Currently, FC Dallas sits with all eight international spots filled with the additions of Blas Perez, Hernan Pertuz and Carlos Rodriguez. With those three as well as roster stalwarts Fabian Castillo, David Ferreira and Jair Benitez taking up the other three spots that leaves Villar and Cruz as the guys on the chopping block should another international be signed.

Ricardo Villar was thrust into the spotlight last season when David Ferreira's injury happened, starting 14 of the last 16 games including the playoff loss to New York. His time last year was up and down, though, in my opinion, Villar struggled to catch up to the speed of MLS. I, as much as anyone, respect the need to give a player time to adjust to a new league, David Ferreira being the prime example, however Villar's play did not seem to get better as the season went on.

The bottom line is the attacking midfield position needs to have production and 0 goals/2 assists isn't getting the job done, especially given Villar's inexplicably high contract, tied for 5th highest on the squad. On the bright side, the Brazilian did bring a level of professionalism and technical ability to the position. He scored a very nice free kick in Open Cup play and was shifted around positions a bit.

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News broke earlier this afternoon via Guatemala-based American journalist Brent Latham that Ukranian giants Dynamo Kiev have tabled a shock $10 million bid for FC Dallas star Brek Shea. When contacted for comment on the report, FCD President Doug Quinn poured cold water on the rumor, saying no formal offer for Brek Shea has been made and Dallas is not interesting in receiving an offer.

Dynamo Kiev, while certainly a big club and one that is almost perennially in the Champions League, would be a strange move for Shea, though the money from Ukranian clubs like Dynamo and Shakhtar Donetsk has unexpectedly purchased Brazilian stars like Jadson, Willian and Luiz Adriano.

Shea has returned to Dallas this afternoon as he joins FC Dallas for pre-season training after spending the majority of January with the US Men's National Team.

Edit: The greatness of Greg Seltzer, as he normally does, set the story straight tonight and says Kiev tabled an offer months ago that was quickly rejected.

These kinds of stealth bids will likely be rolling in for Shea in the coming weeks and months until he is finally sold so get used to them. FCD and Brek will make the move when it is right for him and I think the organization has made it exceedingly clear that the guy is not going anywhere for the 2012 season.

With all the internationals heading to FCD, the practice field should begin to get pretty packed as Dallas begins full preparation for the 2012 season. Four new players have been signed and over the next week or so we will be taking a look at five roster battles to track through the next 6 weeks of pre-season.

Adam Crouch posted an article on the FCD website regarding Scott Gordon and his quest to make the team which brought this little nugget from Schellas.

"He’s been great. He’s everything that we remember," said Hyndman. "The thing is, we’ve really made a real commitment to making our defense better, depth wise. Getting Hernán Pertúz, Carlos Rodríguez and then picking up Matt Hedges in the draft, that’s three more guys. We’d probably like to get one more player."

If George John finds his way back to Dallas, I think this is all moot as a center back stable of John, Ugo Ihemelu, Matt Hedges, and Hernan Pertuz with Andrew Jacobson/Zach Loyd available in an emergency is probably enough. However, if you lose John there is clearly a need for a final center back to round out the roster.

The challengers right now are Christian Ibeagha, Scott Gordon and Jack Stewart with Alex Lee possibly making a late run if he can get healthy.

You'd have to say right now that Jack Stewart is the incumbent and favorite to grab the spot. He's got the familiarity to Schellas from last season and showed fairly well in his emergency appearances. You've got the young guys in Pertuz and Hedges so a guy like Stewart with a bunch of experience seems to be the safest choice.

The cases for the rest of the guys after the jump

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The United States scored a nice 1-0 win down in Panama City tonight with Graham Zusi scoring the winner early in the first half on a Zach Loyd cross that pinged around in the box before Zusi stuffed it past an onrushing Panama keeper. I have a few thoughts on the match that featured four(!) FC Dallas players in the starting lineups.

