have mostly been a model of roster consistency.
After winning a championship, there is no reason for Kinnear to buck the trend.
Forward Paul Dalglish, who joined Dynamo last summer and played a significant role in their march through the playoffs, said keeping last year's team intact gives the Orange their best chance to repeat.
"I think when you see our team play, you realize everyone on the pitch knows what everyone else is going to do," he said. "That's what we're all about. Because the guys have been together for such a long time, that's what produces that understanding and that knowledge of each other's game."
Apart from Serioux, the only adjustments to the Dynamo squad over the winter came in the reserve ranks. Four players who had made 22 MLS appearances (and only six for Dynamo or the Quakes) combined were let go, and seven rookies have come in.
In any other year, that turnover of young players might have been business as usual, but in a season when the Orange could play as many as 50 games, those players might be needed. No one in the Dynamo camp is counting on the youngsters yet, but their time may come as the fixture schedule gets crowded in the summer.
"Our team, when everybody's fit, tends to more or less pick itself," Dalglish said. "It's hard for (young players) to get minutes until they're going to be thrown into the deep end when other players go away."
"If these guys are good enough to play, they'll play," Kinnear said. "They do know coming in that it's a pretty settled squad. It's a very good squad. So they have their work cut out for them, but if I feel a player is good enough, you need to let these guys play."
The chances for Dynamo's youngsters should be numerous this year. Several players - Wade Barrett, Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark, Brad Davis, Dwayne De Rosario and Alejandro Moreno - could get called up to their respective national teams for either the CONCACAF Gold Cup or CONMEBOL's Copa America. The U.S. internationals on the squad could miss club time for both tournaments.
Add to that this summer's club competitions, and it becomes clear fresh bodies will be at a premium. The U.S. Open Cup and SuperLiga tournaments will result in Dynamo playing an astounding eight matches in July.
"There's going to be Gold Cup and Copa America, and sometimes there's going to be injuries and suspensions," Kinnear said. "Even with a full squad, to play that many games is going to be difficult. If you throw in those factors ... it's going to be even more so."
Still, Dynamo are relishing the opportunity to win so many trophies.
"It is going to be a long season, but I think that's the price you pay for success, and it's going to be thoroughly worth it," Dalglish said. "It's just what you have to deal with when you're successful."
The Orange are already on their way toward one piece of hardware. They started play in the CONCACAF Champions' Cup in February and have advanced to the semifinal round, where they hold a 2-0 lead on aggregate heading into Thursday night's second leg against Mexican side CF Pachuca.
A win over Pachuca will send Dynamo to the finals against storied Mexican club CD Guadalajara. A victory there will put them into the FIFA Club World Championship in December.
Thanks to having played four competitive matches already, Dynamo could very well head into Sunday's season opener against the Los Angeles Galaxy fitter than any other MLS team. But even more so, Kinnear says, his team has gotten into the habit of maintaining a professional attitude.
"We've still got some work to do, but I think the one thing that's great for this preseason is the attitude that we've shown in these CONCACAF games," he said. "You can always get fitter as you play more games, but I think the attitude needs to be correct. I think the attitude has been awesome."
Dynamo will need the same dedication throughout the season if they are to become the second MLS team to repeat as champions. D.C. United did it in the first two seasons of the league. This year, the target is on Dynamo's backs.
"We'll approach it the same as the way we approached every game when I arrived last season, and that's to just do our best," Dalglish said. "Obviously teams are going to want to beat us probably a little bit more because we're the champions and they'll want that notch on their belt. But I think there were a lot of teams when we were going into the playoffs that wanted beat us, as well, but we managed to beat them, so we should hold up well."
Jason Halpin is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
