Football Season Review

FC Dallas ended a long wait to get their hands on some silverware but fell short of completing a historic treble after a poor playoffs campaign. After narrowly missing out on the Supporters' Shield on goal difference in the previous campaign and losing out to eventual MLS Cup winners Portland Timbers in the Conference finals, Dallas were determined to improve on what had been a successful campaign. Coach Oscar Pareja strengthened the roster by bringing in Carlos Gruezo, Max Urruti, Maynor Figueroa and Mauro Rosales and all of the players had a big impact on their campaign, with Gruezo, Urruti and Figueroa quickly establishing themselves in the starting lineup while Rosales supported ably from the bench. The front four of Urruti, Fabian Castillo, Mauro Diaz and Michael Barrios was as good as any in the MLS, with Diaz pulling the strings from the midfield and exploiting the pace and movement of Castillo and Barrios. While a return of 10 assists and five goals points to a decent season, the stats underplay Diaz's importance to Dallas' offence and the midfielder was central to all of their best moves. Though Castillo quit the team midway through the campaign to seal an acrimonious move to Trabzonspor, Dallas quickly took the departure in their stride and a combination of Rosales, Tesho Akindele and Ryan Hollingshead ensured that the Colombian was not missed too much as Dallas marched to their first ever trophy in more than two decades by beating New England Revolution in the US Open Cup. With his side sitting top of the Western Conference heading into the final weeks, Pareja continued to put the team and despite a slight dip in form, Dallas held their nerve to finish as the Western Conference champions as well as beat Colorado Rapids to the Supporters’ Shield trophy. Dallas went into the playoffs determined to complete a clean sweep of the domestic trophies but a poor performance in the first leg of the Conference semifinals against Seattle Sounders meant that a win in Dallas was not enough to prevent an early exit from the competition. Pareja has put together a young and talented roster, one which will once again be expected to challenge for honors but the Dallas coach has to improve the depth of the squad if they are to have any hopes of repeating their brilliant campaign next season, especially with Diaz expected to miss the initial months of the campaign due to an injury.

Player of the Season: Mauro Diaz