Football Season Guide

FC Dallas achieved their minimum aim of making it to the playoffs last season where they made it as far as the Conference semifinals but it was far from perfect as they struggled to find goals on a consistent basis. Dallas were solid at the back, ending the season with the second best defensive record in the Western Conference, but it was at the other end where they were poor, managing just 28 goals from 22 games in the regular season. To make matters worse, they will have to deal with three major departures, the biggest of them being Bryan Reynolds' move to Italian club AS Roma. Fafa Picault and Michael Barrios have also left, leaving Luchi Gonzalez with a major hole to fill in the offense. Reto Ziegler has also left for Europe while Thiago Santos has been sold back to Gremio despite establishing himself as the first choice in the center of the midfield. Dallas have brought in Jader Obrian and Freddy Vargas to fill in for Picault and Barrios and the duo are expected to be the first choice on the flanks at the start of the season. Jose Antonio Martinez is another major arrival and will be replacing Ziegler in the defense. Dallas remain strong in the defense but it is further up front where problems continue to persist with Franco Jara and Andres Ricaurte both under delivering and they will need to click quickly if Dallas are to move closer to the top of the standings in the Western Conference though another place in the playoffs should not be too much of a problem.