How to build an MLS team and what FC Dallas is doing right (and wrong)

By: Robert | July 2nd, 2007

I never thought I would say this but $2.2 million is just not a lot of money. I mean for me 2.2 would “change my address, change my phone number…change my library cards to credit cards” (wow, a Deion Sanders “rap” reference that surprised me) but in the realm of professional sports $2.2 million is nothing (the average baseball player makes a little less than three million); but it’s all MLS teams have so that is what we have to deal with.

But forget about MLB to MLS, lets compare apples to apples or soccer to football, (hehe) major English Premier League clubs (I’m not reading Spanish, Italian or German financial statements so don’t ask about them) Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur spent approximately $260 and $140 million respectively on operating expenses in 2006 (operating expenses include money needed to run the team, property costs, costs to run other income streams and player’s salaries – Arsenal’s number is slightly eschewed since they financed a new stadium during that fiscal year.) South American giants Boca Juniors spent dramatically less yet even they outspent MLS clubs by roughly 600% this past term (Boca Juniors are a privately owned club so there are no financial statements. The 600% was extrapolated from owner Mauricio Macri’s comments that midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme’s $500,000 a month salary is equal to the rest of the team combined. Someone please remind me again to do a post on why South American clubs partner with MLS teams.)

Every MLS fan no matter their allegiance will agree it’s not easy to build quality while being frugal, but it is possible. The first thing you have to do though is forgo the idea of putting great players at every position; every MLS team has holes, some holes are just bigger than others: draft picks, developmental players and discovery signings work out; but I’m not talking about those players. What I want to focus on are the players a team needs to spend 30-40% of its salary cap on; because 2.2 million spread out evenly over 18 senior roster plays doesn’t buy much. But, if you build a great unit around a specific style of play you can create a championship caliber team and that’s what FC Dallas has done, for the most part.

There are two obviously different fundamental styles of play to the beautiful game: offensive and defensive. In a “limitless” economic system both styles can be properly addressed but attempting that under an MLS’ salary cap structure will at best create a team that is a ‘Jack of all trades and master of none,’ but in all probability will leave you with a disjointed group of players who’s styles of play don’t mesh and whose contracts leave no room to maneuver.

Regardless of the style of play you choose to build a team around, the most important position on the field is/are the central midfielder(s), the rest of the players are essentially complimentary pieces, assemble the correct pieces and you’ve built a contender. FC Dallas has built a contender, but not by business guile and good soccer sense, but through fortune and luck. They have spent money to acquire talented defensive midfielders (Adrian Serioux, Pablo Richetti, Marcelo Saragosa) which would lead you to believe they wanted to field a defensively oriented team. But if defense is the main objective, the rest of the money spent does not reflect that philosophy. If you want to field a defensive team the next piece you need after a defensive midfielder is a good wing back that can add something to the attack. Although those guys cost money you only truly need one, because as the “Art of War” tells us and any good defensive coach in any sport will agree, if you can force your opponent to only go one direction your defense is in position to be successful. While Drew Moor may be in Venezuela representing his country at right back, he’s a converted center back playing out wide and yes, Chris Gbandi is a solid left back, however neither of these men rises to the level of the primary wing back I’m discussing. Both of these men would be a better fit as a secondary wing back option. The third piece to this defensive puzzle would be a big, strong forward who is good in the air, someone with a great work rate because he’d most likely be playing up top by himself. Although Carlos Ruiz can give you the work rate and Kenny Cooper is big and strong (until Tyrone Marshall took umbrage to 3-1 beating), neither are the prototypical player for this style of play.

However, as I said above and what FC Dallas fans have already noted, the Hoops do not play a defensive brand of soccer. Injuries and the emergence of Juan Toja have seen FC Dallas transform into an offensive-minded team. And while the central midfield is still the most important position on the field, instead of a defensive, play-destroyer, Juan Toja and Arturo Alvarez have taken over the roles of attacking and creating. In this offensive brand of soccer that FC Dallas is now trying to create the next two most important pieces of the puzzle are the forwards. One should be a speedster to help create space for the attacking midfielders to work and the other should be an out-an-out scorer (you can go cheap on the speedster because you’re only buying a threat, but proven goal scorer’s cost money.) At $17,700 per year Dominic “Birdman” Oduru is the perfect fit for the speedy forward position, as his marauding runs down either sideline force opposing defenses to back up and respect his speed which in turn gives Toja and Alvarez room to operate. And Carlos Ruiz is a proven scorer (though he has struggled this season) but even when he’s not putting balls in the back of the net he’s drawing the attention of two defenders.

All the pieces are there for FC Dallas to put together something special this season. They just need to figure out what puzzle they are trying to assemble. So far they have tried to build a defense, fell into an offense only to see the offense disappear and the defense finally emerge. It’s the midpoint of the season and FC Dallas is a contender, but they could be something more, the Hoops just need to figure out what they are doing because this is Dallas, where the FC stands for “find cohesion.”

HOOPS PRIDE!

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