When FC Dallas opened their preseason training earlier this week, there was a familiar face in camp for Hoops left back Chris Gbandi -- his brother Sandi.
Sandi Gbandi was selected by FCD in the first round of this year's supplemental draft after a standout career at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, while Chris is entering his fifth season with the club. The brothers are clearly happy about playing together with the Hoops.
"It has been a long time (since we played together)," Sandi Gbandi said. "We both went to different high schools and he left to go to UConn right when I was entering high school. Whenever I was getting ready to go to college, I joked with him to wait a year so that I could play one year with him in college but it didn't work out.
"It's great getting drafted by Dallas and coming here to play with my brother. I didn't get to spend much time with him growing up because he's four years older than me and was always gone. It's great to have him around."
His older brother echoed his sentiments.
"I don't think we've ever really played together," Chris Gbandi said. "It's good to have him around. I'm happy for him and that he's getting an opportunity here. I feel like he's a good player and once the coaches see that, hopefully he will get the chance to make his team. Right now, it has just been exciting to see him running out there. I catch myself watching him every once in a while."
Sandi Gbandi comes to MLS after playing three years at UAB. He played both midfielder and defender, scoring 10 goals with 14 assists. As a sophomore, he earned first-team All-Conference USA honors in 2004 and second-team honors the following season.
Even though Sandi has only been with FCD for a few weeks, Chris has already given his younger sibling a few pointers.
"He's helped me a lot with the fitness stuff," Sandi said. "He told me to make sure that I am in good shape when I come in because you don't want to die the first day. He came down to Houston for a few days to work with me and get me prepared. He told me to go out and play how I know how to play and don't worry about anything else."
For Chris, the 2006 MLS season saw him the consistent starter on the left of the back four, in the first team for a career-best 27 starts. But the season didn't end that well. He was shown a red card early in the second leg of the Western Conference Semifinals in Frisco and left his side a man down for the remainder of the match, which saw Colorado claim a 3-2 victory before advancing on penalty kicks.
That is in the past, but Gbandi admits that he still uses that disappointment to drive him to perform better.
"With the way the season ended, I felt like I let a lot of people down," Chris said. "It was an unfortunate red card and that happens. It has to motivate you because if it doesn't, then you're really not a competitor and shouldn't be out there. It motivated me to work harder and to come back and make things right. I think with the players here, we have the chance to change what happened last year."
After the conclusion of the season, Chris went overseas for a trial with Norwegian club IK Start in January and that has allowed him to come into preseason even more focused.
"I'm really focused," he said. "I think I'm in the best shape that I have ever been in during preseason, Going overseas was good and gave me a lot of confidence. Just realizing that clubs (abroad) are interested in you and see what you're capable of doing.
"Now I'm trying to come here and help this team out. I've been here for a while and we haven't really won that much. I think this year will be exciting and I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to showing what I can do and putting myself up there with some of the best left backs in this league."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
