With his starting 11 all but set for Saturday's season opener at Real Salt Lake, FC Dallas head coach Steve Morrow took another item off his to-do list Monday when the club named Carlos Ruiz as the team captain.
The 27-year-old Guatemalan international is in his third season with FCD and last year led the club with 13 goals in another great year for the talented striker. In February, he also began his first full preseason with the Hoops and the end result has been a more focused Ruiz who has also shown a great deal of leadership.
"It's something I've thought long and hard about," Morrow said. "I've known for a couple of weeks that I was going to name Carlos (Ruiz), but I wanted to make him captain in a few games and see how he reacted to it. I also wanted him to have a few weeks to get comfortable with it.
"We officially announced it today. I know he'll do a great job. He commands a lot of respect, both on this team and around the league as well," the FCD boss added. "All the players on the team respect him for what he's done. He's an important part of the team on and off the field."
Ruiz is one of a number of Latin American players on the FCD roster, but that didn't factor into Morrow's decision.
"For me, it was a case of who is the best man for the job," he said. "That was my only criteria. He and I have had several meetings and he knows exactly what I expect from him as the captain. With the team that we've got, it certainly helps. He's a great guy to bring everyone together. He's very close to everyone on the team and I think that's important as well."
The Hoops' new captain considers the designation a big honor. "I feel happy," Ruiz said. "This is something good for me and my career. All the coaches believe in me and my teammates support me, so this is great. I have to show on and off the field why I am the captain."
It also marks the first time he has been named captain since coming to the U.S. in 2002.
"In the beginning of the preseason, he (Morrow) talked to me and said he had three or four players in mind to be captain," Ruiz said. "He understood what it meant for me to be captain. I feel proud because I was a captain for my old team in Guatemala and know what a responsibility it is."
Another thing that didn't factor into Morrow's decision was the possibility that Ruiz could miss some time with FCD later in the year should he be called into the Guatemalan national team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
"It doesn't," Morrow said. "We want a captain for the whole season. Whether or not he will be missing for the Gold Cup, we don't know that right now. That didn't figure into the planning really. If he gets selected, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Ruiz was pulled aside prior to the end of Monday's training and informed of the decision. After meeting with team officials, Morrow then called the entire team to the middle of their practice field and made the announcement, which was met with rousing applause.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
