With FC Dallas set to begin their preparations for the 2008 season later this week, striker Kenny Cooper is ready to assume the mantle of leadership that will come with him at the forefront of the Hoops attack.
The 2007 season was a tough one for Cooper. Just 12 games into the campaign, the Dallas native was leading the team with four goals, but on June 9 against the L.A. Galaxy, Cooper suffered a broken right tibia after a hard tackle late in the match and missed the next 16 games.
Cooper returned for the regular season finale, and played in both playoff games against Houston Dynamo. But over the winter, Carlos Ruiz was traded to L.A., and as a result Cooper could very well be FCD's top offensive threat this season.
"I have a ton of respect for Carlos, really enjoyed playing with him and wish him all the best in L.A," Cooper said. "He's a big player in this league and he leaves some big shoes to fill. He was captain last year and a team leader.
"I think there's an opportunity now for a guy like me who has been in the league for two years to step up and to be one of the leaders on this team. It's a great group of guys and I'm hoping to become a leader on this team this year."
Even though Cooper's two seasons in MLS have been solid, it doesn't mean the 6-foot-3 striker is about to get complacent.
"I want to improve on everything," he said. "I tried to spend a lot of time on the field with the ball and also did a lot of hard running. I wanted to come into preseason really fit and also spent a lot of time in the gym trying to get stronger."
Cooper also wants to recapture the form he had over the first half of 2007 before suffering the injury.
"I got off to a good start last year and (the injury) was disappointing but it happened and I just tried to deal with it in the right way," Cooper said. "To be out for four months was hard and you miss playing so much. Sitting in the stands was hard because you want to play so badly. I was so grateful for the opportunity to return late in the year."
During the offseason, Cooper spent some time overseas training with English Premier League giant Manchester United for several weeks, the same club whose youth system he was part of before signing with FCD in 2006.
"It was very special for me to have the opportunity to go back there and to train with them for a little bit," he said. "I'm so grateful to (manager) Sir Alex Ferguson, (reserve team coach) Brian McClair and (director of youth football) Jimmy Ryan for allowing me to come over and being so welcoming. It's an incredible club. To have played there before and to be able to come back and train was really special. Training with them was great."
Even though some two years had passed since he had last played at Man United, Cooper was still welcomed with open arms.
"I had been away for two years and for them to welcome me back was a really special thing," he said. "It was a special opportunity to be able to go back there and train after being away from two years. It was great to see some faces that I haven't seen in a while.
"The youth team, the reserves and the senior team all play close to each other and to see Ronaldo or Wayne Rooney training is invaluable because of how professional they are. I had the opportunity at a young age to see that and it was neat to go back after two years of being away. It's one of the biggest clubs in the world if not the biggest. To see them training was really cool."
For Cooper, the winter months were a great time for him to recharge his batteries, but he is ready for the start of preseason later this week. FC Dallas will have two days of fitness training at the end of the week before having the first training session on Feb. 4.
"I think the offseason has been really good for me because it's allowed me to focus on some of the things that I wanted to focus on," he said. "I feel great now heading into preseason. I'm feeling good and looking forward to getting preseason going."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
