On Saturday night, FC Dallas will play host to the New York Red Bulls at Pizza Hut Park. The match will mark the first time FCD midfielder Dave van den Bergh has faced his former club since the Red Bulls traded him to Dallas in the offseason.
"There aren't that many (of my former teammates) left," said van den Bergh, who leads FCD with four assists. "They let go of my former roomie (goalkeeper Jon Conway) the other day. It's special. I can't deny that, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just another game. It's worth the same three points. I know a little more about certain guys but they know me as well. It seems to balance itself out."
Van den Bergh will likely be playing right midfield against his former club, a sharp departure from where he has spent all of 2009, on the left flank.
"It's the same position," he said. "It's just a different look on things. You have to get your bearings straight. After a little practice, it shouldn't be too big of a deal."
FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman knows the Dutch international will bring some different qualities to that spot.
"He's such a smart player," Hyndman said. "He possesses great vision and provides great service of the ball. I think he's a better server of the ball with his left foot than his right foot, so we lose a little bit on the quality of service going down the line. But I think what we gain is the ability for him to come in on his strong foot and I think he can still serve balls, but they'll be different angle balls and it won't be as easy for the 'keeper.
"There will be more diagonal balls instead of square balls across. He's got a great left foot. He can hit the shot and maybe we can get a rebound. I think because Brek Shea more than likely will be going on the left side, it will be easier for van den Bergh to adjust on the right than it would be for Brek and I think we add another dimension by having a wrong-footed player on that side."
Saturday's match could be played in near 100-degree heat, something about playing for FCD that van den Bergh admits he isn't fully accustomed to.
"I don't know if a Dutch guy can ever get fully acclimated here," he said. "This is brutal. I take great pride in the fact that even the Texas boys think it's hot and want to get out of the sun. At least I'm not the only guy. Drew Moor (a Texas native) wants to get out of it as much as I do. I don't think you can be fully acclimated to 100-degree weather consistently."
Van den Bergh said it's fairly clear why his former club has gone from playing for MLS Cup last fall to being one of the worst teams in the league not even a year later.
"I think if you look at the team they're going to field, five starters are gone and they had a possibility to keep them all," van den Bergh said. "Chris Leitch left, Jon Conway left, Jeff Parke left, Mike Magee left and I left. That's five starters, which is tough to get back. That's tough for any team. That's not just something you're going to replace. I think the turnover has a lot to do with it."
Former team or not, van den Bergh knows anything less than a win on Independence Day will be disappointing.
"We have got three games in hand on them but still we need to win," he said. "Regardless of who it is at this point in time, we need three pointers. Whether that is New York at the bottom or Houston at the top, we just need three points."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com