FRISCO, Texas -- Regarded as one of the top left-sided midfielders in MLS, Dave van den Bergh's addition to the FC Dallas attack will immediately make the Hoops' attack even more potent.
The talented Dutchman was acquired from the New York Red Bulls on Tuesday in a trade for Dominic Oduro and a second-round draft selection. Following a season where he scored seven goals and assisted on five more in 26 games for the Red Bulls, van den Bergh is certainly looking forward to setting the table for FCD's strike tandem of Kenny Cooper (18 goals, 3 assists) and Jeff Cunningham (5 goals, 2 assists in 11 games after being traded from Toronto FC in early August).
"That's going to be a treat," van den Bergh said. "Jeff Cunningham is one of the most prolific goal scorers in the history of this league. I don't think he's going to have a problem finding the back of the net next year since his setup will be good. Kenny Cooper is one of the up-and-coming stars of the league and to my understanding, is staying at FC Dallas for another year, which is a huge bonus for me to play with him. Having played against him, I admire him for what he's brought to the table for FC Dallas. He seems to be a very good competitor and a very nice guy at that.
"I'm just looking forward to playing with these guys," van den Bergh continued. "I know that we're going to have to work very hard in preseason to get in tune but with very talented players, it's always easier to find each other. I'm looking forward to that."
Before the end of last season, van den Bergh admitted he had been pondering making a move to FCD.
"I'm happy that this deal finally went through," he said. "This has been simmering on the back burner for a while now. I had been talking to New York since late August or early September. Around the MLS Cup Final, I came to the realization that it would be tough to make a deal with New York. When I got word that FC Dallas was interested at that point, that was my main focus."
Though van den Bergh's wife is from Dallas, the veteran midfielder said other considerations came into play when he considered where he wanted to play.
"I had a tough personal situation last year," he said. "My oldest son has had some very serious health issues that required a lot of attention last year. It proved to be tough on us to be without family on either side. My wife is from Dallas and that is an added bonus. That is not the sole reason that I'm going there. The main reason is the soccer part but having family close by is an added bonus."
A veteran of more than a decade in the top flight in both the Netherlands and Spain, van den Bergh will provide valuable leadership to the Hoops' locker room. He sees a lot of similarities between the 2008 MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew and FCD's current situation.
"Before last season, we (New York) were a team that had never won a trophy and never gotten to a final. We were able to turn that around. We had a good (MLS) Cup run," he said. "I think you can compare FC Dallas with Columbus. They did not make the playoffs and last year, they were clearly the best team in the league both in the regular season and the playoffs. They set themselves up for a couple of years and then it culminated in the Cup win.
"I think that FC Dallas has got the same possibilities. I think they've got a whole lot of talented, young players. They've got a superstar in Kenny Cooper and this is going to be the first year where the head coach can mold his system from the beginning of the season into his team," he continued. "I'm just hoping that I can be part of an improvement in the results. I just want to perform like I know I can and like I know why FC Dallas got me. I just want to make sure my performance is good."
And the fact that he is returning to the same team that first filed a discovery on him back in 2006 is not lost on van den Bergh.
"From my understanding, they had a discovery claim or some sort of claim on me," he said. "It was definitely a possibility but those rights got traded to Kansas City for Kenny Cooper's rights on a different list. I ended up in Kansas City and we all know how we ended up in New York. I had two great years there. It's ironic that the team that had the first claim on me is the team where I'm going to end up and with Kenny Cooper as well. I'm looking forward to playing with him because I do believe that he's one of the best forwards in the league."
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