Big D Soccer: All Posts by Daniel Robertson

A tale from Mexico City

2013-03-26T14:39:59Z

On the morning of the biggest World Cup Qualifier of the cycle (it is until we win there), I wanted to share with you my adventure in Mexico City from four years ago to get you hyped up for tonight.

As is the case for most of my schemes, it started on a night at The Flying Saucer as myself and the great Warren Abao, with a few pints in us, made a pact to go to Azteca. We promised each other that we'd go and sure enough, six months later, I arrived at Warren's place way too early in the morning and we were on a plane to Mexico City.

For whatever reason, the Mexican federation decided to have the game at 3PM on Wednesday afternoon, so we flew out Tuesday morning with the plans of exploring the DF a little bit and picking up our tickets. Now back four years ago, there was a company called OleOle that ran a ticket package for this game that was something like $250 for a ticket and bus ride to the game and back to the hotel....seriously. I bought myself and Warren upper deck tickets for $15 each on Ticketmaster and our subway ride was about .15

The problem was, my Spanish, while improving, was still quite gringoish and finding a Ticketmaster outlet in the DF to pick up these tickets was proving to be quite the struggle. We subway'd it around the city getting rejected at a couple different places and the clock was nearing 5pm when most of them close.

Given that the game was at 3PM and most of the Sam's Army (AO was still a small twinkle in the eye of a few passionate people) contingent was meeting up to ride the subway to Azteca at 11AM the need to get the tickets before end of day was quite dire. As it turns out, the outlet we finally had success at was less than a mile from where we were staying in the Zona Rosa (doh!).

With tickets in hand, it was time to fill our bellies. Fortunately, by this time, the great Lorenzo and his son Christian had arrived from Dallas and we had a spanish speaker in our group to guide us around.

After a late night, we got up early, met with the rest of the Americans that chose to take the subway and were on our way.

Despite arriving over three hours before kickoff, the action around Estadio Azteca had already reached a fevered pitch. In the legendary stadium, the massive upper deck is general admission while the lower deck is reserved seating so there were already thousands of people outside the stadium with horns, whistles and everything else you can imagine.

For awhile we teemed around without much notice, though someone got the bright idea to start chanting and things began to get a little bit wild.

They brought the riot police to lead us to our section and everything started to become very real.

When we got up to our seats and the probably 25,000 people alrady there two hours before the game saw us, the whistles echoed around the stadium in one of the more exhilarating experiences of my life. 200 people walking into a stadium that seats over 100,000 and we elicited such a response.

There were riot police on both sides of us, though one side had the barbed wire fence too.

The two hours ticked away rather quickly, the teams came out and it was go time.

To be honest with you, during the match I barely took any pictures. I was really just standing in awe for 90 minutes of what a stadium of 100,000 people passionately watching the beautiful game, life and death with every moment, was like. When the United States scored, it was a feeling of Ecstasy that made the whole trip worth it. After booing and whistling through the national anthem and throwing countless objects and "beer" at us, the stadium got silent, if only for 30 seconds. The most beautiful 30 seconds of the game.

Of course, Mexico came back and scored prompting showers of debris on us...really any time anything of note happened we got showers of debris...but I didn't care. That's part of the experience, you know what you're signing up for stepping into the belly of the beast representing the Stars and Stripes.

As I'm sure you know, Mexico won the match 2-1 with a late goal and, looking back on it, that goal was probably a blessing in disguise. We were bummed about the loss, but the US represented themselves well and we could now get out alive.

The walk out of Azteca was one of the wilder parts of the whole thing. I didn't take this video, but I must've been standing right next to this guy because this is a taste of what it was like.

The policia made this bizarre box in the parking lot, marched us into it and then moved with us through the lots where tens of thousands of people were leaving. It made for some hairy moments as fans still chunked stuff at us and I must admit this part was probably the scariest of all.

Thinking we were going to be taking the subway home, the police didn't allow it and marched us into a riot van. Now this was one of the most fun parts of the experience as there were probably 25-50 of us packed into this van flying around the city with American flags hanging out the sides singing every song in the book. It was an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience combining culture and soccer that I'll never forget.

That night in Mexico City, I'm not sure I paid for one beer as the overjoyed Mexicans were more than happy to buy for the gringos now that the 3 points were in the bag. The next day, we bussed it out to Teotihuacan to see the amazing pyramids and then that night we were back at the airport. It was an amazing experience that any diehard soccer fan should experience (though not for the squeamish) and I'm sure there will be dozens more stories like mine popping up in the next week as the Americans arrive back from the DF tomorrow.

