FRISCO, Texas -- Like every other club in Major League Soccer, FC Dallas will look to strengthen their roster on Thursday at the 2009 SuperDraft. While many sides will be looking to add some great, young talent to their fold, FCD, which last year had one of the youngest rosters in the entire league, might be looking to add just one player and could trade its other picks.
That's because FCD currently has five Generation adidas players on their roster. Midfielder Eric Avila, goalkeeper Josh Lambo and defender Brek Shea were all drafted last year while midfielder Bruno Guarda was acquired in a trade with Colorado last summer. The other name on that list, defender Anthony Wallace, who is entering his third season, was the ninth overall pick in 2007 and is still just 20.
FCD had six players on that list before left back Blake Wagner graduated to the senior roster after last season. Wagner played in a career-high 24 games for the Hoops last year and spent much of the year as the starting left back.
While Michael Hitchcock, the Hoops president/general manager, wouldn't rule out FCD taking another Generation adidas player to put their roster at the maximum of six allowed per league rules, he also admitted that the roster was about as young as he and head coach Schellas Hyndman wanted it to be.
"That's a fair statement," Hitchcock said. "If there's a good Generation adidas player at the No. 5 pick or the No. 14 pick, we can add one more Generation adidas player to our roster, but then we'll be at the max. We've built a good group of young players we feel have a really bright future here."
In 2008, FCD had the second and eighth overall picks. The Hoops took Shea with the second choice and the versatile 18-year-old played midfield and forward before Hyndman decided to try him as a center back late in the season. Shea's rookie campaign ended when he had knee surgery in mid-September but he looks to be ready for preseason, which begins on January 21.
Lambo went with the eighth pick and he too had an eventful rookie year. In his first start for the FCD reserves, he collided with a Chivas USA player and missed the next 11 games with a concussion and broken jaw. He returned to the field in mid-July and also made several appearances for the U.S. under-20 national team last year.
Avila was considered a steal at No. 19. He played in 14 games and contributed two assists. His only three starts in an attacking midfield role came in late July and early August after two-time all-star Juan Toja was transferred to a club in Romania. His playing time dwindled after Guarda arrived, something Hyndman chalked up to Avila not being the type of two-way player he wanted at that spot.
In 12 games, nine of which were starts, Guarda delivered mixed results. The talented Brazilian had one goal and one assist but admittedly looked lost at times on the field, which is to be expected from a rookie who was just a few months removed from being a star in college soccer. Depending on whether or not FCD is able to bring in a No. 10 before the start of the season, Avila and Guarda could again be battling for playing time.
On Tuesday, FCD traded forward Dominic Oduro and a second-round pick to New York for left-sided midfielder Dave van den Bergh. With Oduro gone, FCD now has just three forwards on their roster, so drafting some help up front at either the No. 5 or No. 14 spot or in both places, could be a top priority.
Then again, the Hoops also need help in the back although at least one signing of a center back appears to be imminent. Either way, Hitchcock calls this year's draft a deep one.
"I think it's a deep player pool," he said. "You've got a handful of players that look like they could be very special. There are more and more quality players in the draft. There is probably not a lot of difference between players who could go No. 5 and No. 20 in the draft. We've got a nice stable of talented, young players and Generation adidas players. For us, we're approaching the draft that pick didn't have a lot of value because we've already got such a young team. We're going to look at our two first-round picks and try to get some good players that will come in and complement what we already have."
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