Oscar Pareja's hunch on South American duo pays off for FC Dallas
FRISCO, Texas
"Of course!" Oscar Pareja had a hunch his South American duo of David Texeira and Andres Escobar was primed for a breakout match, the coach assured reporters - at least, that's what he said once he learned the definition of hunch.
"We sometimes got those feelings, but the boys are the ones who made it happen. They made us look good," the FC Dallas coach said in a news conference after a 3-1 win Wednesday against the Western Conference-leading Seattle Sounders.
But Pareja was being modest, as is his style. He's more fluent in futbol tactics than English - and that's not a knock on his linguistics - so it wasn't just a feeling that led to the victory. The Colombian manager started Texeira next to Blas Perez rather than usual partner Tesho Akindele, part of a game plan that ended up making the 46-year-old look pretty savvy.
"We put two targets up front with Tex and Blas," he said. "We wanted to get all those second balls with Andres and Jair (Benitez). I wanted to get those bounces there and get some service in the box whether it comes from Jair and Andres or the fullbacks coming up, and I thought it worked pretty well."
Both 23-year-old South Americans, Texeira and Escobar were signed before the season with the club hoping they would inject some life into a FC Dallas attack that too often in 2013 consisted of zombie Perez left a dead man walking up top.
The goals have been more forthcoming this year, but it hasn't been because of the offseason acquisitions. Fabian Castillo is in the midst of a breakout season but is out with a hamstring injury, and Mauro Diaz had things humming early in the season but can't stay healthy. So on September 24, 2014, in FC Dallas' 30th match of the season, Texeira and Escobar started together for the first time.
Though they'd seen very little time together, the duo had a connection that made sure Pareja's roll of the dice didn't crap out.
"With David, we've always had a good relationship despite the fact he hasn't played much. He always works hard in the final third," Escobar said. "Today he had a lot of success, scored two goals. I was able to provide two assists, and I'm very happy with this." On the first, Texeira recieved a throw in and knocked it back toward Escobar. It glanced off the Colombian's chest and looped over two Seattle defenders where a waiting Texeira hit the ball inside the far post on the half-volley.
The second saw Escobar play a one-two with right back Je-Vaughn Watson. Escobar beat Sounders midfielder Osvaldo Alonso in the box and headed for the byline. Defender Djimi Traore, who came on to replace Zach Scott after the starting center back sustained a leg injury and was unable to continue, went to ground, allowing the Colombian midfielder to set up Texeira for an easy tap-in.
"I know Andres, the way he plays and the way he does things. I always am waiting for him in one-on-one, when he has space and he can go through," Texeira said. "That was the second goal. I knew he would win against the central defender, he would make (a pass), so I was waiting for the ball in the middle of the area. That was a good assist."
Perez added the third thanks to a header off a corner kick, and the veteran forward said he didn't have to change his game based on his partner up top.
"There isn't any difference," Perez said. "Of course, Tesho is a different player than David, maybe he's a lot faster, but David has power. There's not a lot of difference. I think here everybody collectively, when they have the chance to score, well, they're going to do it."
Pareja's successful hunches extend much further back than game planning for Wednesday's mat. He revealed after the match that he first noticed Escobar several years ago while scouting in Colombia as a FC Dallas assistant. That trip yielded Castillo joining FC Dallas, but Escobar ended up in France.
"Sometimes for me, he was percieved even faster than Fabian in ability, in agility," Pareja said of the scouting trip. "We were close to brining Andres first, then Fabian. But Fabian ended up coming here first, so we let Andres go. When we brought him here I wanted to see that (type of play from Escobar). Tonight I did. I saw that one.
"We have been waiting a long time to see Andres in all his capacity, and today it was a great show by him showing us his value. I'm happy to see what I saw many years ago. He has been growing during the season, but tonight was a great performance."
The Colombian midfielder was happy to hear from Pareja this offseason after struggling to break through in France with Evian. He's on loan from Dynamo Kyiv but has yet to make a first-team appearance for the Ukranian club. With his career taking him from Colombia, to Ukraine, back home, then to France and now to the U.S., Escobar feels he may have found his somewhere he can settle in.
"I think Dallas could be my home for many years," he said. "I'm very happy here because of the president, the team, the fans and media, those who work above. I'm very happy and we hope to be able to continue here in Dallas."
That will come as welcome news to fans in the Metroplex, especially if rumors of Castillo making a winter move to Liga MX come to fruition. Dallas has plans before the offseason, though: Pareja said he wanted to secure qualification as quickly as possible. He also said his players had talked about the possibility of seeing Wednesday's rival and the LA Galaxy get worn down when they meet twice to close the season - games which will likely decide the Supporters' Shield. That could mean a Western Conference underdog sneaking into MLS Cup.
"Why not?" Pareja said. "They target that now and say why not us? And the boys showed tonight that they can. We keep fighting for that."
The first-year FC Dallas manager truly seems to believe he has a group that can win silverware. Their rivals know better than to discount a Pareja hunch.