Stepping Down From Big D

2013-03-25T13:58:37Z

When I decided to start Big D Soccer over 30 months ago, I wasn't really sure where I was going with things, but I had some time on my hands and a lot of drive to make a site where FCD fans could go to discuss the team that I love. After talking with Wes Cox(an FCD fan and former leader of Mavs Moneyball), I approached Steve Davis who used to work with SB Nation, even before I started Big D Soccer with the idea of being the FCD blog on SBN and on October 25 we moved over here.

There's been a Western Conference Championship, the first MLS team to win in Mexico, and one of the saddest moments in all of our lives.

Through over 1,500 posts, hundreds of thousands of words and almost a million page views, I can say that Big D Soccer is the proudest thing I've done in my life. But it's not about me. It's about the hundreds of people that have joined the site over the past 2+ years to give their views on the team that we all love and make this site the premier place to go and talk FCD with a bunch of other like-minded fans. I could write 5,000 words of Shakespearean-level prose on the team and it wouldn't give me half as much pride as seeing 50 comments from people professing their joy over winning the cannon back from Houston.

At one point this site was simply about breaking news and analysis. I (and Drew and Steve and Alfredo) talked and you listened. Not anymore. It's now about so much more. It's a community. There's seven writers and dozens of more people giving their insightful analysis every day...and maybe a discussion about horses and ducks or something.

I say all this because Saturday was my last home game as the FCD beat writer and I'm going to be stepping away from Big D Soccer. An incredible opportunity has opened up at FC Dallas and the club has offered me a position on the digital team working for Scott Brown, someone who has been a friend and colleague for the past couple years.

I'm extremely excited to see what kind of things Scott and I can accomplish working together full time and I can tell you guys this is going to be a great move for everyone involved. There's literally dozens of people I'd love to thank, but the three I really want to mention are Leigh Anne Gullett and Jason Minnick who gave a dude with a little talent and a lot of passion unlimited access to the team and Drew Epperley who has helped me so much with this site.

Don't anyone worry, I'll still be around (I'll let ya'll try and guess who I am) and this site is in the good hands of six extremely talented writers. This thing is about community and it is what you make of it so keep the conversation going and I'm thrilled to be able to bring ya'll the stories of this team as we work towards that first trophy in 15 years.

See you guys in Frisco.

DTID

Matchday 4: FC Dallas vs Real Salt Lake

2013-03-23T19:22:40Z

We've reached the fourth game of the season and tonight FC Dallas hosts Real Salt Lake looking to win their third straight home game and go to nine points on the young season. It's a bit of a trap game for Dallas after the emotional win over Houston last weekend and a two-game road trip on the horizon.

Notes

International Absences We talked about it earlier in the week and it remains the case that this game is going to be decimated by international absences. RSL is missing four key starters in Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman, Tony Beltran and Alvaro Saborio while FC Dallas will be missing starters Raul Fernandez and Blas Perez as well as Je-Vaughn Watson.

Seitz Starts The absence of Fernandez means that Chris Seitz will be getting his first start of the season tonight and as I wrote for FCDallas.com, he's going to have a lot on his mind.

RSL's Amazing Streak Real Salt Lake is an absolutely incredible 0-18-3 all-time in the state of Texas against FC Dallas and Houston. Jason Kreis' men are 0-8-2 all-time at FCD, though they have earned draws in their last two trips to Frisco.

Ferreira's Streak David Ferreira is one of two players in the league with a goal or an assist in each of the season's first three games(Sebastien Le Toux) and he could be back in the center of midfield tonight with Blas Perez missing and FCD possibly moving back to a 4-2-3-1

Keys to the Game

Late-game defending So far this season, the defending has been very good for FCD in the first hour of the game. They have yet to allow a first-half goal, but four of the five goals allowed have come in the last 15 minutes of matches. RSL has allowed only two goals in three games this year.

Feed Cooper Goals for strikers like Kenny Cooper come in bunches and I have a hunch that the big guy could be due for a breakout game tonight after opening his season account late last week. FCD should really try to feed Cooper in this game and get him into a nice groove heading into the road trip.

Don't underestimate Just because RSL is missing a bunch of players doesn't mean Dallas can afford to take them lightly. Josh Saunders won two MLS Cups in goal and Robbie Findley is a proven MLS scorer. That being said, if Dallas can jump on them early, things could get ugly.

