FRISCO - The FC Dallas youth movement is gaining momentum.
The club lifted their first trophy since 1997 last week, and did so with 10 players 25 years or younger on the field. Dallas leads all of MLS with 15 Homegrown signings and this week had 4 of the top 11 players in MLSSoccer.com’s annual 24 Under 24 rankings - no other team in the league had more than one player in that same span, and only one team, Orlando, had more than two players on the entire list.
“It’s a representation of the model that we have here and just shows everyone that we are for real,” head coach Oscar Pareja said. “There’s a program that we really develop players that are important to the league and give the chance to national team coaches as well to use them. I’m very excited and proud and there are going to be more in the future."
The Hometown Kid
Topping the list for Dallas at No. 4 was Homegrown midfielder Kellyn Acosta, who just turned 21 just two months ago. Last year Acosta was 14th, but after making strides with the U.S. Men’s National Team and making his first MLS All-Star appearance, jumped 10 spots with still 2 years left in the Under 24 designation.
“It’s a big honor to have my hard work recognized,” the Plano-native said. “I’m moving on up, going from 14 to 4. It shows that I’m growing as a player and I wouldn’t have done it without my teammates. The team has done so well and everyone’s been looking good out there, so I think it’s made my job a little bit easier, Obviously it’s a great honor to move on up and hopefully next year I can go for the No. 1 spot.”
The Young, Defensive Studs
Two other instrumental pieces of Dallas’ success in 2016 followed right behind Acosta as well - Carlos Gruezo at No. 8 and Walker Zimmerman at No. 11. Both in their first season as regular starters, and for Gruezo his first in MLS, their rare absence from FCD’s Starting XI is very apparent.
At 21 years old as well, Gruezo went out of his way to join the youth movement in Dallas, and he’s quickly established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in the league with his physical and quick-striking style.
“Carlos’ experience is incredible despite his age, and he is still very young to me. He’s the prototype of the player that we want to have, who is going to grow with us, who is going to grow under the model and grow under the structure.”
Zimmerman, on the other hand, took a longer path to stardom - played sparingly during his first three seasons after being selected by Dallas in the first round of the 2013 SuperDraft. In 2016 he’s taken his game to another level and now leads FCD in minutes played, as well as being among the league leaders in aerials won, clearances and interceptions per game.
“I have to recognize that the coaching staff have been involved in that process a lot, working a lot with them,” Pareja said of Zimmerman and others still developing in the Dallas locker room. “We have a great scenario with these kids that want to embrace and want to do what we want.”
The Goalkeeping Prodigy
The fourth member of Dallas’ 24 Under 24 contingent took the league by storm in 2015, starting the last 11 regular season games and all four playoff matches last season. Jesse Gonzalez has largely taken a back seat to the stellar play of veteran Chris Seitz this season, but his short, but strong resume and potential as a 21-year-old at a position where guys perform well into their late 30s is unmatched.
“Since he is a very young goalkeeper and goalkeepers last much longer, I see a bright, bright future for Jesse,” said Pareja, who added that Jesse has done nothing wrong this season, rather that Seitz is just playing that well. “[It] teaches him that the opportunity has to be held, there’s a new one every day, it’s an everyday thing. It’s not something that is given, it’s earned. And I see him maturing in that part."
