FC Dallas to employ 4-3-3 for 2014 MLS season
Strategy, strategy, strategy. At FC Dallas, it’s all about strategy, and manager Oscar Pareja is planning to utilize a 4-3-3 for the 2014 MLS season. The previous boss, Schellas Hyndman, opted for a 4-4-2 diamond with options to go to a flat 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1.
Oct 5, 2013; Commerce City, CO, USA; Colorado Rapids head coach Oscar Pareja after the match against the Seattle Sounders at Dick
However, the 4-3-3 is what will be used at FC Dallas, according to Matt Barbour of MLSSoccer.com. End of story.
“There are some variations in a 4-3-3 depending on the three in the middle,” Pareja said. “If you want to do it with the triangle inverted, if you want to do 2-1 or 1-2. I like the wingers, I like that way. Probably the majority of my time in Colorado, it was like that. We will be looking at the personnel, but that would definitely be a formation I would be very [keen] to develop here.”
But what is the player that FC Dallas needs to run this 4-3-3 the right way? Well, a box-to-box midfielder is a massive hint, says Pareja.
“I would like to have a player that can glue things in the middle, he can dictate our work ethics in there defensively,” Pareja said. “A player who can link and a player who can back the team from that zone. I would say that is probably one of the most important pieces that we need to add in this moment.
“This is a cliché for sure, but I think everybody understands it is a responsibility to be a leader, the one who makes the other [players] better. The one who wears the arm band on Saturday, they have some choices there, but what happens inside of the locker room stays there. I would like that [leadership] to be a combined effort by many others, not just one.”
Meanwhile, it is official: midfielder Peter Luccin has been re-signed by FC Dallas to a new deal. Per club and league policy, details of the contract were not disclosed. Luccin brings years of experience playing with a number of clubs in La Liga and Ligue 1.
Oct 12, 2013; Frisco, TX, USA; An FC Dallas fan roots for his team as they take on the Chicago Fire during the second half of the match at Toyota Stadium. The Chicago Fire defeated FC Dallas 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
“After my injury, I talked to Schellas. He asked me if I would mind helping the younger players, using my experience playing in Europe,” Luccin told FCDallas.com’s Daniel Robertson. “I liked that because I still wanted to help and contribute and be part of the team in any way I could. We also have a lot of great, young players who need to learn. We have a very good locker room. All the players want to learn.”
Finally, Dan Hunt was named the president of FC Dallas. Hunt is the brother of Clark Hunt, the FC Dallas chairman, and will oversee the business of operations of FC Dallas and FC Dallas Youth.
“It is truly a personal thrill to introduce my brother Dan as the next president of FC Dallas,” Clark Hunt told the media earlier this week. “In addition to his lifelong passion for the sport of soccer, Dan has been actively engaged in the operations of FCD and Major League Soccer for the last several years, and he did an outstanding job guiding the day-to-day operations of the club in 2013. I know he will continue to work very hard to make FC Dallas the best in MLS.”
“Since being asked to lead the FC Dallas organization on an interim basis in November of 2012, I have considered it an absolute honor and privilege to work alongside a very talented group of co-workers,” Dan Hunt said. “Today, to be asked by my brother Clark and my family to take over as president of the club is a moment I will truly treasure for the rest of my life, and I look forward to building on the tremendous legacy of my late father, Lamar, here in North Texas.
“Across all facets of what we do here, we have the right foundation to build an MLS Champion both on and off the field. I would like to personally thank our fans, our partners including the city of Frisco, our players and our staff for all of their support and commitment to this club.”
FC Dallas begins preseason training on Jan. 25.