Referee

REFEREE: Juan Guzman. SAR (bench): Ian Anderson; JAR (opposite): Matthew Nelson; 4th: Ted Unkel MLS Career: 22 games; FC/gm: 25.5; Y/gm: 3.6; R: 6; pens: 4

Prediction(1-2 on the year)

It wasn't the best week of training in the world for FCD with a depleted squad, but tonight's game is all about professionalism. On paper, Dallas should be able to handle this RSL team without their three best players. What I'm looking for tonight is a strong defensive performance from Dallas and continued success for Cooper.

2-0 FCD

FC Dallas Practice Live 3/20

2013-03-21T05:51:45Z

I haven't had a chance to do one of these in awhile so I wanted to get this out to ya'll.

Today FCD returned to the practice field in preparation for Saturday's big match against RSL. It's a chance for Dallas to earn 9 points from their first 4 games, something that hasn't happened since 2006 and a big opportunity to gain some early-season breathing room.

Notes

International Absences - I counted 20 players participating in training today as Raul Fernandez, Kellyn Acosta, Je-Vaughn Watson and Blas Perez are away on international duty while Victor Ulloa is still nursing a little injury and Ramon Nunez works his way back to fitness.

Speaking of Ramon - It's clear that he's getting closer. You can see sprints and cutting in his work which is obviously a great sign for someone coming off a knee injury and I don't think it's crazy to say within 6 weeks he's going to be nearing at least a return to full contact training and he should be contributing to this thing before too long.

Danny Garcia training - One thing that was really nice to see was Danny Garcia out there training with FC Dallas this week. Garcia, the ACC Freshman of the Year, is taking the semester off from UNC as he prepares for the U20 World Cup and if he has a good tournament, a homegrown contract will certainly be coming soon for the little sparkplug winger.

Passing out of the back

The biggest focus of training today was working with the back four and central midfielders on passing out of the back. It really was a fascinating exercise watching the back four focus on passing it around and trying to suck the players pressuring the ball over to one side of the field then working on switching it to the other. I know a lot of people on here have mentioned how AJ hasn't done enough showing for the ball to provide an outlet for the back and that's something that was specifically mentioned today and something I saw him working on.

The OPTA stats show that when FCD's back four gets a lot of passes and a lot of touches on the ball, this team is playing at it's best and it's something I'm really going to be watching closely on Saturday against RSL.

Quotes

I'll have a piece up for MLS tomorrow talking about the solid start to the season - at least points-wise - but here's some stuff from Schellas, Michel and Zach Loyd

SCHELLAS

You're coming off such an emotional and hard fought win over Houston and it seems to be something very common in all sports to have a drop off after a majorly emotional game. What do you need to do this week to ensure the same effort is put into the RSL game that we saw against Houston?

I think you’re absolutely right there was a lot of effort. We won a majority of the duels and against Houston that’s saying a lot because they’re such a competitive team and such great fighters. For us to come away with more of the duels showed a little bit more commitment.

For that to occur again, there has to be a standard set. Here’s the standard and here’s what it’s going to take to beat good teams. Standard set, standard get, so now we’re just going to ask them to continue. We’ll lose some players just like Real does and that’s going to upset things a ltitle bit but you know this team, we spent a heck of a lot of time on group videos. What our midfield does, what our defense does, what our forwards do, our back line. We spend a lot of time with players showing them if it was a good decision or this was a bad decision or your first touch let you down a little bit so what we’re hoping to do is just to get them to be better players both technically and mentally

You worked a lot on passing out of the back today, is that something that you've seen to be a big emphasis?

I think when you look at the game against Houston, because they’re one of the best teams in the league to pressure you in pockets, they like to pressure you out wide where they’ve got a striker going one way and a midfielder going one way and a fullback coming one way and when they win that ball they can counterattack you quite well.

They very seldom got us in those pockets and a big reason for that was we were able to move the ball, change the point of attack and get players moving forward and gaining territory on the field. When we showed the team the videos, here’s what we did well now look at this clip, we didn’t change the point of attack and they got numbers around us.

MICHEL

How did you feel playing in the midfield on Saturday?

It’s a new experience for me and I thought I gave my best in the position. I had some good moments while some other moments can get better but I’ll continue to work towards playing better every time.

It seemed like it took you a little bit of time to settle in, was it tough at first?

In the first ten minutes I was a bit nervous about the position that I wasn’t really used to but I began to read the game and do well in the position

How have you seen MLS as different to where you've played in Europe?

I think it’s more physical and a more aggressive style. It takes more from a physical point of view but I’ve got the size to adapt well and do well.

