FRISCO, Texas — In our weekly series starring Schellas Hyndman, the FC Dallas head coach addresses 11 topics in brevity including the win over the Columbus Crew, being the first team to 10 wins, Ricardo Villar’s improvement and David Ferreira’s road to recovery.
I. FC Dallas improved to 10-4-4 last Saturday night with their third straight victory, a 2-0 win over the visiting Columbus Crew at a sold-out Pizza Hut Park.
“I thought it was a good performance by FC Dallas from the beginning of the game to the end of the game. One of the harder things to do is a commitment to keep focus throughout the 90 minutes.”
II. Brek Shea scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season and the in-form Jackson tallied his fourth goal in four games across all competitions on a highlight-worthy chip shot from 18 yards out.
“Jackson has come to life since his trip to Brazil, since his marriage. I’ve got a few other guys telling me that they are thinking about getting married.”
III-IV. Another Brazilian, Ricardo Villar, received significant minutes for the first time in 2011 after registering a goal and an assist in the third-round Lamar Hunt US Open Cup game.
“We never ever questioned his ability on the ball. We never questioned his intelligence. There was just an adjustment to the league — the speed of play and the physical part of it.”
“It was a reward on his USOC performance but, at the same time, it was adjusting into what we want him to do.”
V-VI. With the help of Shea, Villar, Jackson and another superb performance from goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, FC Dallas became the first MLS side to reach 10 wins in the 2011 season.
“Somebody brought it to my attention and I didn’t even think about it, but once I heard about it I liked it.”
“The fact that we’re the first team that has 10 wins — you know, last year what did we have, a total of 12 wins? To be the first one there that’s great. I’d like to be the first one to 15.”
VII. FC Dallas now face a stiff challenge as they play six of their next nine games on the road, starting Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium against Real Salt Lake.
“We spent a half-hour today talking about the month of July. The eight games — I got it on the calendar and on our board.”
VIII-IX. In late July, FCD travel to Toronto, New York and then El Salvador to play Alianza FC as they begin their quest to enter the group phase of the CONCACAF Champions League.
“That’s three very important games all in the span of a week. To make it more clear — three different games in three different countries — that’s a lot of traveling and you’re also dealing with the El Salvadoran culture.”
X-XI. Even with the team consistently earning three points, FC Dallas continue to be without their MVP David Ferreira as he recovers from a broken ankle suffered in late April.
“He had a meeting this morning with the doctor to give him a lit bit of progress. ‘Can we get you out of the boot? If we can’t get you out of the boot at what point in time can we get you to do something — some type of activity?’”
“When he got hurt, the initial conversation with me was that he would be out for about three months. He’s just getting out of the boot now.”
Robert Casner covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at rmcasner@gmail.com and on Twitter: @FCDallasBeatGuy
