120 Fahrenheit: Five Questions for Brazil
March 4th, 2008 . 3:22 pm . By: Buzz Carrick
With one month left in spring training FC Dallas is off to Brazil again. The club heads south with some questions that need answering, and the four games down in Curitiba will go a long way to determining the answers. The answers just might determine which end of the standings we find FCD this year. 3-4-3 or 3-5-2Morrow seems committed at this point to running three at the back this year, with four players across the midfield in front. The question all along has been will it be a playmaker #10 behind two strikers, a high target with wings, or some other kind of hybrid. Morrow being Morrow we’ll likely see all three, but there’s also likley to be a primary formation to start the season. Just don’t hold your breath for it to be used all year. So far this spring the majority of scrimmages have been in the 3-4-3, including the first game in Brazil. Most of the team-building and shape of the team gets done in foreign trips when there are three or four top notch games in a week. If we see the 3-4-3 the rest of the way in Brazil I think we can lock that in as the formation of choice to start the year. You may have seen this before, but kinda like this…
Who’s gonna score goals other than Cooper?We already know Cooper can score goals, but someone else is going to have to consistently put the ball in the back of the net. MLS Cup Champ Houston, for example, had three consistent goal scorers last year: Ching, Ngwenya, and Jaqua. A good MLS team usually has at least two. Chivas USA as another example has Razov and Galindo; Red Bull has Altidore and Angel. Morrow, on a certain level, seems content to see if Abe Thompson, Ricardinho, Dominic Oduro, or perhaps even a nominal midfielder like Arturo Alvarez can pick up the scoring load. Yet FCD is still searching for a forward as demonstrated by their talks with Chilean striker Reinaldo Navia. Now Morrow will usually say something along the line of “if we can get better we will.” But the pursuit of Navia indicates that forward is a spot Morrow thinks the team can improve. Let’s be honest here- I think we all agree with him. So will they sign someone? Morrow said two trialists were coming to Brazil. Are they strikers? Keep an eye out. Morrow mentioned a CAP player as well, and while we can’t report who he is I do know he’s not a forward. In the mean time can one of those other FCD names I mentioned start scoring some goals and ease my worry about goal production? Ricardinho had a couple nice mentions by the PR department report on the first game. His move to the #10 jersey may mean he’s ready to step up and shoulder the load. Frankly, I’m not convinced yet. Who is the starting left center back?Now this is a trouble spot. Morrow gave Alex Yi the nod early this spring at left center back, but as of late Adrian Serioux has been getting the first team groupings. It’s been at least two weeks since I have seen anyone other than Serioux paired with Davino and Moor. I’m a bit confused by Morrow on this one. Serioux is a good player, but last year clearly demonstrated to me he was a better midfielder than a defender. Now it’s true that a three man back requires greater range and passing ability from it’s wide center backs, two skills Serioux is better at than almost every other FCD defender. So on that level it makes sense to me. One could make the case that if a coach is trying to get his best eleven players on the field, using Serioux in the back allows said coach to put another talented central midfielder on the pitch. I’m not sure Serioux wants to play in the back though, as he’s made a couple comments indicating he doesn’t like it. C’est la vie I guess as it sure looks like he’s the guy for now. Wonder how his attitude and demeanor will be this year if he’s back there all season. Not that it’s ever been bad mind you, but unhappy players aren’t always the best thing. Which is the first choice central mid pair?Coming into this spring I would have said it was clearly Serioux and Ricchetti as the anchor pair of midfielder. Now I’m not so sure. Serioux, as we already discussed, is playing left center back. Ricchetti is unhappy with his contract, although he is currently signed, and was/is in the dog house. In the last week, though, Pablo’s been getting more and more playing time and he was paired with Saragosa last week, although that may be because new signing André Rocha went home to get his visa. Based on training and the games leading up to this trip, Marcelo Saragosa appears to have a firm hold on one of the two spots. Honestly, I’m not that excited about that development. While I like Saragosa and think he’s a fantastic guy to have on the team for his play, professionalism, and terrific attitude, I’m not quite ready to build a team around him. For my taste he’s just a bit too slow to play the ball on to be the core central midfielder. 