Could you really feel the rivalry against Houston?

I could tell that they were a very strong team too and we trained a lot to explore some of their weak points that we could take advantage of. I could feel the rivalry during the game an dit was great to come up with the win.

How was it playing next to Jacobson?

He’s a very physical and smart player so it’s great playing next to him because we talk and I know when to listen and when to talk. We dicuss when we should go up and cover so it’s great to play with someone like that next to me.

LOYD

I thought you had your best game of the season so far against Houston, were you just feeling really good out there?

Not only me but the team. First game jitters get out and second game we weren’t really connected as well and I think this game we really came out and played as a team. Guys were working for each other and it was really more of a collective effort than individual play. Not only did I feel like I had a good game, I think the team had a good game and that’s the biggest thing. Everyone stepped up and I think playing at home is huge for us this year.

What do you need to do to make sure the same effort is brought against RSL that you brought against Houston?

I think in sports you can’t dwell on your past accomplishments. It’s nice to relish a victory that day and the day after with your family but I think as soon as we got in here today it’s a whole different mindset. Salt Lake is our next team and we know we’ve got to get every point at home because at the end of the season the last few years I’ve been here we’re just clawing to get points and it’d be nice to be in a position where we can play our game and not feel the pressure. I think it’s important that we get points early and the guys have already turned it over and are getting ready for the next game.

Passing out of the back was a big emphasis today, is that when you guys are playing your best when you move it fluidly like that?

I think it showed last game. I thought we played out of the back very well, we’d get closed on one side and move the ball over to the other side to free up our midfielders, especially guys like Fabian and Jackson with 1v1s, that’s when we can get them free. I thin kwe’re just continually working on that and continually getting better at working the ball out of the back so when we do enter the ball into the midfield, those guys aren’t getting swarmed but in more 1v1 and 2v2 situations. I think it’s something we’re just going to keep having to get better at and hopefully it can free up our midfield a lot more.

Dallas Cup is Coming Next Week!

2013-03-19T14:34:05Z

Make your plans now to get "sick" next week because the greatest soccer week of the year is coming. It's Dallas Cup 34 and it starts on Sunday. As you may know, the Dallas Cup is moving their stadium games to the Cotton Bowl this year while the games normally played on the FCD Stadium outer fields have moved to UT Dallas and Richland.

This year, Dallas Cup is running an opening day quadrupleheader on Sunday that is really can't miss:

10AM - Coritiba vs Fulham FC(with Emerson Hyndman)

12:30PM - Eintracht Frankfurt vs LA Galaxy U18s

3:00PM - Fluminense vs Tigres

6:30PM - Manchester United vs Club America

Whew, what a day. For full brackets and schedules Click here

On the FC Dallas side of things, the top non-Academy team(which is very good) will be competing in the U19 non-Super Group while FCD will have their U16 and U15 academies competing in their respective age groups.

If you don't have your ticket for the Cotton Bowl games yet, tickets are $15 at the gate or you can click here (Promo code is KL) to order a value pack for $35 that gets you five tickets good for entry into any game at the stadium including the Sunday quadrupleheader, Wednesday's doubleheader, Friday's semifinals and Saturday/Sunday's championship games.

Saturday's Opponent Real Salt Lake Decimated by USMNT & National Team Roster Callups

2013-03-18T18:08:35Z

On Saturday night, FCD continues their young MLS campaign in Frisco against Real Salt Lake and while FC Dallas will be missing Blas Perez and Raul Fernandez for the match due to World Cup Qualifiers, it pales in comparison to the amount of talent that will be missing from the RSL lineup.

The US team for the upcoming qualifiers against Costa Rica and Mexico was announced today and on that roster are three of RSL's most important players. Goalkeeper Nick Rimando, midfielder Kyle Beckerman and defender Tony Beltran were called up for the United States, but that's not all. Forward Alvaro Saborio was called up for Costa Rica and midfielder Abdoulie Mansally has been summoned by The Gambia.

