FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas doesn’t rush international signings into the starting lineup, preferring instead to allow them to adjust to MLS slowly, and midfielder Ezequiel Cirigliano was no different.
It took around two months, but the 23-year-old Argentine has finally begun to make steady contributions to the club, starting Dallas’ last two games and appearing in three of their last four ahead of Sunday's derby clash against the Houston Dynamo (5 pm ET, ESPN2).
“I think he’s getting much fitter and understanding the fundamentals of the group and the league,” head coach Oscar Pareja told MLSSoccer.com. “Slowly, he will get there. We have to be patient.”
In addition to improving his fitness and learning the league, Cirigliano’s opportunity has come in the absence of Kellyn Acosta, who had been nursing a groin injury before appearing off the bench in Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the LA Galaxy.
While he has not made a huge dent on the stat sheet, putting up only one shot in 141 minutes of action, Cirigliano’s contributions are being noticed by his teammates.
“I think he has that link in getting that vertical pass,” midfield partner Victor Ulloa said. "Technically he is very sound and very good. If he could just recover a little more ground, he’ll be good and help us for the playoffs with his experience.”
Ulloa competes with Cirigliano and Acosta on a weekly basis for the defensive midfielder spot and agreed with Pareja’s assessment of the Argentine’s fitness.
Regardless, the Homegrown midfielder has seen Cirigliano make progress fitting into FC Dallas’ system.
“He’s adjusted very well,” Ulloa said. “He came a little unfit when he got here, but he’s ready to go. We saw in LA what he can do with that connection with Mauro [Diaz]. That can help us with the experience he has coming from great teams playing against big teams.”
Cirigliano has a rapport with Diaz, dating back to their days together with River Plate in 2009. Both were teenagers at the time, but the club is hoping the connection can continue to resurface as the home stretch approaches.
As far as finally cracking the FCD lineup, Dallas’ newest player is happy to finally get a chance to prove himself.
“Whenever you go to a new team, you always want to get in there and play,” Cirigliano said via translator. “But it’s pretty much the same, just more dynamic and physical here.”
For a player like Cirigliano, who Pareja said likes to have the ball at his feet, it is not unusual for players to take time adjusting to FC Dallas’ methodology.
Even though the young Argentine feels the most comfortable he’s been since joining MLS, Pareja emphasized the unique challenges that come with of playing in MLS.
“The pace of the league is different,” Pareja said. “I think the league has different competition and is more physical. You find again that is more direct sometimes and other times you need to work off the ball much, much more. We still have a team that likes to have the ball at our feet, but at the same time we have to cope with the league that presents those challenges.”
