FRISCO, Texas -- The last month has been a pretty good one for versatile FC Dallas youngster Michael Dello-Russo. In late November, Dello-Russo, who just finished his third year in MLS, learned that the Hoops had picked up his contract option for 2009.
Then the University of Maryland product was able to celebrate as his alma mater won the 2008 NCAA Men's College Cup for the first time since 2005, when Dello-Russo was a senior for the Terrapins.
Dello-Russo was a player who flourished once Schellas Hyndman became FCD head coach in mid-June, playing in eight of the Hoops' final 12 games. In 2007, he appeared in one game with the first team after being selected in the fourth round in the 2006 SuperDraft.
"If you would have told me at the beginning of the year that Schellas was going to come in, I would get all this playing time and I would have my option picked up, I would be a little worried about it," Dello-Russo admitted. "But that's how a year goes. The coach comes in and gives you more confidence. I definitely played with more confidence this year and it's just been great."
Hyndman clearly sees a lot of positives in the former Maryland star.
"Dello-Russo is a warrior," he said. "He fights every day in training. He works extremely hard. He's just a good guy and I think he was given some opportunities by me. He's versatile and can play midfield, wide, center and defense."
One priority is recovering from a hamstring injury suffered late in the season, an ailment that Hyndman didn't become aware of until he started Dello-Russo in FCD's season finale Oct. 26 at Los Angeles.
"It was interesting because I don't think he ever disclosed it with us. If you look at his last game against LA when Eddie Lewis ran by him, he wasn't able to be quick enough to get him," Hyndman said. "I said something to him, 'I thought you should have handled that.' And he said, 'Well, I'm still injured.' I didn't even know he was injured. We need to know anytime he's not 100 percent, because that affects our decision-making. But he's young and he's getting his opportunities. I thought he did well, and he's a player we did pick up his option."
That recovery has been his top priority thus far in the offseason.
"I want to get healthy because my hamstring was bothering me all year," Dello-Russo said. "The first thing is to get healthy and then to stay fit. I want to work on little things that I need to get better at technically and tactically."
Although he spent his first two years on FCD's developmental roster, Dello-Russo is one who is somewhat in favor of the league cutting rosters down to 24 players from 28 and eliminating the reserve league.
"Cutting the roster is not a bad idea because it gets rid of the developmental contracts, which are very tough for anyone to live off of because of the money situation," he said. "I actually enjoyed the reserve league because it gives games for people like me who weren't playing in the first team games and I got other games. Hopefully they will set up other scrimmages and other things like that so that people who don't play in first team games have games to play in."
Like the rest of his teammates, he called the 2008 rollercoaster of a season something that brought the entire squad closer as a group.
"It was definitely a different experience that none of us have probably experienced before," Dello-Russo said. "It was good for us because I thought it made us stronger as a team and individuals. We had to work through that and everybody on the team had to work through it together. That was nice. That's just how sports go. Every coach wanted the best for us. I think it was good for us and for FC Dallas."
However, not even the tumultuous nature of the regular season could have prepared him for how it ended, with FCD out of the playoffs for the first time in four years.
"We were definitely disappointed because you look back on our year and we had plenty of games that could have changed that could have gotten us in the playoffs," Dello-Russo said. "Then you see a team like New York, they barely squeaked in and got to the finals. That could have very easily been us. So, I think it's good for us in a way if we didn't make it. It motivates us in the offseason. I'm definitely working harder because I want to get better. We definitely don't want to miss the playoffs again next year."
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