And we mentioned the hot tag, so it's time to bring in yet another premiere. I don't have trumpets, and I don't have like goal horns attached from venues and things like that. Ryan might have to help us out here. First time visit for the hometown guy for FC Dallas. There's where we get our FCD intail. Ryan, Thanks for dropping by. How are you my friend?
How's it going? Man? How's it going? We're gonna have to get who Let the Dogs Out ready for any future FC Dallas appearances, because that's our new goal song this year, as part of a whole new era and a new mentality that Eric Quill has been bringing to the squad. So who Let the Dogs Out is our new goal song in place of you know you guys got the horns and everything like that, which I love. But no, that's our new thing. So thanks for having me on the show.
Excited, No worries, friend of the network Edwin Pintour in communications? Is he lurking off camera? Is he behind a door that you've gone to go high?
Yeah?
I've locked myself in this closet like office just to keep any when comments from sneaking on me.
Riff Wrap out from each exactly. I see how this works.
Uh, first and foremost, for those that may not know, you're a hometown guy, getting to call for your hometown team.
What's that like for you to be a part of things now?
Yeah, it's literally a dream come true. I started broadcasting, you know, seven years ago now in college. I went down to college at Trendy University. But I'm originally from Dallas, grew up going to games, grew up listening to Mark Followill Steve Davis, who's now my partner on the broadcast every week, so you know, when I started broadcasting, obviously, you know, calling MLS games is a huge goal, and to be able to accomplish that with my hometown team
has been has been a dream come true. And and to do shows like this and be part of, you know, the outreach for the club as well as the voice of the team is amazing. So just really enjoying it so far. It's been a lot of fun, kind of being a part of the new energy. I was with the team before in a different capacity and I still do some social media stuff as well, but you know, coming in and sort of being the voice of this new era with Eric Quill is a lot of fun.
What's your first FC Dallas memory.
I would say opening Day against Philadelphia Union. It was somewhere in the Oscar Pere hot Era, so twenty twelve to twenty sixteen, somewhere in there. Came to Opening Day
with my family. The team scored and they ran to the corner and celebrated in a row boat where they all sat one in front of each one in front of each other, rowing the boat, which I just that's always stuck with me growing up, going to games with friends, watching Kenny Cooper, who's now a good friend and a member of the front office, is one of our ambassadors score, you know, ripped the shirt off, swinging around, all those things.
Those are some of the earliest memories for sure. Come to Toyota Stadian back when it's Pizza Hull Park.
So are you rowing the boat in the booth when Lucho scores? Is that what you're doing?
Now? Yeah?
I think we're gonna have to get coordinated goal celebrations in the booth. I know you guys do a great job over Atlanta United with the boothcam, which I think is something we might implement down the road. And if we do you know, we got we gotta go viral, we gotta we got to bring the attention. So, you know, goal celebrations, coordinated goal celebrations with our with our four man booth, We'll get creative with it.
Looking forward to that, let me ask you, what's it been like to see the first first couple of matches under the Eric Quill administration. What what kind of energy has he brought in and how is it How is it different with Quill?
Now?
Yeah, so I think I have a little bit of a unique perspective because I got to travel with the team to Portugal for preseason and that was the first you know, they had a week before that, and but that was the first real sort of getting into the meat and bones of it with Eric Quill. The tactical ideas, the amount of running and the amount of fitness that they were doing, which was more than I'd ever seen previously with with Niko Stevez or Peter Hussain. So the intensity.
But also, you know, I think Eric does a really good job of focusing on what's important and not getting distracted by you know, small things. He knows how to bring the group together, he knows how to inspire the team. He really values hard work from the whole dogs thing that I mentioned when I first came on. He wants the team to be eleven dogs and fight for the
badge and fight for the fans. And bringing that mentality has sort of alongside bringing a whole host of new players, has definitely made for it completely changed FCY Dallas team this year and in the past when we went on the road, it was like, you know, if we could grab a draw, that'd be great for the past couple of seasons. Last year we had one road win, and
this year it's already so different. We have seven points on the road from three games, and now we go into these road games with the real, you know mentality that we could go and get a win at any point at any venue. And that's what I think makes for an exciting matchup this weekend.
New faces coming in obviously we'll talk about Luco in a sec. But you've got the integration with folks like Leo Chu and Luco a Costa with Pedro Musa.
