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Dallas Burn preview Posted: Wednesday April 09, 2003 7:55 PMUpdated: Wednesday April 09, 2003 8:08 PM
By Ridge Mahoney, Soccer America One by one, the list of teams that haven't played in an MLS Cup is shortening. In 2000, the Wizards reached their first final and won it. Ditto the Quakes in 2001. Last year, the Revs played in the final as hosts. One of the three remaining teams is Dallas, which fired Coach Dave Dir after the 2000 season in part because he never got his team to the final frontier. In two seasons under former Fire assistant Mike Jeffries, the Burn posted records of 10-11-5 and 12-9-3 and exited the playoffs in the first round. Dallas finished as the No. 4 seed last year, but lost Game 2 in Denver and then squandered a 1-0 lead in Game 3 and fell in the series tiebreaker at home. "We had a lot of success late during the season and in those two games against Colorado we didn't do well," says Jeffries. "It was the first time all year we'd not closed a game out after being ahead. Those things came at a bad time." To a team already teeming with midfielders, Jeffries has added Brad Davis, a gifted passer who also hit a couple of impressive goals for the Metros as a rookie last year. He played on both sides and in the middle during preseason and will give Jeffries yet another element to central men Oscar Pareja and Chad Deering, wide guys Antonio Martinez and Ronnie O'Brien, and exciting youngster Joselito Vaca. Pareja, the team's MVP for the past two years, underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee to repair a small meniscus tear just days before the season kickoff. He is expected to be sidelined for approximately 3-4 weeks.
Will changes finally produce an appearance in the final? What may have derailed the Burn last year, aside from a bothersome injury that impaired Jason Kreis, was a formulaic system opponents had been able to decipher. "We'll be able to have a couple of different looks in midfield and not be as predictable as we've been in the past," says Jeffries. "That's pretty important, and Brad's a part of that." Jeffries has also been in search of an ideal forward partner for Kreis, who scored 13 regular-season goals and is No. 3 on the all-time list with 79. Ronald Cerritos (knee injury), Bobby Rhine (diligent but limited), and teenager Eddie Johnson (talented but raw) are the incumbents. Chris Gbandi gingerly tested his reconstructed ACL in preseason, but when and if he can step in at left back is not known. "He has very good feet as far as being a passer and able to take guys on," says Jeffries of the Burn's No. 1 pick who missed the entire 2002 season. "Like most guys coming out of college, there's a learning curve he's still going through." The learning curve figures to be steep for former U.S. U-17 and U-20 keeper D.J. Countess (total MLS experience: 100 minutes). Dallas must also replace six-year veteran Jorge Rodriguez, but aside from the possible addition of Gbandi, the back line is intact. A move to FieldTurf at Dragon Stadium in Southlake -- "For me the surface is much better than Chicago," says Jeffries -- is tempered by steady progress for a soccer-specific stadium in Frisco. "We don't have a ton of new guys that we have to integrate," says Jeffries. "I do feel some reason to be better than we were last year."
AT A GLANCEPivotal: Oscar Pareja. Burn MVP the past two seasons. His savvy and experience at both ends of the field will be needed.Worth Your Money: Joselito Vaca. Only 20 but can do some amazing stuff. Make or Break: D.J. Countess. Filling a hole in goal left by Matt Jordan. Best Youngster: Chris Gbandi. The coming-out party for Chris Gbandi has been eagerly awaited. Underrated: Paul Broome. Had some rough moments at left back but the converted midfielder got the job done. Overrated: Jason Kreis. Hits a mean free kick but four goals in 22 playoff games?
RosterAvg. Age: 24.9 (4th youngest in MLS). Capped players: 8 (6th in MLS).Goalkeepers - 00 Jeff Cassar, 1 D.J. Countess. Defenders - 5 Tenywa Bonseu (Uganda/SI), 4 Paul Broome, 2 Chris Gbandi, 6 Steve Morrow (Northern Ireland/SI), 3 Ryan Suarez, 21 Shavar Thomas (Jamaica/TI) Midfielders - 16 Matt Behncke, 20 Ronald Cerritos (El Salvador/SI), 24 Brad Davis, 15 Chad Deering (USA), 11 Antonio Martinez, 26 Ronnie O'Brien (TI), 8 Oscar Pareja (Colombia/GC), 12 Jordan Stone (P40), 10 Joselito Vaca (Bolivia/TI). Forwards - 7 Edward Johnson, 9 Jason Kreis (USA), 19 Bobby Rhine, 25 Andy Rosenband, 17 Jason Thompson (P40). Head coach: Frank Yallop (MLS record: 27-18-9, 2 seasons). * Countries for which players have been capped (through March 25) are in parentheses.
Ridge Mahoney is a senior editor at Soccer America magazine.
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