FRISCO - As preseason hits week two, we’re bringing back the Mailbag to dive into a lot of questions on the docket with lots of new blood in Frisco this season. Let’s get right to the questions.
“Being around the practice pitch during this preseason, have you noticed if there are any language barriers for any of the newly acquired players?” - Shelby Walston
There’s always the language of soccer that crosses language barriers, but interestingly enough there is a lot more English being spoken on the field than I think over the last few seasons.
Of the international newcomers, Reto Ziegler speaks perfect English (along with three other languages) and Anton Nedyalkov’s English is pretty good considering he’s played in Bulgaria nearly his entire career. And then of all the Homegrowns and SuperDraft picks, all of those guys speak English as well. The South Americans still communicate off the field in Spanish a lot, but guys like Maxi Urruti and Maynor Figueroa actually a pretty well-spoken in English, especially with soccer terminology and communicating with their teammates on the field and don’t have too much of an issue.
“Are we going to see a new formation from FCD?” - Nathan Hill
I think this is a wait and see approach at the moment. We saw during the reserve scrimmage with Tulsa over the weekend that Pareja went with a 4-1-4-1, which we saw a handful of times last season. We know that when Mauro Diaz is on the field it’s going to largely look like a 4-2-3-1, but when he’s not I think a lot is open for interpretation. Right now is the time to be working through what each scenario looks like and that’s exactly what the club is doing early on. Definitely something to watch as the preseason wears on.
“What should excite me the most in 2018?” - Marcus Cole
I can’t speak for what gets everyone excited as a whole, but at least for me the excitement around this preseason lies in the question: What does exactly FC Dallas looks like in 2018? With so many fresh faces - and so many of them being young faces - we aren’t entering preseason with a clear picture of the identity of this team. In years past coming off of successful seasons, there hasn’t been a whole lot of changeover from year-to-year. I think we can look at a roster on paper and say this is how it will likely shape up, but with so much competition all around and especially amongst the depth players, it’s incredibly difficult to pinpoint who fits where. That, to me, is the most exciting thing compared to previous years.