FRISCO - The league and those who cover it are taking notice of Luchi Gonzalez and his belief in the young Academy kids over the first month of his tenure.
Of course names like Jesus Ferreira, Edwin Cerrillo and Thomas Roberts have seen a spike in interest, but no one has the national media attention like FC Dallas Homegrown and U.S. Youth National Team star Paxton Pomykal. The midfielder has made quite the stir in his first four starts of the year, and after scoring the first two goals of his career over the weekend, everyone is on the Pax Express.
"Saturday was a coming out party and an emphatic statement. In a 4-2 road win over Real Salt Lake, important U.S. youth internationals won Dallas the game and showcased strong development," American Soccer Now's Brian Sciaretta wrote this week of the youth movement in Texas. "Pomykal indeed played like one of the top U-20 players in the country and a player who looks in-line to get 2500 minutes this season...He is one of the most exciting young midfielders in the league."
"A couple of big-name coaches, Frank de Boer and Matias Almeyda, are still searching for their first MLS win with Atlanta United and San Jose, respectively...On the other hand, Luchi Gonzalez, the only one of the six first-year MLS coaches without previous head coaching experience at the pro level, is off to a 3-1-1 start with FC Dallas. And [he] is winning with the players whom he had in the FC Dallas academy," Soccer America's Paul Kennedy wrote on Sunday. "For the first time ever, FC Dallas has started five academy products in back-to-back games -- and won both of them."
Can the 19-year-old and FCD keep their momentum rolling into the month of April? They'll get their first test Saturday in Philadelphia against a Union side also carrying a heavy belief in their Academy products.