U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION (World Cup qualifying Caps/Goals) - Detailed Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa - 5/3 SO), Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire - 0/0), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake - 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Tony Beltran (Real Salt Lake - 0/0), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City - 0/0), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City - 6/0), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy - 1/0), Clarence Goodson (Brondby - 5/0), Justin Morrow (San Jose Earthquakes - 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (9): DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla - 26/6), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake - 2/0), Michael Bradley (Roma - 20/5), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana - 1/0), Maurice Edu (Bursaspor - 10/0), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04 - 6/0), Sacha Kljestan (Anderlecht - 13/0), Brek Shea (Stoke City - 2/0), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City - 4/0)
FORWARDS (5): Jozy Altidore (AZ Alkmaar - 18/6), Terrence Boyd (Rapid Vienna - 2/0), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham Hotspur - 27/11), Herculez Gomez (Santos - 6/2), Eddie Johnson (Seattle Sounders FC - 12/10)

Saborio is the only player who has scored for RSL this season with three strikes while Beckerman, Beltran and Rimando have played every possible minute in their club's three games this season.

In reserve, you're likely to see the little spark plug Joao Plata for RSL while Josh Saunders, Lovel Palmer and Ned Grabavoy or Yordany Alvarez could start in place of the other absences. While you don't want to project any sort of results, these absences make Saturday's matchup against Jason Kreis' side one that FCD should be heavily favored in and one that needs to be another three points before their two-game road trip and then tougher home games against LA and Vancouver await.

Dominic Kinnear Rips Into FCD & Cooper After Texas Derby Loss

2013-03-18T02:43:58Z

Well this certainly makes things a little bit more interesting.

Speaking to reporters after the emotional 3-2 loss to FC Dallas, Kinnear went on a fairly bizzare rant given the circumstances of the match(thanks to Steve Davis of Pro Soccer Talk for giving me these quotes):

"I thought the first few minutes looked really good," Kinnear said of his team. "And then a big guy out in the field threw himself to the ground and gets a free kick. And they got a goal out of it.

"I've watched this league for three weeks now and it saddens me that we have people who have no problem diving, and looking for fouls and then looking to the heavens. It's a sickening epidemic that's going on in our league and hopefully it cancels itself out here pretty soon. Because some teams play hard, some guys cheat. Sometimes the cheaters win. When you have guys that don't even get looked at, don't get touched, falling on the ground looking for fouls, it makes me want to throw up.

"Hopefully, the players look at themselves and realize that they are cheaters, first, and putting the game into total disrespect. And hopefully that's something that we, as coaches and players and as a league, can stop. Because it makes me not want to watch the game. And I can understand why people don't want to watch when [players] do that stuff."

Now I'm certainly can agree with the words of Kinnear that diving and looking for calls is an epidemic sneaking into the game, but taking aim at Kenny Cooper for an innocuous trip 40 yards from goal in the first half of a game that saw five goals?

Davis was able to catch up with Hyndman about the quotes which did not come out until after Hyndman's post-game press conference.

FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman took the high road when informed of Kinnear's comments. He said he respects Kinnear too much to say something negative and said Kinnear was "a perfect gentleman" after the match.

He said the Texas Derby was an emotional series and he understands that Kinnear was upset about a close loss.

When I asked Hyndman again if he had any comment about an opposition manager accusing his players of diving and cheating, Hyndman kept the course: "I'm not going to drop to that. I'm gonna let that go."

It's an absolute shame that unless these teams get drawn together in US Open Cup that they won't meet again for at least a year.

What do you think about his comments? Sour grapes or something with some merit to it?

Matchday 3: FC Dallas vs Houston Dynamo

2013-03-17T16:00:05Z

It's Texas Derby time in Frisco today! FCD tries to take back El Capitan today....just a few quick notes today

Notes

FCD vs Houston in Frisco All-Time counting the MLS Playoffs, FC Dallas is 3-3-4 all time at FCD Stadium against their rivals to the south.

Perez is back Blas Perez makes his 2013 debut this afternoon after serving a 2-game suspension for an elbow thrown in the Chivas USA game last year.

Keys to the Game

Play to the Whistle When you look at the intervals of goals scored between FCD and Houston, it's almost completely equal except for the final 15 minutes of each half. Houston has dominated the final 15 minutes of the first and second halves against FCD and that's where they could hit FCD hard tonight.

No silly fouls Houston thrives on free kicks. It's been true since Dominic Kinnear took over and it's how they love to beat you. If FCD gives up silly free kicks and corners, it's almost inevitable that the Dynamo will grab one, so limiting those is key.

Referee

REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. SAR (bench): Eric Boria; JAR (opposite): Adam Garner; 4th: Ismail Elfath MLS Career: 145 games; FC/gm: 24.1; Y/gm: 3.1; R: 32; pens: 44

Prediction(1-1

Tough one to call as you can really throw out the records when these two meet. I'm liking FCD to grab a goal in this one but Houston is so tough.

1-1 Draw