Where is that?
Where is that integration, Where where is that coming together and the melding of ideas with the new faces.
Where do you think that is right now?
I still think it's early. First of all, we came into things with the idea of playing in a four to two three one defending in a four to four to two, and then we signed Luco Acosta, and you know, ideally you think he fits right into that number ten position, But I think we saw in the first couple of weeks that defensively it wasn't working and they weren't finding Luco in the spots that we needed to find him, that he was having to pop out wide or drop
deep to receive the ball. So the last couple of weeks the team changed to having an extra midfielder in there, sort of a diamond. The team calls it a four to three to one to two, but basically having at number six whose job is just to win the ball back, that's Ramiro, and then having two number eights there to support Lucho has really allowed him to get into more
dangerous positions. And you know, he has been instrumental in the last in this little two game win streak here at RSL and then home against Kansas City, and he's popping up in areas where he can actually hurt the opposition, you know, combining with Musa really well. I think the Musa Luco combination as on you know, swimmingly. I think it's gone much quicker than I expected those two players
to tell. It's been who's going to be the number, the third guy, kind of the second forward in the formation. That's what we're trying to figure out. Anderson Julio has been amazing since he came over, but he's missed the last three weeks. He had to go get his green card, so we actually haven't seen him in this new formation. I expect that he's probably going to be the starter, but we haven't seen that yet, and so that chemistry
is going to have to come as well. He'd been playing on the left wing for majority of preseason in the first couple of weeks as well, so I think that's the ideal front three. Leo Chio's got the last two starts, Logan Farrington's an option as well. Padrinho has a goal on the season, so there's options. But I think it's going to be Julio and that's going to be, you know, something they're gonna have to build as he's
back this week. He's back in full training and hopefully and involved against Atlanta.
For Lucho so far eight shots, four on target, and those four on target, three of them have gone to the back of the net. With the next g if you believe in those kinds of things, that just over two at two point oh six. So you mentioned that front all things being equal in a perfect world for Eric Quill, how do you envision the starting eleven in this matchup coming up against Atlanta Night.
Yeah, I think the front three. If Julio is fit and ready to go, I think he'll come into play alongside Pedromusa in the two striker formation and then Lucho behind them the midfield. I don't expect a ton of change. I think Patrickson leget As the two number eights will probably hold their position, and Ramiro has been really solid coming over from Brazil in the offseason. Is one of eighteen new players I think in total. Back four. We've
had one change recently, Marco Farfan. We had to announce this week he's going to have surgery, so he's been the starting left back homegrow. Nolan Norris is involved now. He's played you know, left back for the youth national teams. He's the captain of the U twenties, so this is his first real opportunity at the MLS level to play that position and sort of make it his own over the next month to six weeks. So that'll be one
to watch at left back. And obviously you guys have some pretty lethal options in the attack, so he's gonna get a tough matchup, whether it's you know, up against al ron I love Janite, whoever it is on the right for Atlanta. But I think the one player that I want to, you know, sort of spread the gospel about when I go on shows like this is Asasei Ragide, our new center back who came over from the French
second division. He's He's just phenomenal. This guy. He has all the tools to become a top level center back if he isn't already in Major League Soccer. He's got the physicality, the recovery speed, he's got line breaking passing, he's got the smarts to think through the game as well. He's been such a fantastic addition for us. And thinking back to when Dallas played Atlanta in preseason, he was not there yet neither and Musa wasn't there. There's some
other pieces that weren't there in that game. But particularly when Latte Los came off the bench in that game and I was like, oh my god, this guy's pace is phenomenal. This is going to be a problem when we see him in just a couple of months. But I think Osase has that speed as well. I think if we get a foot race between those two, it's gonna be Olympic standard, Like we're gonna need to hand out a gold medal between the two of those after the game, because that's the level of athlete that he is.
And I know you guys have taken to late lot very well and he's taken to the team very well. So I think that's going to be a matchup to watch. Besides that, I think not a ton of changes beside Tjulio coming into the lineup and Norris continuing sort of deputizing a left back.
How do you think formationally or philosophically Norris will get protected? Considering that you're already anticipating and if he's at left back, you know that down the right hand side it's going to be Brooks, it's going to be Saba, it's going to be switches. How do you anticipate he's going to be protected or is there a level of confidence there that he can be left on an island for a while and he can navigate things one b one Okay.
