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FC Dallas 2022 Season Preview

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Armchair Analyst's Breakdown

  • Strength: On paper, the lineup and depth chart makes sense, and Dallas have a lot of high-level potential.
  • Weakness: Potential doesn’t always equal productivity, and on top of that, the defense last year was flammable.

Key Departures

Key Acquisitions

  • Alan Velasco: FC Dallas went out and spent some real money this offseason to turn heads, with a club-record acquisition of Argentine rising talent Alan Velasco from Independiente. Velasco can play as a winger, a No. 10 or a bit deeper in the midfield, but sources say the expectation is left wing, probably his best position. The 19-year-old made 69 appearances with Independiente, adding eight goals and 10 assists.
  • Paul Arriola: Velasco wasn’t the only record deal for Dallas, who also acquired USMNT winger Paul Arriola in a league-record trade worth $2 million GAM plus incentives. The hard-working attacker had 20 goals and 16 assists in 89 appearances with D.C. United before the trade to Dallas. Liga MX giants Club America made a handful of bids to sign him while Charlotte FC badly wanted him, too. He instead reunites with former USMNT assistant Nico Estevez in his first year as FCD head coach, a snug fit on the right wing in Estevez’s 4-3-3 formation.
  • Marco Farfan: In another shakeup, Farfan was acquired in a trade with LAFC for Hollingshead. Farfan should be a good fit at left back, a more defense-minded addition for the position. Farfan, 23, has made 63 MLS appearances between Portland and LAFC.
  • Full roster

Projected Starting XI

FC Dallas - projected XI 2022

Predictions

  • Charles Boehm: 13th in West
  • Tom Bogert: 8th in West
  • Matt Doyle: 11th in West
  • David Gass: 12th in West
  • Sam Jones: 10th in West
  • Joe Lowery: 10th in West
  • Greg Seltzer: 13th in West
  • Andrew Wiebe: 10th in West