, although he does have good size.
 
 CD – Pitch - Had a couple of nice, hard challenges on slides, but probably didn’t need to risk leaving his feet on the play. Did a solid job, did not stand out. Had one very poor clearance inside the 18 that would have been punished at the MLS level. Memphis played two good crosses into the box during the first half, and Pitch was nowhere to be found on either of them, which is definitely not a good thing to say about a center back. I think a lack of depth on defense means he is a lock to make the roster, but not sure if it will be developmental or senior.
 
 CD – Dello-Russo – Did a good job of organizing the back and not allowing chances in the second half when FCD played down a man. Other than that, did not anything great or poorly. Solid job. Did get beat on a couple of tackles, but not too badly. Lack of size limits upside in the middle. Easily the smallest of the defensive players. May have trouble making the roster if cannot provide versatility as an outside midfielder.
 
 RCD – Serioux – Joined the attack much more often than Yi did, but not sure if that is a by design in the 3-5-2. Lucky to have Rhine in front of him providing cover. Caught in no-man’s-land a couple of times towards the end of the half when caught between a forward on the inside and a wing on the outside. Gave too much space for balls played down the line for the wing. Looked good when he went forward, but looked either awkward or disinterested defensively. Didn’t get beat at all and tackled well, but just didn’t look focused and was not nearly as aggressive in his marking as Yi was. Made some comments to the press recently about there not being enough cover in a back 3; his loose marking may have been out of a lack of confidence or comfort with the scheme. Had a “discussion” with Saragosa about Saragosa letting a ball go by that Serioux passed to him, when it was well behind Marcelo. All of these may be a sign of frustration. If Rocha plays DM (like he did on Saturday) instead of AM or RM, Serioux will have to impress on the backline or might be traded.
 
 RCD – Roberts – Has a good frame, but again made some poor challenges with his feet. Is not ready for MLS yet. Didn’t do anything that stood out. Probably is in competition with Dello-Russo for a spot on the developmental roster. Has a better frame for the backline, but Dello-Russo outplayed him on Saturday and has the advantage of being able to play multiple positions. Will need to improve significantly to make the team.
 
 LDM – Saragosa – Probably the best player on the field for the first half. A little sloppy towards the end, but in the first 15 minutes was all over the field and had a cracking shot. Was vocal, active and very involved. Was a leader on the field. Joined the attack more often than we have seen in the past, but also did a very good job of breaking things up on the Memphis counter. Showed a reluctance to play the ball wide and instead forced the ball up the middle of the field at times. Good performance, and showed his value on the team, especially if his green card comes through.
 
 LDM – Chase - Nothing much to say, except for another solid, workman-like performance. Not a lot of upside, but a lot of grit and hustle. In the right places to break up opposition attacks. Will have a tough time making the developmental roster with all the GA players in the midfield.
 
 RDM – Rocha – Most anticipated debut in the first half. Strikingly tall – rivals Pitch as the tallest player on the field in the first half. Good first touch, good composure on the ball. Nice, solid passing skills, although he didn’t show anything special in regards to creativity or vision. Good dribbler, likes to make the occasional run with the ball. Good, strong tackler, not reckless or late. Strong physical presence. Great, strong shot from distance that will cause all kinds of trouble. Did not do anything spectacular, but made no mistakes. First impression is that this is at least a starting-caliber player in MLS, and perhaps a Toja-level impact for FCD. This is based on one experience, but I would lean towards him being an impact player, not just a solid starter.
 
 RDM – Wallace – Played right defensive mid in the second half. Good athleticism, but seemed a little disinterested. Lazy away from the ball, not marking players tightly in the midfield. Not as active as he should have been. Did not have a strong impact on the game.
 
 LM – Wagner - Not very visible, but some of this was the fault of other players not getting the wide midfielders involved. Very quiet, not calling for the ball as much as he should. Disappeared for stretches. Failed to track back once, exposing Yi on a counter, showed his inexperience in the midfield. Reluctant to cross first time or at all when got the ball wide in attacking positions; instead, attempted to cut the ball inside and put a ball in on the ground. Not a strong performance.
 
 LM – Wagenfuhr – I have never been a big fan of Wags. I thought he was inadequate defensively, as his lack of size was exposed and he was never fast enough. He also was exposed in the air defensively. That said, he was fantastic on Saturday night. He is much more effective as a midfielder than a defender. He was dangerous the entire half.  Several crisp, accurate crosses into the area from the wing – only player on the team who was willing to throw a cross in at any time. Constantly made himself available and checked into the middle when he needed to. Very involved. Showed great vision on a ball midway through the half that was sent from the midfield stripe to the top of the 18 – only Mina’s lack of fitness/acceleration denied an easy scoring opportunity. In my opinion, the MVP of the second half. Had a much stronger game than Wagner. Part of that may have been the unwillingness of the first team to play the ball wide, but really made a case for not only being on the roster but also challenging Wagner for the left midfield position.
 
