FRISCO - It was only his first match as an FC Dallas player at Toyota Stadium, but the presence of Carlos Gruezo is already being felt.
Argentinians Maxi Urruti and Mauro Diaz will take all the headlines for scoring all four goals against Alianza, but behind them - doing the team's dirty work - it was Gruezo leading the charge. His ability to pressure up-front was felt early and often by the Salvadorian side, and allowed FCD to recover the ball in the attacking third.
“His instincts are that, you know, he pressures,” Oscar Pareja said. “Carlos’ dynamic nature gives us that tool, and he’s decidedness when he looks for players, and his range, all those things will help us. This gives us another player that can push the team forward, and can push our lines higher. That’s the responsibility the midfielders have all the time which is getting the ball back fast and distributing.”
Guessing by how often and intensely Gruezo pressured today, you would guess he’s fully fit. But he said he's got another level to go.
“I felt a bit heavy today,” the Ecuadorian midfielder said. “But this was a game to show what we’ve been working on this preseason and I think we did a pretty good job today. There’s still room for improvement.”
Gruezo was paired with Victor Ulloa today in midfield, with the Homegrown playing a holding role while Dallas’ newest Designated Player was left free to roam up the field and pressure.
“Today they were asked to do that, and they executed very well,” said Pareja. “But [Gruezo pressuring] is something that each game tells us, there is going to be times when I need him more steady. There’s going to be some times when I release one of them more… or both. We’ll see. Each game demands different strategies, and it varies. I don’t want the team to be predictable, and the versatility of these midfielders will provide us that capacity to do those changes.”
Even though his partnership with Ulloa seemed natural, Gruezo feels comfortable with any potential teammate in the middle.
“I’m happy to play with all of them,” he said. “I’m happy with all of them, they’re all great players with very different skill-sets. I try to make up for their strengths and weaknesses, whether it’s Kellyn [Acosta], [Victor] Ulloa or Juan [Ortiz]. But we’re still getting to know each other, I’ve only been with the team for 3 weeks.”
All things considered, four weeks in, coach Pareja is happy with his new player. But he still expects number ‘7’ to continue to improve.
“He’s getting good chemistry with the others, so I liked his performance today,” he said. “But he’s going to be slow in growing with the team. The adaptation and the link with team is growing, and my coaching staff is doing a great job, but Carlos is where we want him to be at this point.”