15 to 20 games from Saragosa as a spot starter or sub would be the ideal return in my book. On the other hand I am totally jacked about the other midfield spot that looks certain to be the new signing from CAP, André Rocha. A tremendously gifted player that is an ideal fit for MLS, I really think he’s going to turn some heads this year. Terrific range, great soccer mind, great feet for a 6′1″ midfielder, great passer, and terrific long range shooter. I’d just like to see him paired with Ricchetti or Serioux. Left Wingback Anyone?Coming out of the end of last year and into the spring, all signs pointed to Blake Wagner getting first shot at the left wingback spot. Unfortunately, it looks like he may have dropped the ball as new dad David Wagenfuhr has been getting the most looks with what seems to be the primary midfield and defensive seven. Wags, while not the game breaker that Wagner could be, has tons of stamina and is fairly reliable. He’s also just about the best crosser FCD has on the left since Gbandi departed. One name not initially thought to be in the left wingback mix but getting some looks of late is Anthony Wallace. Usually mentioned by Morrow as a holding midfielder, Wallace excelled at left back in the U20 Worlds last year with zero prep time. Wally’s got the range to get up and down, the skills to play forward, and is a solid defender for such a young age. Abdus Ibrahim and Brek Shea, although both not yet 18, can also play here. So it’s Wagenfuhr by a nose as we come down the stretch. It will be interesting to see who starts the year, and perhaps more importantly who finishes the year, as the starter. Whether the Answers?Tonight’s reserve game won’t tell us much, but the two reaming games down south against Atletico Paranaense and Avai Futbol Clube will get us most of the way there. The Beckham-make-up-game on the Ides of March will be the dress rehearsal with the final exam coming March 22nd in the Furacão decider. Stay tuned. 23 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Great analysis. And great quote up top.
why cant you tell us who the CAP player is? promise with the FO?
“but the two reaming games down south..”
Ouch.
Good write up.
I’m 100% with you on this one.
I think I’d rather have Yi as left back, and then replace Saragosa with Serioux/Richetti.
Yi has some good legs on him, plus he has some good height.. Speed and Height are two things that I feel are missing with a back three of Serioux/Davino/Moor.
Although Serioux is a better overall player, he will be 10X more useful to us in Mid.
I’m ok with Wags as the Left Wingback.. Like you said, he can put in a decent cross.. He also has a lot of stamina..but to be honest, I haven’t seen enough of the others yet to form a solid opinion on that one.
Diz, cause I don’t know. I just know he’s not a forward.
Buzz,
Whatever happened to Navia?
Still talks? Just a pipe-dream?
Ugh. Not exactly what I was hoping to see. You want to see someone other than Cooper scoring goals, but with Morrow’s apparent preference of single striker setups, if another forward is signed, it means Cooper on the wing. I just don’t like him out there.
Serioux in the back. Yuck. Wags starting. Yuck. Saragosa starting… This team has major suck potential.
hopefully, w/ rocha, he’ll be able to cover for the deficiencies of saragosa. but i agree w/ you, i really enjoyed having serioux or pablo at CDM. they were very solid and dependable. i hope morrow doesn’t hold grudges and plays the best man for the job, overlooking contract issues. like you said, we have 1 month to see what’ll shake up.
The biggest question for me is Davino. He sounds like Vanney, he’s old, slow. short BUT he’s experienced which is another way of saying old. Three in the back will be done pretty quick once they prove they will give up 2+ goals per game every game.
Dallas ’til I die (and all that), but Ives predicted this week that we’ll miss the playoffs, behind Houston, Chivas, and the Gals in the West (he picked 5 teams out of the East). Made me worried about exactly just how much has to come together this season — like find a scorer, come up with a coherent midfield, and solidify the backline. Eek. Thank God that the first 2 months of the MLS season are practically worthless.
Scott, as far as I know they are still trying tog et Navia. Morrow said there was progress last week right before the team went to Brazil.
Buzz, thanks for the 3-4-3 diagram. For me, it always helps to visualize the positions. But I’m curious to see where Dax would fit in this formation… I’m going to be pissed if he doesn’t get substantial playing time this season.
It actually could be a forward, but that’s not the way to bet at the moment.
So where’s Toja in all this? Is he the left wing? I didn’t like him there last year, though he clearly wasn’t the same after the ankle injury.
