PORTLAND, Ore. – New FC Dallas forward Eric Hassli has only been with the club for a few weeks, but he’s loving the Texan life. In fact, the French forward has already purchased a horse ranch not far outside Frisco.
“[My wife] can do whatever she wants, she’s the boss,” Hassli told MLSsoccer.com on Thursday. “So she chooses and I agree, that’s it. You have no idea how happy she is. She’s a cowgirl, she been riding horses since she was three years old so she’s just happy to be in Dallas for the horses and all that.”
On the soccer side of things, Hassli is pretty excited for his new digs as well. In two years in the league with Vancouver and Toronto, he’s seen last place finishes to the campaign, but on a revitalized Dallas squad, challenging for the playoffs is something that’s expected. Hassli, Blas Pérez and Kenny Cooper make up a trio of forwards for Schellas Hyndman’s squad that combined for 32 goals last season.
READ: 2012 FC Dallas Preview: Ferreira's health is everything
“It’s a very offensive team and the last two years we didn’t play so well with Vancouver or Toronto,” said Hassli. “We didn’t keep the ball and here we have the quality. The coach wants us to keep the ball and play.”
But that doesn’t mean the enigmatic forward is going to be making any predictions.
“Last two years, I said I wanted to do the playoffs so bad, but this year I just want to shut my mouth, work and we’ll see by October if we get there,” said Hassli.
SEE: 2012 FC Dallas depth chart
Despite all the excitement, FC Dallas is using quite a bit of caution with the Frenchman as they work him into full fitness. Coming in at a later stage of the preseason has left Hassli’s fitness levels about a month behind the rest of the team who wraps up the preseason on Saturday against San Jose, but that hasn’t tempered his outlook.
“How can I explain?” said Hassli. “I’m just so [expletive] happy.”
