FRISCO - With the return of Kellyn Acosta to the FC Dallas defensive midfield, the options are endless for head coach Oscar Pareja.
Jacori Hayes in his sophomore season has stepped up in the early-year absence of the Homegrown, playing alongside Carlos Gruezo and Victor Ulloa interchangeably. Now that all four are healthy and each bring a unique skill set to the table, exactly who plays from game to game will vary - and that’s a good thing.
“It gives us a lot of flexibility and that’s what we want,” Hayes said of the position’s depth. “We want to be unpredictable to the other teams, but predictable within ourselves so we know what each player can do. It gives us a lot of options going forward or defensively where we can make some changes that way.”
“I think the rotation this year has helped us add more minutes for the players,” Pareja said. “First, it provides depth. Second, it has provided opportunity for other players. Third, it just gives us competitiveness in the group. And fourth, it helps us show different looks that get more mature and more rich. With consistency, we will be much better, but at this point all of that just creates some different options for us in the middle, up front. Versatility is positive for us.”
Last weekend in LA, Dallas showcased that midfield versatility once again. Pareja started Gruezo and Ulloa against the expansion side LAFC, but brought on Hayes for a slightly injured Ulloa late in the first half. He added more help there with Acosta late in the match as the trio shut down the middle of the field and allowed FCD to take home a point from the road.
“In LA we didn’t have a good first half because I think tactically in the middle they always had one more [player]…Then in the second half when we were strong in the middle it was another game,” defender Reto Ziegler said. “They are the heart of the team and they make our life easier on the field because if they don’t fight for us we always have to run back and it’s not easy because this league is very fast.”
With the other LA team coming in this weekend, it’ll once again be up to the unit to shut down the middle of the park with a dangerous Galaxy attack that can strike at any moment, but to also quickly move the ball the other way to exploit a defensively struggling LA team.
“It’s just kind of knowing who you’re playing with,” Hayes added of the interchangeability of anyone who gets the call. “You get used to what their tendencies are and how we want to play, whether it’s rotating in the midfield or if it’s more stagnant and more defensively minded. It’s just kind of getting used to each other on the training ground.”
Even with a big name like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who the youngsters of FCD grew up watching tear up the European leagues, Pareja has full confidence in his team to get the job done - no matter the opponent.
“They’re professional players,” he said. “They were probably watching all these play when they were kids. What they need to feel now is that they’re great footballers who are competing at this level, defending their club, defending their culture. It’s fantastic. I don’t think they need to be thinking for a second that they’re in a different level. They [LA] need to come and beat them. I know they will fight hard and play hard and that’s what makes me proud about them. For me, they are in the same level.”
