Last Wednesday, FC Dallas added two players to their already deep roster. Marcelo Saragosa, a central midfielder most recently with the Los Angeles Galaxy, made his presence immediately felt, scoring an 87th-minute goal in his debut, a 2-0 win against Mexican Primera Division club Tigres UANL last Wednesday at Pizza Hut Park.
But Saragosa wasn't the only new face in the FCD locker room last week. Also added to the fold was forward Alex Smith, who joined the club's developmental roster. The 21-year-old made his Hoops debut as a second-half substitute against Tigres. His journey to Frisco has been an interesting one.
In 2004, Smith played at Southern Methodist, leading the Mustangs with 13 goals and four assists. He was a big reason why SMU captured regular season and tournament titles in the Missouri Valley Conference and also advanced to the third round of the NCAA College Cup.
Last summer, he traveled to England, where he was born, and had trials with Shrewsbury Town and Walsall. In the fall, Smith returned to SMU intending to finish his career with the Ponies, but was declared ineligible by the NCAA and his soccer odyssey began.
Kansas City used a discovery pick on him and Smith had a month-long trial with the Wizards earlier this year, but they didn't offer him a contract and he returned to Dallas. Alex has been training with the Hoops for the last two months and has seen action in four reserve games, starting in three of those. He showed enough of his old form to land a contract with the Hoops.
"He's at the bottom of the heap right now on the developmental roster," FCD head coach Colin Clarke said. "He's a goal scorer. He has good feet, an eye for the goal and is a good finisher. He needs to work on his strength and on being a little more physical.
"It's important for him to work hard and to get tougher and stronger. I like the way he has that eye for the goal. He's not always blasting balls. He likes to place them and bend them. I think he'll be good."
Smith is glad to sign with the Hoops, especially considering how long the road was to finally land with an MLS side.
"Odyssey is a good word," he said. "Since I left SMU, it's been a year and a half, almost two years. It's been a long road. It feels good to finally get here. I think it's helped me mature as a person going through all this because it showed me that life isn't fair."
Making his FCD debut on the same day he signed was a bonus for Smith.
"To get in the game (against Tigres) was really good," Smith said. "I think it makes it better for me personally since it took me so long to get here. It means a lot more to me. I'm really excited to be here and happy it's all worked out finally."
Clarke thinks that Smith has a great opportunity to shine now that he will not have to worry about securing a roster spot for the Hoops.
"It will be a big plus," Clarke said. "The pressure is on but he knows he is part of us now. He's got a great opportunity to learn from some very good players."
Smith comes to FCD with no illusions about being at the bottom of the forward depth chart. "Coming in, I'm probably one of the bottom forwards but that's good," he said. "I like working hard and working my way to the top. It's a start and I'm happy to have it."
One of three Houston natives on the Hoops roster, along with midfielder Arturo Alvarez and Chris Gbandi, Smith is clearly overjoyed to be surrounded by so many familiar faces. He and Alvarez played club soccer together and Smith and is also close friends with one of Gbandi's brothers.
Playing in further reserve games is something Smith knows will be an integral part of his development.
"They (reserve games) are definitely great as opposed to a few years ago, when they didn't have them in MLS. There's not that many of them but they help tremendously," Smith said. "Coaches get to see you play in the reserve games against other MLS teams. It's nice to have a chance to play and impress them. The games are really competitive."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
