While FC Dallas is looking to gain the measure of their South American partner and claim the USA/Brazil Challenge, a bigger task is looming into focus when they take on Clube Atletico Paranaense on Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park.
The Hoops took the first leg of the challenge with a 2-0 win in Brazil a couple of weeks ago. But more importantly, the match will be a final tuneup in anticipation of the MLS season opener next Sunday against Chivas USA.
FCD comes off a scoreless draw against the L.A. Galaxy last Saturday that saw the Hoops fail to get a single shot on frame the entire 90 minutes. Still, FCD head coach Steve Morrow likes how his starting 11 is shaping up.
"We've been very settled with our lineup, the starting group," Morrow said. "The same group started against L.A. that started down there against CAP. We've been very consistent with that. What we go with (Saturday) is what will start against Chivas for the most part."
One player who won't be in uniform for the Hoops is 31-year-old Mexican center back Daulio Davino, who FCD signed in January to help anchor their back line. Davino has been bothered by a bone bruise on his knee since returning from Brazil and did not train the entire week.
"He's not out here today," Morrow said after training on Friday. "He's got a bone bruise that really needs to calm down. He can't do anything while that's healing itself. He feels a lot better than he did a few days ago. Hopefully, we can get him back out here next week."
The FCD boss admits that Davino being on the shelf so late in preseason is starting to become a point of contention for him and his staff.
"It is a concern," Morrow said. "Ideally, we want to have him in there, get him settled in there and get him in the lineup. It's an unfortunate injury at the wrong time. That's concerning when we brought him in to be a big part of our back line. If he gets out next week and feels good, we'll evaluate that before the Chivas game."
One player who should see time is 2007 MLS All-Star Juan Toja, who missed the Galaxy game with a left knee contusion. The young Colombian has trained the entire week and admits he is ready to go.
"I'm getting better," Toja said. "I don't feel pain now, which is good. I will play a few minutes in the second half. I'm ready to come back and play."
Morrow expects his midfielder to play around 45 minutes against CAP.
"We had a good chat this morning to gauge his fitness and where he's at," Morrow said. "He's ready to go. His fitness and knee are good but he knows that he's behind everybody a little bit with his fitness. I would like to try and get him 45 minutes tomorrow if he can do that."
There is also an outside possibility that FCD could get midfielder Dax McCarty back for the match, who is currently playing for the U.S. under-23 team at the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament.
"I will have to speak to (U-23 head coach) Peter (Nowak)," Morrow said. "It is pretty meaningless since they've already qualified. But I'm sure they want to win the tournament. Dax has played in pretty much every game but we would like to get him back."
While technically Saturday's match is a preseason affair, Morrow's players aren't treating it as such.
"It's a big game," left wingback David Wagenfuhr said. "It's our last preseason game and one that we want to win. We're going to go out there and treat it like a regular season game. I think we're ready."
FCD center back Aaron Pitchkolan, who will fill in for Davino on Saturday, agrees.
"I think that we have had some good training over the last month and a half," Pitchkolan said. "We did some good stuff in Brazil and got some good games in. Last week's game was great with a great atmosphere. We're hoping to build on that, win tomorrow night and take that into the beginning of the season."
On March 8, FCD defeated CAP 2-0 at Kyocera Arena in Curitiba, Brazil. The Hoops got first-half goals from Andre Rocha and Ricardinho, both of whom have played for CAP in the past, against a CAP team comprised of second team players since the first team played later that night.
Morrow expects strong showings from both against their former side once again.
"He (Ricardinho) had a very good game down there and got his goal," Morrow said. "He's motivated and is buzzing and ready to go tomorrow. It's a good situation for him."
The FCD coach also likes what he has seen from Rocha thus far.
"He did a lot of good stuff (last Saturday)," Morrow said. "I think we didn't keep the ball well as a team in the first half and he was as guilty of that as many of the midfield players. We've seen what he is capable of here. We saw plenty of things in the game that shows what he's capable of doing. We're expecting big things from him and feel that there is more to come."
For Pitchkolan and many of his teammates, the focus against CAP is simple -- to win and capture the USA/Brazil Challenge for the first time.
"It's a great competition we have going on," he said. "It's good to have preseason games that actually mean something. It's a great way to start the season."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
