While most of Major League Soccer is about to be busy with the annual Leagues Cup tournament this week, FC Dallas is one of the teams that gets to sit that competition out.
Because of that little break from play, and where we're at in the season with ten games to go, I felt it was a perfect time to reflect a bit on what has worked in 2025 as well as what has not worked.
We're going to bring in some superlatives (both good and bad) to discuss how things have gone in 2025.
Breakout Performer: Kaick
When you overhaul a roster the way FC Dallas did going into the 2025 season, you tend to have plenty of options for this kind of thing come superlative time. I'm going to lean on the younger guys for this nod, as I believe it makes more sense to go about it that way.
For me, Kaick has been that guy. When FC Dallas was looking to sign him to a U22 deal, there was a ton of talk that from the top of the organization all the way down, they felt Kaick had the potential to be something special. Given the club's rough history with the U22 slots, Kaick has come here and has found a way to show that he could have a very good career in a Dallas uniform.
Second choice: Pedrinho - Before his recent omission from the game day roster (he did play over the weekend for NTSC in their MLS NEXT Pro Invitational), Pedrinho was probably one of the brighter additions to the roster in 2025. The fact that he has more assists (three) than the most expensive player on the roster, says a bit about him.
Other options: Josh Torquato
Best Roster Move: Osaze Urhoghide
This is nearly a 1a and 1b for me with Shaq Moore, but when Urhoghide went out with an injury in recent weeks, it showed us all how valuable of a player he is to the Dallas defense. Urhoghide instantly showed that he was worth the money out of France and proved why you need to spend big on your defense.
Moore has been excellent as well, I'd argue he has been one of the most consistent players on the roster this season.
Second choice: Shaq Moore: Yeah, I mentioned it above. Moore just misses out on the nod for me here, more so because we've seen the team perform fine without him on the field.
Other options: Ramiro, Anderson Julio