Shea's night A pretty meh night from Brek Shea. The guy really shouldn't have been played 90 minutes tonight after playing 90 on Saturday. You really worry about how sharp he's going to be for FC Dallas to start the season if he is in the squad that travels to Italy and then goes to join the Olympic team for qualifying. Yeah, he's young, but it's just a worry. Also, he's thinking two steps ahead of most players on the US team, as JYJ said in the comments of the game thread, maybe he's gotten a little too used to playing with Robin Van Persie.

Blas Perez's night I thought Blas was overall pretty good tonight. He did what FC Dallas needs from him which is hassling the back four relentlessly and just being a pest in there to free up space for Shea and Ferreira while poaching his own goals. He missed a golden opportunity late in the game to equalize and had a first half chance well saved by Nick Rimando. I think he's going to be good in Dallas.

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I'm about to head to Allen Wickers for USA v Panama but if you're stuck at home to watch this one, the game is on Galavision or ESPN3.com and starts at 7:30.

Brek Shea and Zach Loyd vs Blas Perez and Carlos Rodriguez....A packed Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City. This one should be a good one!

Big game tonight as the United States faces off against Panama down in Panama City at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez, familiar to FC Dallas fans from that debacle against Tauro FC last year. Tonight's game won't be any normal friendly, however, as the Panama squad includes two of FCD's big off-season signings in Blas Perez and Carlos Rodriguez. We could potentially have four FCD players on the field at one time tonight, the game kicks off at 730PM on Galavision and ESPN3.com...there will be the regulars at both Allen Wickers and Trinity Hall if you feel like watching the game with others.

The projected starting lineup for Panama includes both Dallas players.

Panamá: Luis Mejía, Eduardo Dasent, Rolando Algandona, Eric Vásquez, Carlos Rodríguez, Gabriel Gómez, Juan De Gracia, Alberto Quintero, Amir Waithe, Blas Pérez y Luis Rentería. Entrenador: Julio César Dely Valdés (Panamá).

Brent Latham has a great article for MLSSoccer.com talking about the Panamanian invasion to MLS. He caught up with Carlos Rodriguez as well...

"Blas Pérez is a real reference of Panamanian soccer, it’s going to be great to play with him in Dallas," Rodriguez told MLSsoccer.com after practice on Tuesday. "They say we’ll do preseason there when we arrive, and it will be great to get started in a league like MLS, with all the history and weight that it carries."

One man that will surely figure for the US at some point tonight is Brek Shea...he was honored by US Soccer as the young player of the year.

"This was a fun year for me - a lot of chances with the National Team, FC Dallas and getting to train with Arsenal, Hopefully in 2012 I get a chance to go to the Olympics and be a part of World Cup Qualifying. I'm honored to be part of this award. A lot of great players have won it."

We announced the Dallas Cup Super Group earlier and the story of Richard Sanchez is one we will definitely be following throughout the tournament. We know he would play for FC Dallas, but could he man the nets for Mexico U20 in the tournament? He's been called up to the U18 national team and blogged about it for FCDallas.com.

"We really love Richard Sanchez," said FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman. "What a great story, winning the U17 World Cup with Mexico and signing with FC Dallas last season. It was a really good year for him and his family. He’s a player Mexico obviously has a lot of interest in. Getting called into the Mexican U-18 National Team camp is a natural progression for him."

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The strongest Super Group ever has been finalized. Unfortunately, due to circumstances out of our control, Boca Juniors has dropped out. Obviously disappointing but hopefully they can come in a future tournament, they've been replaced by Club Bolivar.

The 2012 Gordon Jago Super Group is as follows:

Manchester United(England) Everton FC(England)

Paris Saint-Germain(France) Eintracht Frankfurt(Germany)

Club Bolivar(Bolivia) Tigres UANL(Mexico)

Mexico U20 National Team Coritiba FC(Brazil)

Bahia FC (Brazil) Kashiwa Reysol(Japan)

FC Dallas(USA) Dallas Texans(USA)

As you can see, there will be 12 teams this year meaning three groups of four teams with group winners and the highest 2nd place team advancing to the semifinals. What teams would you like to see face off in the traditional opening day triple header on the FC Dallas stadium field?

Dr Pepper Dallas Cup XXXIII kicks off April 1.