I think he's a very smart player. I think his biggest weakness and the reason that he hasn't got this opportunity yet in the past couple of years, is his pace, and so that is a concern up against Atlanta, who is a running team. I think you guys are in the top three and pretty much every running metric, and obviously they have a ton of pace. So I think the cover is going to have to come from sort of the left number eighth, the left center mid, which
is Patrickson. He's a young Ecuadorian player who is really good box to box, gets involved defensively as well as going forward, so he's gonna have to cover him from, whether it's Lennen on the overlap, whoever it is, and then Assase Arguide, who already mentioned was excellent and just helping Nolan through that first start against Kansas City and
helping put out fires on that side. So I think he has a good support network around it, but he's there's gonna be moments in the game where he's gonna have to stand up one B one and be counted, and you know, we have a lot of faith in them, and it's on to him to repay that faith.
Right now, as things stand in the West, six matches in, three wins to the good goals and goals goals allowed dead even at nine and nine, So smack dab middle of the middle of activity right now, three points obviously out of first with early returns. How would you grade what you've seen so far from the booth? Six matches in which is what six over thirty four? It's maybe twenty percent or something like that. At the twenty percent mark,
where would you see? How would you grade FC Dallas so far with all of these new faces and a new head coach? How would you grade what you've seen?
Yeah? I think other teams around the league that have had this, you know, this amount of change are struggling, and I think it's understandable to struggle with that amount of change. But we brought in a ton of quality.
Liuto Costa obviously paramount in that discussion. So I think I would give it, you know, a high B because I think the results have been really solid, and particularly the road results those home the first two home games were disappointing, but I think the performances and the tactical ideas and the game model have a ton of room to grow, and that is what excites me because in the past, when Dallas wasn't up for a game, they
just weren't going to get a result. And this version of FC Dallas under Eric Quill, with almost an entirely new lineup, is going to fight for a result even when they're not at their best, and even when the tactical matchup feels like it's going against them. They've been able to claw back from behind. They've won the most points from losing positions of anyone in Major League Soccer in the opening six weeks, which I think is a
testament to the mentality. And now if we can see the growth on the tactical side, then that's just going to bring the quality to the forefront.
What was the level of expectation for the supporters coming into this year, knowing that there was a coaching change, knowing the frustrations from last year, what was the I guess the level of expectation and the level of patients from the fans coming into twenty twenty five.
It's such a hard one, right, because of just the sheer amount of change, and you know, the stadium looks different this year, we're going through renovation, so there's a little bit of a weird cloud over things in that way. But I think to his credit, from day one, Eric Quill came in and said, we want to be fighting at the top of the table, we want to be fighting for championships. And he wasn't afraid to put his
name alongside those statements. And that's for a club that's never won MLS Cup, and that's his paramount goal is to bring the first MLS Cup to Dallas. And not to say that the fan expectation immediately rose to that level, but I think they sort of stood up and said, okay, now let's see it. In the first couple of home games, it was disappointing. But now against Kansas City, you get the home form right, and you've shown that you can win on the road. So I think expectations are steadily climbing.
And obviously when you bring into Lucho Acosta, you're expected to fight in the playoff positions at the bare minimum, and he's going to help you get there, and he already has. I think he's won six seven points all on his own with his goals so far this season, so I think that'll continue over the course of the year.
How would you break down how Eric is stylistically and philosophically as a coach for someone who hasn't seen him on the touch line, for someone who hasn't seen him at practice, how would you break down the kind of coach that Eric is both emotionally and tactically when it comes to how he wants to have things out there on the pitch.
