March 12th, 2008 . 5:31 pm . By: Buzz Carrick

There’s always a way to blow up explosives. The trick is not to be around when they go off. – Corporal Miller

Last week it snowed 9 inches, today it’s 86.  Only in Texas.

Nice day for training.  The FCD training field looks fantastic.  It doesn’t get overused you see.

New, Notes, & Observations

- Dan Kennedy has left and won’t be signing with FCD.

- DouDou Toure is not officially signed yet.  Morrow says he falls outside the Generation adidas setup and those cases are decided on a case by case basis.  He also says it’s not the first such case in MLS.  The largest concern is the players schooling and living situation.

- Jorge Alvial Jr is still training with the team.

- Really nice day from Marcel Saragosa.  He looks thinner and fitter than last year and it’s increased his mobility to my eye.

- Rocha is waiting on his visa, it was supposed to be 5 days and as of today he still doesn’t have it.  Morrow seems really annoyed talking about it.

- Juan Toja is not back yet, but it’s not visa issues.  Morrow gave him a couple personal days back home.

- Morrow says FCD is still in talks with Navia but couldn’t go into details.  This is purely my opinion, but for talks to have gone on this long I’m beginning to think something may happen.

- Don’t forget that Moor and Alvarez are suspended for the season opener against Chivas.

Catching up with Morrow

As usual the translations are a bit, don’t get excited.

Will Saturday’s team be your opening day lineup?

We want as much as possible in the next two games to get a lineup out that hopefully is going to be starting against Chivas.  We don’t have everybody 100% fit at the moment but I want it to be as close as possible over the next few weeks so that the starting lineup are playing together as much as possible. 

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: Yes.  Except for Moor and Alvarez.

Did you see McCarty play last night?

I did.  I thought he did very well, I thought he was definitely one of the top performers throughout the game.  He played well, passed the ball well.  I was really pleased to see him do so well.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: Dax is Superfly T.N.T., he’s the Guns of the Navarone!

Did you accomplish your goals in Brazil?

Yes we did.  I think there was a lot of good stuff in the games. We took a lot of time on the training field to work on our style of play and what we’re trying to achieve.  I definitely saw a lot of good things.  We definitely came together off the field as well.  It was tremendous for building within the team and the guys are fighting hard for each other.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: Remind me to tell you a story later.

Any more trialists coming in?

I don’t think trialists, probably not.  No. We’re pretty much settled on what we have here.  Like I’ve said before if there is something out there we think is better than what we have here we’ll take a look at it.  At this point there’s not to may players that want to come on trial.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: Yes, just not in the next two weeks.

Dario’s looking very fit and focused this year, what brought about the change in him?

Dario and I have sat down a few times in the preseason and talked.  He didn’t play too much early on [this spring], which was deliberate.  We wanted to make sure he was in the right physical condition first.  His fitness is very, very good right now. Mentally and physically he’s in great shape, and he had a couple of good games down in Brazil as well.  He’s nothing but positive, he’s done very, very well.  He’s attitude has been tremendous as well.  We want to keep him fit and healthy, that’s very important, that he stay healthy.  We all know that Dario has the potential to be one of the best keepers in the league.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: I’m a genius motivator.

Davino’s been around for a month, you getting what you wanted when you signed him?

Yeah, Definitely.  He took a couple weeks to find his feet and he’s been around long enough and he’s a good enough  professional to know it takes a little bit of time to settle in and get to know the group.  He feels a lot more comfortable with everyone, and everyone feels a lot more comfortable with him.  We’re starting to see a lot of his leadership qualities both on and off the field.  He’s a great person with great attitude and that’s starting to rub off on all the other players as well.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: It’s pronounced El Capitán in Spanish.

Have a comment on Alvarez being dropped from the U23s?

My comment would be that I was very surprised. I’m disappointed for him.  But he’s a very mature lad, I know he’s disappointed and shocked by the decision, but he’ll take it on the chin and move on.  His attitude right now, we’ve spoken today and yesterday, and he wants to prove that it was the wrong decision and that’s what he’ll do with his performance on the field.

Buzz’s Coach Speak Translator: Nowak’s an idiot.

Training

Warmup and jogging, then a 40 yard box for some pass and movement drills.  After some more stretching the same 40 yard box is used for a possession game.  5v5 with 5 players of each color on the outside.  After that it’s 10v5 inside the box, the 5 men try to win it.  Most balls wins in 5 minutes is the winner.  Here’s the teams…

Green:
Yi, Serioux, Alvarez, Moor, Wileman, Ibrahim
Wagenfuhr, Oduro, Alvial, Thompson, Dello-Russo, Saragosa

Red:
Ricchetti, Wager, Brek, Toure, Davino, Ricardinho
Rhine, Wallace, Pitchkolan, Cooper, Avila, Daniels

It was quite a long session today as Morrow ran them though a larger Shooting Gallery drill, about 50 yards long.  Same teams as above.

Thought of the Day

I watched Ricchetti some today.  I wanted to see how his countenance was.

I noticed for the first time this spring he was back giving instruction and directing other players.  Telling them how he wanted things done and how to do them.  I hope this means that some of the turmoil has been resolved cause he’s a very key player for FCD.

If Ricchetti is playing at his top level he’s a terrific piece of the FCD puzzle as he can both win the ball and distribute.  His experience and leadership can be invaluable to this very young FCD team.

Categories: Practice Observations.

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