Maybe Team USA chose the wrong FC Dallas defender for the Copa America

By: Robert | August 14th, 2007

“Keep your eye on the ball,” from an early age we are all taught that one phrase that links all of our sports (I know there are sports that don’t have balls to keep an eye but follow me here) So it only seems logical that when we watch soccer we’d focus our attention on the goals; attacking players going forward create the excitement that sells tickets but as the adage goes it is the defense that wins championships and in Clarence Goodson, FC Dallas has a defender they can build a championship around.

Sitting in the middle of the Hoops backline you can find Goodson stopping opponents’ offensive forays into the box for ninety minutes a game, almost every game of the year. Clarence was one of the biggest reasons that FC Dallas was competitive in Superliga play; consistently denying the Chivas Guadalajara and Pachuca strikers service and quality shots. It was arguably his absence against the LA Galaxy that prevented the Hoops from advancing. And while Drew Moor donned the national team jersey at the Copa America, Clarence Goodson has been FC Dallas’ best backline player.

But if you follow the ball you’ll see Goodson’s name begin to appear on the score sheet, with Saturday’s game winning goal against the Columbus Crew and the equalizer against the Charleston Battery in the US Open Cup, Clarence is becoming a force in dead ball situations. At 6’4” with a pretty good leaping ability there are very few balls in the air that he can’t get to, combine that with Dax McCarty’s improved dead ball strikes and Clarence Goodson is starting to make a name for himself.

While the team’s defense has slipped somewhat since a late June/early July run of four clean sheets in five games Goodson’s efforts have kept the Hoops in the win column and on pace to lift two trophies this season. And as the team continues to collect injuries like they were Confederate gold bullion Clarence’s consistency will be needed over the final third of the season. While Goodson may not get the headlines, if this season in Dallas is going to be a success it will be because the FC stands for the “feet (or face) of Clarence.”

HOOPS PRIDE!

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