ORLANDO, Fla. – Don’t tell FC Dallas that results don't matter during preseason.
The defending Western Conference champions defeated Orlando City, 1-0, in the opener of the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic on Thursday. Following the game, FCD players indicated that winning was very much a priority, regardless of the fact it wasn't a regular season game.
“It’s very important to win, even though it’s part of the preseason preparation,” MLS Cup MVP David Ferreira said.
You don’t hear that too often from teams at this stage of the year. But for head coach Schellas Hyndman, it's about nurturing a winning culture as early as possible.
“I’m very pleased with the performance as far as the movement of the ball and the interchanging of positions,” Hyndman said. “Of course we’ve worked so hard to develop the culture of winning, so we wanted to win. It is a reflection of what we did last year.”
The 2010 MLS Coach of the Year highlighted the play of winger Marvin Chavez and the performance of Brek Shea, who filled in ably at center back when starter Zach Loyd fell victim to a quadriceps strain at halftime. The club’s regulars at the position, George John and Ugo Ihemelu, are still recovering from offseason surgeries and were not available.
[inlinenode:329430]“[Shea] did very well,” Hyndman said. “I did the Generation adidas trip to Madrid [in December 2010] and he was outstanding at center back — one of our top three players that were there. But it’s not a permanent place for him.”
Shea called the center back role "a fun position."
“If the boss asks me to do it, I’m going to do what he asks me to,” he said.
Next up for FC Dallas is a matchup against heated Texas rivals Houston Dynamo in the Disney Pro Classic final on Saturday (8 pm ET, ESPN3.com). FCD will not only want to avenge an embarrassing 4-0 preseason trouncing suffered in Corpus Christi back on Feb. 12 but also prove to themselves they are nearing 100 percent fitness with the start of the MLS season fast approaching.
“I think every game we get better although we’re still missing a few players,” Shea said. “And maybe we still have some new players coming in.”
<p><em><strong>Check out the Feb. 24 edition of the <a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/extratime" target="blank">ExtraTime Radio podcast</a>, featuring D.C. United's Charlie Davies, </strong></em><strong><em>Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando and league executive Nelson Rodriguez</em></strong> <em><strong>talking about the new playoff structure.</strong></em></p>
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