FRISCO - Last season’s FC Dallas starting defensive midfielders, Kellyn Acosta and Victor Ulloa, combined for 121 appearances in their careers. The talented -but young and relatively inexperienced- midfield duo will now have Juan Esteban Ortiz’s 200+ match resumé next to them, which will provide the much needed experience Fernando Clavijo wanted in FCD´s midfield.
“I embrace coming here with the ‘experienced player’ tag,” Ortiz said in a phone interview via a translator. “I’ve played over 250 matches in Colombia, and I feel like I can convert that experience into a Championship for this team.”
The other thing Clavijo has praised from his new defensive midfielder is his ability to intercept and tackle, giving his team back possession.
“I’m a very good at getting the ball back, that’s what I’m known for,” agrees Ortiz. “I’m strong and I love to get the ball back from the opposing team, but I’m also effective when I have the ball. I always try to put my team mates in the best position to play it after I pass it to them.”
Ortiz is now leaving behind the country where his skills are known, and in what will be his first season playing (and living) outside of his native Colombia, Ortiz has quickly found himself in a familiar setting thanks to the large number of Spanish speakers in the locker room.
“It’s an advantage to arrive in a locker room with players from latin countries,” he said. “Especially because I’m still learning my first words in English”.
The Spanish speakers in the locker room include 3 other Colombians: Fabian Castillo, Michael Barrios and, most important of all, head coach Oscar Pareja.
“[My countrymen] have received me well. Last week in Dallas I shared a lot of time with them,” Ortiz said. “I’ve talked to them regularly; asking them about the U.S. and about the league. We’ve gone out to eat, and truth is, they’ve really made my arrival better.”
Pareja, Castillo and Barrios will have to be decisive in helping his fellow Colombian adapt to the style and pace of the MLS, which Ortiz feels is very different than the one played in his homeland.
“Colombian football is slower, [it has] more technique. There’s more passing before you shoot on goal. Here [in the MLS] they want to play fast. It’s very vertical, very physical. You have to be in good shape, because it’s a physical league and in games teams transition from attack to defense very quickly.”
The hope is that this change of scenery (and style) could ultimately pay off for Ortiz. Despite being a regular in his country’s first division, he has never been called up to play for Colombia’s National team. He hopes to follow Fabian Castillo’s path, and converting a successful season with FC Dallas into a call-up for his country.
“Fabian Castillo was called up playing in this league, for this same club,” he noticed. “He got the nod into the National Team for the World Cup qualifiers last year after having a good season. If I play well and the team performs, I hope there will be a chance for me too.”