Notes Ahead of FC Dallas’ Trip to Colorado
FC Dallas head coach Nico Estevez spoke to reporters ahead of an important road trip, especially with a lot of questions around injuries and future signings.
While it’s been a packed week for FC Dallas, the team has an extra day of rest before they travel to Colorado to take on the Rapids in a setting that always has been a physical challenge.
Right out of the gate, I asked Nico Estevez, FC Dallas’ head coach, about the fitness level of the squad and how they plan to manage the team.
“To play at altitude, it’s always a little bit difficult,” Nico said. “The team has played in this conference for a long time. We know exactly what we have to expect from that. We will see how good the players are recovering, who is ready to go tomorrow.”
Unfortunately, there won’t be many new faces to work into the lineup this weekend. Several players remain on the mend, and it will be weeks before we begin to see them start training.
I asked Nico about the new faces and returning loan players. There’s good news and bad news.
Eugene Ansah, the Ghanaian forward and winger, arrives in Dallas tonight and will spend tomorrow doing physicals and medical work. He will begin to train with the team next week, so he is unavailable for this weekend.
Dante Sealy should feature on Saturday, an added boost to the attack. He has been training with the team, but there is some paperwork FC Dallas is waiting on from the US Soccer Federation and Dutch Federation. It is expected to be in tomorrow. It will be interesting to see the youngster back in an FC Dallas kit. How much has his time away helped him grow and develop? Could he be an unlikely source of goals?
Justin Che is not training with the team and is still in Europe, awaiting his next career move, whatever that may be. A little disappointing but to be expected.
Jose Martinez is still recovering from a knee injury, and he remains under evaluation. The veteran CB has been out of action for a bit, and there are suggestions that he may require surgery to properly heal. Apparently, the team hasn’t reached that conclusion yet and may begin to work him back in practice to see how his progress is.
In some ways, I think this setup bodes fairly well for Dallas’ approach against Colorado. I imagine we see another potential three man back line, a more defensive approach that looks to keep this game close and take the chances that come using the speed of Jader Obrian and Bernard Kamungo. Does Nolan Norris get another look to spell someone else? It all depends on the fitness level of these guys.
If I was Nico, I would be inclined to give Alan Velasco a little break and use him off the bench to push for a goal late.
We’ll have more news from the North Texas side of things tomorrow.