FRISCO, Texas – The new MLS season is finally here! FC Dallas kicks off 2024 this Saturday, Feb. 24 against the San Jose Earthquakes at Toyota Stadium.
In case you haven’t been paying close attention to all the FC Dallas happenings over the offseason/preseason, I’m here to help. Let’s get caught up on what you might (or might not) see on opening day.
New Formation
FC Dallas has consistently played a 4-3-3 over the past two seasons under head coach Nico Estévez. Although he’d often transition to a 4-4-2 shape mid-game when chasing a goal, it was very rare for Dallas to stray from the 4-3-3 when starting games. That looks like it will change for 2024, though. Estévez and FCD have exclusively played a 3-4-3 (referred to by the coaching staff as a 5-2-2-1) in preseason, with three center backs flanked by wingbacks on either side. From there, two central midfielders sit behind a front three consisting of a striker and two withdrawn wingers/attacking midfielders. It’s a new-look formation that has found roles for Dante Sealy and Herbert Endeley as attacking-minded wingbacks. Those two were the standouts of preseason where they combined for seven goals, and both look ready to ready to make an impact at the MLS level - potentially on opening day.
New Arrivals
It was a busy offseason in terms of player departures and acquisitions. FCD said goodbye to José Martínez, Facundo Quignon, Jáder Obrian, Jesús Jiménez and Collin Smith, while signing eight new players: Petar Musa (more on him below), Enes Sali, Omar Gonzalez, Logan Farrington, Patrickson Delgado, Malik Henry-Scott, Tomas Pondeca and Alejandro Urzua.
Let’s talk about Petar Musa, the Croatian forward that FCD broke its transfer record to bring in from Portuguese giants Benfica. Musa has the pedigree to be Dallas’ long-awaited answer at the striker position. There’s a catch though. Musa isn’t in the U.S. yet as he’s still in the process of getting his work visa. Having gotten married a few days ago, the visa acquisition process is now fully underway for the Musas. The hope is that Petar (pronounced Pet-ur) is here in the next 2-3 weeks and can start contributing soon after. But it won’t be in time for opening day.
Injury Absences
While we’re on the topic of absentees for the home opener, we may as well cover the least fun aspect of this article: injuries. FC Dallas was ravaged by injuries over 2023, and some of them will have lasting effects for 2024. Winger Alan Velasco and defender Geovane Jesus both suffered ACL tears in the latter half of last season and will therefore miss the first half (or so) of ’24. Homegrowns Jesús Ferreira and Paxton Pomykal are also uncertain to take part in the home opener, having missed much of preseason with minor injuries themselves. Thankfully, both should be back in action sooner rather than later.
New(ish) Key Contributors
Last season saw the emergence of some new key contributors, namely defender Nkosi Tafari, midfielder Asier Illarramendi and, of course, winger Bernard Kamungo – who burst onto the scene from relative obscurity to become one of the league’s most efficient goal scorers. All three players are set to build on the roles they carved out for themselves toward the end of 2024. Tafari has been the center piece of the back line in preseason, playing in the middle of the back three and tasked with being the main ball distributor from central defense. Illarramendi, a former Real Sociedad and Real Madrid midfielder, was one of the league’s best progressive passers in his limited appearances last year after joining midseason. Now with a full preseason under his belt, expect Illarra to be one of the club’s most important players. Kamungo’s role is somewhat less defined. There are no out-and-out wingers in the new formation, so Kamungo has split time playing as a ride-sided wingback and a right-sided inside forward (where he looked more comfortable). It remains to be seen where he’ll play the majority of his minutes in the new year. Still, Kamungo retains the ability to create/score goals out of nothing, so he should still be a big contributor in ’24.
Matchday Experience
We’ve talked a lot of the new things you may see on the field of play. Now let’s go over some of the new things you can see and experience around Toyota Stadium. All 17 home games will have a theme this year, beginning with FCD’s celebration of Black History Month on Saturday’s Home Opener. The celebration will feature a 100-person choir from the Concord Church in Dallas that will sing the Black National Anthem and National Anthem before kickoff, as well providing pre-game and halftime performances. The club’s second home match, against Montreal on March 2, will be Fast and Furious Goals Night – a theme that includes a postgame drone show depicting iconic cars from cinema history. In all, there will be seven post-game drone shows at Toyota Stadium in 2024. Details about FCD' Theme Nights can be found HERE.
