Before the start of preseason, Dax McCarty's status with FC Dallas for the 2009 season was murky at best. The young midfielder had a falling out with head coach Schellas Hyndman last fall, expressing his desire for a trade after his playing time dropped following his return from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he played for the USA.
When FCD began preseason training on Jan. 15, McCarty was nowhere to be found. He was back in Florida mulling things over after Hyndman asked him to remain at home until something could be resolved. Rumors surfaced of a trade to San Jose, but that deal never materialized and after missing two weeks of practice, McCarty reported to FCD on Jan. 28 with a clean slate.
Since arriving, the 21-year-old midfielder has been one of his side's most impressive performers in preseason. Before FCD signed Colombian playmaker David Ferreira to man the No. 10 spot, McCarty filled in there admirably. After Ferreira's addition, McCarty moved to the right side of midfield, a position once thought to possibly belong to '08 FCD assist leader Andre Rocha.
However, Rocha reported nearly three weeks late and out of shape, so McCarty made the most of his opportunity. He has performed so well that he is FCD's starter on the right side to begin the season and could hold that spot for a very long time. Eclipsing the seven assists McCarty contributed in 2007, when he led the team, looks like a distinct possibility.
Along with newcomer Dave van den Bergh on the left side, McCarty gives his team a potent one-two punch that can deliver crosses to FCD's strike force of Kenny Cooper and Jeff Cunningham with pinpoint accuracy. Not only could the combination deliver a number of goals, but McCarty and van den bergh could rank among the league leaders in assists.
"I thought Dax did very well on the right side," Hyndman said after FCD's 1-0 win against Brazilian side Clube Atletico Paranaense on Saturday night. "I'm sure when everybody looks at Dax right now and you compare it to the end of last year, you're looking at two different players. I give him the credit for focusing, maturing, coming out, earning his playing time and excelling."
McCarty said he doesn't care where he plays, as long as he's on the pitch with the opportunity to contribute.
"We have a lot of good players in the midfield and I think that's obvious this year," he said. "With the signing of David (Ferreira), that gives us an extra dimension in the middle of the field. Schellas knows I can play on the right side and in the middle, so when he asked me to go out wide, I had no problem with it at all. It's really easy to play in a midfield where you have three veterans that are all really good on the ball and all know their roles, especially with a guy like Dave (van den Bergh, who gives you such good width on the left."
The University of North Carolina produce admits he is a central player by nature, but McCarty realizes that there is a time to display that tendency to drift inside. Being surrounded by such an impressive cast in the FCD midfield makes that decision process even easier.
"It's really easy for me to come inside when I need to and get wide when I need to (in this midfield)," he said. "I think that the balance is a lot better than it's been the last few years. I think that's a really key word and key thing for this team, to be balanced on both sides of the field. That's what Dave gives us. I'm just trying to feed off him and ultimately play my role in the midfield."
Like many of his teammates, McCarty has already been able to learn a number of invaluable lessons from van den Bergh, a key component of New York's run to MLS Cup 2008.
"I think the main thing is his professionalism," he said. "He's a really smart guy and a good pro. He's got a fantastic left foot and that's his whole game, to get it out wide and whip balls in the box. It's really good to have a player like that on the left side of the field. We haven't had a natural left-sided player since I've been here, other than maybe Arturo (Alvarez). I think Dave is a true class signing for us and it's going to be good all season."
Another big difference for McCarty this spring has been being able to participate in the bulk of FCD's preseason workouts, something that has not happened in the past because of injuries and national team commitments.
"Without a doubt in my mind (this has been my best preseason)," he said. "It's unreal how good you feel if you get a whole preseason under your belt with the same team. In years' past, I've had injuries and have been in and out with the team after some youth national team obligations that I had to fulfill. This preseason, I came in healthy, fit and with the mentality that this was an important year for myself and for the team. I feel really good and think this is the best I have felt in MLS."
Once the issues between he and Hyndman were resolved and McCarty knew he would be returning to FCD, he resolved to make the most out of this, his fourth season in MLS.
"As soon as I knew that I was coming back to Dallas that was my only mindset -- to prove to myself, the coaching staff and my teammates that I wanted to contribute and help the team out any way I could," he said. "There are ups, there are downs and you have disagreements, but that's just soccer. It's all about putting it in the past and focusing on the future. For me, that was a really big thing-trying to focus on the future.
"It's a big goal of mine to contribute this year," he continued. "I'm really looking forward to making the playoffs and a run at MLS Cup because that's what every player's dream is, to win a championship. That's definitely what we're striving for."
Like his fellow midfielders, McCarty looks forward to playing with Ferreira on a more consistent basis throughout the season.
"I think you can see his class," he said. "It's evident. He's a pretty small guy and it's amazing how well he holds the ball for his height. It's amazing that he has such good vision. It's definitely something that I can look to feed off of when I want to play in that central role, I can definitely take a lot of the things that he does and incorporate those into my game.
"He's a great signing for us. He works extremely hard. He's a 90-minute player and not one of these guys that you have to take off after 60 minutes. He's going to work hard and ultimately help us defend. That's been a problem for us in the past because we've had some guys take plays off and not really help out defending. It's a testament to the coaching staff that they really hammered into our heads to have 11 guys attacking and 11 guys defending. Ferreira is a great player. He's someone I look forward to playing with and learning from."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
