Jesus Ferreira and Alan Velasco hold the keys for FC Dallas in final 11 games

The two Designated Players have to find a way to lead the team down the stretch.

Photo via FC Dallas

It should be no secret now in Major League Soccer that your team goes only as far as your Designated Players take you. We see it right now with Inter Miami in how Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets lead the Herons to a Leagues Cup trophy and potentially a USOC title. We’ve seen it in the past with the LA Galaxy when they had David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane. Or, more recently, with LAFC and their DPs that helped them win a MLS Cup trophy in 2022.

In years past, FC Dallas has had some DPs that have led them to an MLS Cup (David Ferreira) and a Supporters Shield trophy (Mauro Diaz).

As the MLS season resets for FC Dallas in 2023, their two DPs¹ will be the main reason for their success or potentially their lack of success.

So far this season, it has been a bit of a struggle to get both Alan Velasco and Jesus Ferreira to fire on all cylinders at the same time. While Ferreira is tied for fifth in the MLS Golden Boot standings with ten goals trailing Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar (13), Velasco didn’t set up any of those goals.

Before the start of the Leagues Cup, Ferreira was away from the team with the United States national team for their Gold Cup run. As he returned to Frisco, the club noticed that they needed to give him a bit of a break ahead of the Leagues Cup.