Our 2024 FC Dallas player recaps continue with Designated Player Alan Velasco.

After suffering a knee injury at the end of the 2024 season, Velasco returned to training in the summer and began seeing the field after the club’s run in the Leagues Cup tournament. He managed to appear in eight games, with five of those as a starter.

Stat breakdown

The fact that Velasco was able to appear in eight games was impressive enough but picking up a total of 370 minutes was probably about 200-300 more minutes than I would have estimated for him to earn this season. I really believed going into the year that we wouldn’t see a lot of him (just like how we saw nothing out of Geovane Jesus due to his recovery).

Because of the limited minutes, we also have limited stats to discuss for the young Argentine. He did manage two goals but zero assists with two goal scoring actions. Velasco had 11 shots total with four on target, for a 36% shot on target percentage. He had 13 progressive carries, 16 progressive passes, and four key passes.

Velasco had a 45% successful take-on percentage in possession. He finished the year with 208 touches on the ball.

Highlight

Not only did Velasco return from a bad knee injury, he managed to find the back of the net twice. His finish in this game against San Jose shows that with time, he and Petar Musa could form a pretty special relationship.

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Those movements in the penalty area were really lacking this season without Velasco on the pitch. Teams learned they could target Musa defensively with numbers, but Musa rarely had this kind of outlet inside the penalty box to lay the ball off for someone to finish it.

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What should we expect from him in 2025?

First and foremost, he should be back to full health in 2025. Yes, he was healthy to play in those last eight games of the 2024 season but he never played the full 90 as the club was still being very cautious with his minutes.

So, getting more minutes next year will be key. Going the full 90 in more matches will also be key. From there, the connection with Musa and others will grow.

Final thoughts

The big thing for Velasco this winter is really going to be whether or not the club can hold on to him for another year. Even before his return from injury, Boca Juniors was knocking at the door with a decent amount of money. I still believe that FC Dallas wants to hold on to him as much as they can for next year.

Still, saying that, there is the big ’what if’ someone comes in with a really big offer that they can’t ignore? What if Velasco wants to return to South America (after all, he’s already heading back down there for the winter months according to his social media)?

FC Dallas is better with a healthy version of him in its attack. I hope we are able to see him again next season and be more like the player we saw in 2022 and 2023.