BLAINE, Minn. – FC Dallas forwards Paul Arriola and Jesús Ferreira trained with their fellow MLS All-Stars for the first time Monday morning as the group prepares for its matchup with the Liga MX All-Stars on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
“It’s awesome, this morning just hanging out with everybody, getting our orientation in, first training session was really light,” Arriola said afterwards. “Overall, I’m just really excited to be here, to share the field with the best in the league. And hopefully we’ll win on Wednesday.”
“It feels amazing and it’s an honor to be here,” Ferreira added. “I’m excited for the new faces I get to meet around the league. Everybody has a smile and everybody is looking forward to this week.”
This year’s All-Star game is the second edition that pits MLS’s best against the best of Liga MX. Last season, it was FCD Homegrown Ricardo Pepi’s penalty that handed the MLS All-Stars the bragging rights over their counterparts to the south. It’ll be up to Arriola and Ferreira to carry the FCD torch this time around. For Arriola, the match takes on another level of significance since the 27-year-old originally made his breakthrough with Club Tijuana of Liga MX before coming stateside.
“It’ll be good to see some old teammates of mine, I’m looking forward to that,” the California native said. “It should be a good game, last year was really competitive. We're planning on this year being the exact same.”
The All-Star activities get started on Tuesday evening with the Skills Challenge where 10 players from each league will compete in a variety of individual skill competitions. Ferreira joins fellow Texas-based stars Sebastián Driussi of Austin FC and Houston’s Hector Herrera in the challenge that begins at 7PM at Allianz Field and on ESPN2.
Arriola and Ferreira have already starred together for FC Dallas and the U.S. Men’s National Team this year and they’ll have the chance to lineup alongside each other once again as two of MLS’s best this Wednesday night in Minnesota.
“It’s huge to have someone that you know and trust right next to you,” Ferreira said. “Once he came to the team we bonded really fast and were able to make each other succeed. We’re a partnership that works for the best for each other and we’re happy that we can help each other out.”
“It’s great being with Jesús. He’s a special player, really good guy off the field,” Arriola said. “I’m really looking forward to being here with them him and who knows, maybe we’ll share the field here as well.”
