While it was a chaotic, lightning-filled 24 hours north of the border for FC Dallas at midweek, Andrew Jacobson’s allergic reaction to peanuts and ensuing visit to the hospital topped the unpredictable climate.
Following his pregame routine of eating energy bars, Jacobson grabbed one before FC Dallas headed onto the pitch at BMO Field on Thursday morning for the replay of their CONCACAF Champions League game. But this bar was filled with peanuts.
“I ate like a chocolate bar in the locker room,” he told MLSsoccer.com over the phone on Friday afternoon. “I eat them all the time before games, but I guess in Canada, they’re different.”
Jacobson — who has known about his peanut allergy his whole life — was quickly taken to the hospital after developing a violent reaction.
As FC Dallas traveled to Toronto Pearson International Airport after the game to make their afternoon flight to Dallas and connection to Kansas City, Jacobson remained at the hospital unsure if he would be on the team’s flight until a stroke of fortune went FCD’s way.
“I went to the hospital and one of the doctors was affiliated with Toronto, so he gave me a lot of attention,” said Jacobson, who completed a pool workout with the first team in Kansas City and worked out in the hotel weight room Friday.
Not all was lost on Jacobson’s trip however. He started and played 45 minutes at center back in Wednesday’s originally scheduled game before it was canceled due to inclement weather.
“I really enjoyed it,” he admitted of the central defense spot. “It’s definitely a different pace; you play a lot different. It helped having Kevin [Hartman] behind me, Ugo [Ihemelu] next to me, and Daniel [Hernandez] in front of me. They helped me out a lot.”
Jacobson added that he is available and looks forward to get on the pitch at Livestrong Sporting Park in FCD’s first visit to the new stadium on Saturday (8:30 pm ET, watch LIVE online).
Castillo returns from Colombia "changed"
When Fabián Castillo returned to FC Dallas earlier this month following his six-week tenure with the Colombian national team at the U-20 World Cup, he noticed a little wear and tear in his club mates.
“My teammates are a little tired with all the games, but we have to work hard to obtain the championships,” he said of FC Dallas’ quadruple pursuit of the US Open Cup, Supporters’ Shield, MLS Cup and CONCACAF Champions League trophy.
Castillo — who said he has a full tank and is ready to help his team in any way — brings a different element to the FC Dallas attack: speed and unpredictability.
Head coach Schellas Hyndman said it would take two weeks for him to readjust to the system but, regardless, Castillo comes back somewhat a different player.
“In my case, I come back better and a little more changed,” he said of his time with the Colombian Under-20s. “I want to leave it all on the field.”
Castillo played for nearly an hour on Thursday morning against Toronto FC after coming on as a substitute in the home loss to Seattle last weekend. He added that while he was away, he regularly communicated with forward Maykel Galindo to see how the team was doing.
“The team is doing things well,” he added. “Right now, we have to work hard.”
Robert Casner covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at rmcasner@gmail.com and on Twitter: @FCDallasBeatGuy
