Barrios scores the first in the 25th minute for the Red, on an amazing assist by Mauro pic.twitter.com/DG1rzWRTOl
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) 25 de febrero de 2016
FRISCO - Fresh off atwo-goal performance in the Inaugural Red & Blue Classic, Michael Barrios is proving that he might be this season’s secret weapon in FC Dallas’ attack.
Mauro Diaz, Fabian Castillo and newcomer Maxi Urruti are the three names everyone seems to focus on FCD’s frontline. But it was Michael Barrios, known as ‘Micky’ (like Mickey Mouse, he says), who scored a brace for the Red side on Wednesday night playing on the right wing.
“I think I liked my first goal better,” Barrios said. “It set us up for the win. And [I liked] the whole play, the run I made for Mauro and the pass he made before I finished the play.”
The well-timed coordination between Diaz’s vision to make the pass and Barrios’ timing to make a run on goal wasn’t a coincidence. The Colombian winger has played with the Argentinian for a whole season after joining the team last year, and the familiarity with each other’s playing style is still growing on a daily basis.
“I’ve been with him and the other guys for a year now,” Michael said. “I know the movements they like to do and their playing styles [now]. With Mauro, I try to take advantage of the conditions he has as a player. When he has the ball, you have to be ready for a through ball that gets you one-on-one with the keeper on almost any play. And he’s getting used to my speed and the movements we’ve trained together and that I like to do.”
Speed is something that Fabian Castillo is also known for on the other wing. With both Colombians on the flanks, Barrios thinks FCD’s pace outside is one of the main things opposing teams will look to stop on 2016.
“We know this year will be harder for us. Rivals will study us and they’ll try their best to stop us,” he said. “I’ve talked to ‘Fabi' and the coaches about it. But we’ll making sure it’s hard for them too by working harder in training so that we can continue to play well on the wings and do what’s best for the team.”
While the men on the wings will be familiar faces, FC Dallas’ number nine is now Maxi Urruti. According to Barrios, the Argentinian striker has some similarities to a former Toyota Stadium favorite.
“Maxi is a lot like Blas [Perez],” he said. “He’s good at holding the ball, he can hold off defenders with his back to the goal. He plays the ‘post’ perfectly, and does one-twos with me and the other players and he’s always in the box looking to score.”
Also important when looking for a goal is recovering the ball high up the pitch. Barrios feels comfortable playing both attack and defense in the opponent’s third, and thinks new Designated Player Carlos Gruezo, who has already shown his ability to cover ground and chase down opponents, will be important for the team’s playing style in 2016.
“[Pressuring] is going to help us,” he said. “Not only because we now have Carlos [Gruezo], but because we also have Victor [Ulloa], Kellyn [Acosta] and Juan [Ortiz] who are players that like to pressure an to get the ball back fast. And it’s also the style coach [Oscar Pareja] likes, too. For us wingers that have to go up and down the wings all match, getting the ball back quickly makes our lives easier.”