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The suspense for the first round pick is over. FC Dallas shocked fans and journalists a bit. First, by taking a timeout, and then by trading down to #10. The Montreal Impact took their spot at #5, and Dallas was left all the way down at #10. Then, as if that wasn't enough, they went and swapped spots with Philadelphia Union, who was sitting at #6.
After finally having settled on a spot, Dallas selected Tesho Akindele from the Colorado School of Mines. If Dallas wanted a guy who could score goals, Akindele has the right kind of stuff, certainly at the collegiate level. The Canadian will look to slot into the striker depth chart at #3, though with hard work he might be able to supersede Eric Hassli, who has yet to see serious minutes (or goals, for that matter) due to persistent injuries.
Thanks to some tricky maneuvering involving allocation money that they traded to the Union, FC Dallas has now acquired an international slot, and a well-regarded goal scorer.
If Oscar Pareja seems happy with his pick (and he does), than fans can feel confident knowing that things are headed in the right direction. Oscar made no mistakes in last year's draft, and simply acquiring the Int'l slot and cash is a decent enough outcome, given the draft's lack of depth.
UPDATE:
According to Matt Barbour, he will not cost an International Slot
Can confirm Akindele will not take up an international slot as he has a green card. #DTID
— Matt Barbour (@matt_barbour) January 16, 2014
First Round
Team | Pick | Blog |
1. Philadelphia Union | Andre Blake, GK | Brotherly Game |
2. D.C. United | Steve Birnbaum, D | Black and Red United |
3. Vancouver Whitecaps | Christian Dean, D | 86 Forever |
4. New England Revolution | Steve Neumann, M/F | The Bent Musket |
5. Montreal Impact | Eric Miller, D | Mount Royal Soccer |
6. FC Dallas | Tesho Akindele, M/F | Big D Soccer |
7. Whitecaps | Andre Lewis, M | 86 Forever |
8. Seattle Sounders | Damion Lowe, D | Sounder at Heart |
9. San Jose Earthquakes | J.J. Koval, M | Quake, Rattle and Goal |
10. Toronto FC | Nick Hagglund, D | Waking the Red |
11. New England Revolution | Patrick Mullins, M/F | The Bent Musket |
12. Colorado Rapids | Marlon Hairston, M | Burgundy Wave |
13. Chicago Fire | Marco Franco, D | Hot Time In Old Town |
14. Crew | Ben Sweat, D | Massive Report |
15. Union | Pedro Ribeiro, M | Brotherly Game |
16. Houston Dynamo | A.J. Cochran, D | Dynamo Theory |
17. Portland Timbers | Schillo Tshuma, M/F | Stumptown Footy |
18. Real Salt Lake | Ryan Neil, M/D | RSL Soapbox |
19. Rapids | Grant van de Casteele, D | Burgundy Wave |
Second Round
Team | Blog | |
20. Chivas USA | Thomas McNamara, M/F | The Goat Parade |
21. Seattle Sounders | Jimmy Ockford, D | Sounder at Heart |
22. New York Red Bulls | Chris Duvall, D | Once a Metro |
23. LA Galaxy | Kyle Venter, D | LAG Confidential |
24. Toronto FC | Daniel Lovitz, M | Waking the Red |
25. Union | Kevin Cope, D | Brotherly Game |
26. Timbers | Taylor Peay, D | Stumptown Footy |
27. Union | Robbie Derschang, M/D | Brotherly Game |
28. Earthquakes | Joe Sofia, D | Quake, Rattle and Goal |
29. D.C. United | Victor Muñoz, M | Black and Red United |
30. Whitecaps | Mamadou Diouf, F | 86 Forever |
31. Revolution | Alec Sundly, M | The Bent Musket |
32. Dynamo | Mark Sherrod, F | Dynamo Theory |
33. Rapids | Jared Watts, M | Burgundy Wave |
34. Red Bulls | Eric Stevenson, M | Once a Metro |
35. Rapids | John Berner, GK | Burgundy Wave |
36. Timbers | Aaron Long, M | Stumptown Footy |
37. Impact | George Malki, M | Mout Royal Soccer |
38. Sporting Kansas City | Adnan Gabeljic, F | The Daily Wiz |