 RM – Rhine – Did not have an impact on the match. Again, the ball was not played wide very often, so not many opportunities. Did not make himself available though. Was not aggressive enough going to the ball when the ball was switched a couple of times, and was beaten to the ball by a defender. Did a good job covering for Serioux when he made a forward run, but did not have a strong game.
 
 RM – Ibrahim - Wow, has this kid grown. Had a very strong second half. Was active and showed speed, athleticism, and good passing ability. Nice play right off the top to check back wide for a ball, turn, and feed it up the line to a streaking Mina who was making a diagonal run. Could have been more aggressive a couple of times, but most of the time made the correct decision of when to push the ball forward and when to maintain possession. Looked in control every time he was on the ball, something you don’t see very often from a 16 year old. Did lose track of his man once when he was lazy getting back, but had a good performance and was better than Rhine on the day, even though his team was a man down most of the time he was on the field. Was outstanding during the period of time that FCD was at even strength. Is progressing towards being a capable backup in MLS.
 
 AM – Toja - An uneven performance. Very active, but often checked back too far for the ball, congesting the central midfield. Forced play up the middle instead of spreading it wide. Had the ball taken off his feet several times late in the half. Great hustle as usual and some nice, important tackles. Used his right foot a bit more than in the past, which was refreshing to see. Did not create the dangerous pass going forward, which isn’t necessarily a problem in this setup, but needs to get the ball wide more often.
 
 AM – Avila – Much improved performance over the first scrimmage, where he looked dazed and confused. Looked comfortable from the opening whistle of the second half. Several nice through balls and ball fakes. Showed very good touch and vision on passes into space. Not selfish on the ball; makes quick decisions and passes the ball quickly. Slight frame for playing in the middle, and doesn’t do much defensively, but a nice offensive game and he has some great upside. As a comparison, seems to play the ball quicker and dribble a lot less than Nunez did, which will make him more effective as the hub of the midfield in the future. Won’t see time in MLS this year, but showed that he is a talent to watch.
 
 F – Ricardinho – Has filled out his frame a bit since we saw him the last time. Memphis bunkered when he played in the first half, which should have allowed him to stand out with his ball skill. However, he was unable to create opportunities for himself or others during the entire half. Was unable to isolate players on the dribble in the new formation, because there are no wing players, and was unable to break players down. Showed good accuracy in the short passing game, but his frustration at not getting opportunities came out as the half went on and he started turning the ball over either through forced passes or forced dribbling. Checked back for the ball too deep, causing congestion in the midfield, and was one of the culprits of forcing the ball through the middle instead of getting it wide. Don’t recall him taking a shot the entire half of play. Not a very strong performance, no aggressive runs behind the defense, but was very active.
 
 F – Oduro – Paired with Ricardinho in the first half. Showed better touch and ball control than last season. Because Memphis bunkered, the strongest part of his game (speed) was eliminated, but he still did well enough. Created the goal in the first half by controlling a pass well at the top of the 18 and laying it off for Saragosa to fire home. Checked back for the ball some, but disappeared at times because of the deep Memphis line. Was too static at the top; needs to make more diagonal runs instead of just sitting in a high position. Was better than Ricardinho on the day, which may be his competition to make the team especially if Mina is signed.
 
 F – Mina - Flew in at 11 AM and then played the second half of the game. Was outstanding in his first fifteen minutes on the field. Has lost a lot of weight since the end of last season. Ran out of gas, but had a very strong first fifteen. The delicate chip to the back post for Wagenfuhr was reminiscent of the pass for Ruiz’s bicycle two years ago. Hustled a lot in the first fifteen. Showed nice touch, and used his strength quite well. Overall pace was okay, but his acceleration/burst is not there yet. That could be a factor of the plane ride or overall conditioning, or a sign that he is not fully recovered from his surgeries. May have run out of gas also because he was doing all the work alone for the last 30 minutes of the match. All in all, was the most effective forward on the day for Dallas.
 
 F – Shea – Was a red card waiting to happen the moment he stepped onto the pitch. First run down the line ended with him putting the opposing defender in a headlock. Several overly aggressive plays later, was sent off after a very reckless tackle from behind. Great size. Interesting to see him up top after he was used wide left during the combine. Nice speed, and there is some athleticism there. Very young with lots of upside, and some people think he is the most likely draft choice to show up on the substitute list of a game this season. However, you hope that the aggressive play was just a sign of trying too hard to make a statement in his first professional scrimmage rather than some hair-induced Bozworthian inner rage.

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