Chula Vista, CA. — Preseason is fully underway, and FC Dallas' first travel stint is in Chula Vista, California, where the team will stay for a week. Los Toros will stay at the Chula Vista Athletic Training Center — a 155-acre campus for Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Throughout the week, Michael Ramirez of FCD Digital and Social will give updates on everything going on with the team and its players.
Day Six
Wednesday was a big day for the FC Dallas organization, as the club — along with the rest of Major League Soccer — unveiled a brand new kit for the 2020 season. FCD announced the release of the Legacy Kit, which will be the club's home jersey for the 2020 season for MLS' 25th anniversary.
Outside of jersey talk, Wednesday was also a special one for the players and staff. Today marked the last day of training here in Chula Vista, as the team will face LAFC in a preseason match, and it will then depart back to Dallas tomorrow night. Training was used to work once again on long-term concepts such as possession and build-up play — in order to get closer to the coaching staff's expectations.
Minigames followed that segment of practice, and the goalkeepers in particular had a great day of training — Jesse Gonzalez, Jimmy Maurer and Kyle Zobeck all put in an impressive shift when called upon in drills, respectively.
Gonzalez's reactions were so quick today, and it looks like he could have yet another big year for the club that he inked a brand-new contract extension with in the offseason. The 24-year-old really stepped up his game last season, and he was one of the main reasons FC Dallas made the playoffs with his stellar play throughout 2019.
The USMNT trio of Reggie Cannon, Brandon Servania and Jesus Ferreira once again looked great today. Cannon's service from the right side will surely be used to its advantage this upcoming season — it's so consistent in training. It's just a matter of how consistently he can put the ball into dangerous areas. Ferreira was clinical today from outside the box during shooting drills, and Servania continues to use his pace and agility to be effective in the midfield.
All three will be in contention for tomorrow preseason game against LAFC, which will be played at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. It will not be open to the public — only to media.
Head coach Luchi Gonzalez even got in the fun today near the end of practice — participating in small-sided games.
After a quick gym session in the afternoon, the team enjoyed a nice Italian dinner to wrap up the day.
This trip was been a success to say the least. The team is fully in sync once again, it got key players back into the fold, and the coaching staff was able to further analyze the younger players who were invited to Chula Vista.