I thought he played his best paired with Pablo in the middle. So could you see a Rocha/Toja pairing in the middle? And Pablo the odd man out?
OK PLEASE STOP FOR AND THINK ON SERIOUX!!!
Sorry for the rant but I am tired of everyone forgetting history and thinking Serioux is a better midfielder. Two years ago at Houston he was a very good CB and fairly poor at D-Mid compared to Clarke. Most Houston fans were terrified when Clarke was out for the championship game and Serioux would have to start in his place. I am surprised that no one seems to remeber, including you Buzz, that Serioux played CB for us coming back from injury and just as he was getting his form back he moved to D-mid. It seems much more likely, given his previous playing history, that his improved form at the end of last season had more to injury recovery than his position on the field. Please remeber this in the future.
Nathan,
Did you say that Yi has some good legs on him? He’s had hamstring issues since he came over from Belgium. In fact, i think thats why Genk/Antwerp (?) let him go cuz they couldnt get him on the field for his hamstrings pulling and tearing all the time.
Twotone,
When I met good legs, I meant that he can run fast.
Yes, he did have a re-ocurring hamstring injury last year.. but I’m not aware of one that dates back to his time in Belgium.. but as Buzz pointed out in his Oct 10 practise report, Yi’s re-occurring muscle injuries (he had back, calf and hamstring injuries last year)pointed to something else – like a structural problem with his hips or back.
In Buzz’s February training report Yi did mention that he had been working on his hips with a physical therapist to correct the problem and that he was feeling much better.
Time will tell if that’s true or not…
All I’ve noticed is that when Alex Yi is fit, he is rarely outpaced by an attacker. I know it takes more than pace to make a good player, but it would be nice to have some nimbleness in our back line.
Cai, the CAP player Morrow mentioned specifically last week isn’t a forward. I know that because Morrow told me he wasn’t.
Teddy, in the above formation Dax this spring has played both right wingback and D-mid.
great article!
If FCD lands Navia, it would seem to suggest a need to switch to a more standard two-forward attack.
Certainly you would want to have him up front and not running a wing. And Kenny doesn’t seem capable of wing play.
I guess my point is that the 3-4-3 isn’t a given all season and may just be a temporary situation given the current talent — until a better striker can be found.
If they play a striker with wings Alvarez would be the left wing, maybe Ricardinho on the right, Kenny up top. That would be supported well by Toja and Richettie in the middle, but what then about the outside mids? Dax and who?
I’d rather see a 3-5-2 with 2 up top and a strong supporting cast.
Toja needs to be in the middle of the pitch. He soldiered on last season after moving from mid to outside but is MUCH more effective in the middle. He could even play one of the wing positions up top as a psuedo-forward, as they will cover a lot of ground and go to the ball to make runs in space. They need not stay outside all the time, that might be the thinking.
The X factor, as I see it, is Rocha, his impact will determine a lot of the personnel decisions. You’d like to have Toja as a MF as his D is great, he breaks up a lot of attacks but is strong going forward. Pablo is definitely a holding or defensive mid so Pablo and Rocha in the middle feeding the top 3 is intriguing.
Will be very interesting to see where Toja and Alvarez land in either the 3-5-2 or 3-4-3.
I still think FCD is a playoff team this year, sure we have some major questions right now but I think we have the answers to the questions already on the roster, it’s just how do the pieces of the puzzle fit together. FCD should have one of the strongest midfields in the league and games are won and lost in MF.
I would rather have anybody except Yi playing. I do not rate him at all and have thought he was the worst defender the last two years.
I still can’t help but think we would be better off with 4 in the back. Our defense was awful last year and we lose our best defender so now we put 3 at the back? Doesn’t seem to make much sense to me.
Don’t expect either “Wag” to be a usual starter. Now that Toja is getting back to health, the front 7 looks to be Rocha, Saragosa, Toja left, McCarty/Rhine right, wing forwards Ricardinho/Oduro and Alvarez, advanced striker Cooper. If Navia signs, Alvarez replaces McCarty/Rhine. And all along I’ve said defense is Serioux’s best position, and it just flabbergasts me that nobody — except maybe Morrow — agrees with me.