Well, first and foremost, you're going to notice the bright red hat that he rocks on the touch line. That's, you know, that's become his trademark. He tried the white hat against Vancouver and we lost, and I don't think we're going to see the white hat again. So the red hat has been a trademark of his reign so far. But no, I think on a more serious note, he's a player, he's a players coach, but he's also a really strong motivator and that he knows how to get
the best out of guys. He really values work on the training ground. He's going to give opportunities to people who train well, and he's going to take opportunities away from people who you know, don't put in one hundred percent on the training ground. So I think he really values hard work and that's what we've seen, you know, so far through the opening six weeks. Is anytime that someone's done well in training, they're going to get that opportunity,
whether it's from the start or off the bench. And I think it's become even more of a meritocracy where players don't have they can't feel comfortable, you know, they they don't feel like their name is written in pen unless you're maybe Moussa Lucho Acosta. But those guys are Those guys are top professionals and they train well every day and that's you know. Eric Quiles told us that
he's fiery on the touch line. He's going to let the other coach have it even more so than the referee, which I think you know is more common with last game, he's up against one of his good friends and Peter Vermiz, somebody who's played with in his playing career, going back to the Kansas City Wizards, and they're getting into it on the sideline. He got into it on the sideline
with US Restorans and for Vancouver as well. So any you know, he's he's a fiery character and I think that's what this team needed, was somebody who's going to lead the team emotionally, with energy and sort of get them going from the sideline. And that's been fun to see.
So for someone who is going to be looking at FC Dallas for the first time this year, at Mercedes Benz, whether it's listening to you on the call, listening or watching on Apple or in person, Mercedes Benz, You're drawn to the big names. You're drawn to the Peter Mooses, You're drawn to the Lucco Acostas. For things to go well for FC Dallas, give me one of those second level guys. Give me a foot soldier instead of a star at the front. Who in the foot soldiers has
to do well? And it might even be somebody that you call in off the bench, you know, late, if you need that, you need to who would you gravitate toward. That would be those second level dudes to see the successes for FCD.
Yeah, I think the midfield battle on this one is going to be really interesting because I know, you know, there's been some conversation with Atlanta about the position for miranchook the best combination in midfield. I think for Dallas, Romiro, our new number six, Brazilian, very experienced in Brazil's top flight one Copa leb tadoris with Germeo in the past. He has come to the team and just given us
that rock, that anchor at the base of midfield. And when we were playing in sort of a double pivot before, it didn't suit his game as much, just because he's not a huge ground cover, he doesn't have a ton of mobility. But now that we've moved into that single number six, he's done a really good job of shielding
the back line over the last two games. And I think something that we're still yet to see from this midfield, this new midfield diamond shape for Dallas is just consistent ball progression up the field that they've been really good in the moments when they've been able to hit quickly on the counter, they've been really good when they've been able to force turnovers, but when the other team is pressing them, they haven't found the answer so far to playing out. So I think that's going to come down
to Ramiro finding the passes. Sebastian Legett and there as well as longside Patrickson Delgado and that midfield three. They progress the ball up the field when Atlanta is putting them under pressure and as opposed to just hitting on the counter, because ultimately that's not going to be sustainable over the course of ninety minutes or over the course of the season to just be up and down the field and then back defending, you know, for for a
large majority of the game. So can they find some sustained possession, particularly if they get a lead at the Bens this weekend?
All right, what's study hall like for you for the rest of the week getting ready for this one?
Well, I'll be I'll be tuned into your show, So I like to listen to some of the Atlanta podcasts as well. Always do some opposition scouting that way, just to just to get a vibe how this goes exactly exactly. Definitely do some opposition scouting and just make sure, you know, familiar with the team. Be out at training and catch any sort of any developments, any tactical ideas that they're going to try and implement. Talk to Eric Quill on Friday and then we'll be in the booth at Toyota
Stadium calling it. I wish I was there at Mercedes ben Stadium. That's a bucket. Listen one to uh to catch for sure at some point. But we'll be in the booth at Toyota Stadium calling it for for our fans on the Fcadouts radio network.
Now you hit the promo for me on the way out the door. See, I didn't have to ask that question. You were looking at my notes.
Ryan.
As always, you know you can crash. You have the keys to the kingdom now. So if there's anything that you ever want to talk about on a Friday when we're in the hour of chaos at ten eastern and it's like I got two minutes, I want to come in. I want to say my piece, I want to jet you can so, like I said, it's great to see it.
Great to have you added to the stacks here.
Say hi to everybody there in the office and we'll catch up with you soon.
My friend, don't be a stranger. Great to have you in the morning show.
Awesome, John, thank you so much. Have a good one. We'll see this weekend.
There you go, it's Ryan Ryan figured the play by play voice FC Dallas app by the way, is where you can catch up with Ryan and great to have him added to the stacks with us, and it was really cool to get the education when it comes to everything going on with FC Dallas.