Bright and early on Monday morning, FC Dallas officially opened the 2017 preseason with their first training session exactly one month from the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal first leg against Arabe Unido. Obviously, the first few training sessions are focused on fitness so there's not a ton to report, but here are a few nuggets of info and observations.
Limited Group
With Adonijah Reid, Anibal Chala and Wuilito Fernandes inside finishing up their physicals and expected to train this afternoon, there was an 18-man group out at training for the morning session including all the other 2017 superdraft picks as well as new additions Javier Morales and Roland Lamah. Former Homegrown forward Ruben Luna is also training with the squad looking to impress in preseason.
Running and Stretching
It would be great to report how good someone looked hitting a free kick or sending in the perfect cross, but today was all about running, stretching and small-sided games. Even with only a month to prepare for the season, you definitely don't win or lose jobs on day one. The intensity will surely ramp up later in the week.
Already Best Friends
It was certainly an upbeat training session with Roland Lamah already giving hugs to plenty of the veteran guys on the roster. Speaking with Fernando Clavijo last week about Lamah, he noted how the Belgian international knew more about the squad than most players he's recruited to join and he expects him to fit in very well.
Double Sessions
FC Dallas will train at 9:00AM and 4:00PM out on AdvoCare Field 1 at the Toyota Soccer Center all week. The sessions are open to the public and fans are invited to come watch. If you like watching guys run, these are definitely the sessions for you.
