FRISCO, Texas - With the playoffs out of reach for both sides, you have to search a little bit for interesting storylines surrounding the FC Dallas season finale against Chivas USA (7 pm ET, Galavision).
Given the form that Blas Pérezis in, however, any opportunity to watch the red-hot forward is one worth taking.
There’s not much the Panamanian could do about the foot injury suffered on international duty back in June that caused him to miss 12 crucial games, but now that he’s fully fit, “Super Raton” is on a run of four goals in his last three games that should give FCD fans plenty of optimism heading into 2013.
“[The last three games] have been very important for me,” Pérez said through a translator on Friday. “I feel much better now physically and mentally after scoring those goals and it just gives me more confidence for next year.”
Pérez scored the first and only multi-goal game for FC Dallas this season three games ago at San Jose and has built on that performance with goals against Chivas USA and Seattle in his last two matches. Given his season-ending performances, one is only left to wonder how important Sunday’s game could have been for FCD if Pérez had more than just 19 games played this season.
“[Blas] was a key to our run into the playoffs and we missed him because we didn’t have someone who can come in and do the type of things he did,” head coach Schellas Hyndman said. “Look at the goal against Seattle, it was a very nice goal. He always puts himself in the right place.”
As an added incentive, the Panamanian, sitting on nine goals in 19 appearances, can become the fifth FC Dallas player in the last five years to tally double digit goals if he can find the net on Sunday evening, something he says is not on his mind.
“I’m not really worried about the number,” Pérez said. “I’ll never say a number of goals. I know I’m going to come in work hard and give everything on the field. If I do that, the payoff will be the goals.”
Already signed through 2013, Pérez should be back in the red and white of FC Dallas next season, but there’s still an encore performance remaining on Sunday.
