FC Dallas: Franco Jara makes team genuine MLS is Back threat

FC Dallas will have new DP signing Franco Jara available for the MLS is Back tournament. He makes the team a real threat to contend.

The MLS is Back Tournament will commence in a little over three weeks time. Once it kicks off, teams will have gone almost four months without kicking a ball in anger. While players have been given programs to maintain their fitness levels throughout the quarantine period and teams have returned to full-contact training over the past few weeks, the first few matches could be a little awkward.

Throw in the structure of the competition — a three-game group stage and then straight knockout — and you have a tournament which is ripe for curious and unexpected results. Frequently, the best team does not win the World Cup. The same can be said for the playoffs in MLS. And so, when MLS is Back rolls around, do not expect the elite teams to simply roll through.

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This opens the door for other sides who have the potential to hit a purple patch and make a deep run in the knockout stages. These teams might be dangerous when they are on-song but lack squad depth or consistency to truly compete across an entire season. One such example is FC Dallas.

The youth project in Dallas has been hugely successful over the years. Last season, Luchi Gonzalez became the head coach following his work with the academy. The organisation’s focus is quite clear: they want to lean on the talent that they develop.

This is inherently inconsistent. Young players have terrific talent and produce terrific moments, but they struggle to perform on a weekly basis, failing to provide reliable value throughout an entire season. They have not yet mastered their position. They fail to execute the nuances of the game, which mean that if they do not produce something special they are a detriment to the team. They fluctuate.

But if you can supplement young players with experienced, proven veterans, suddenly, a team can truly come together. And this week, FC Dallas finally did precisely that.

After announcing the signing in the offseason, striker Franco Jara was officially unveiled as FC Dallas’ latest Designated Player addition. The Argentinian, who has four caps for his country, will lead the Dallas line and provides a proven goalscoring reputation from Liga MX. And, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC), he will be eligible to play in MLS is Back.

Jara arrives from FC Pachuca. Across 158 appearances for the Mexican side, he provided 76 goals and 19 assists. He also won the CONCACAF Champions League in 2017 and the 2016 Clausura. He is a proven goalscorer who could well drop down the MLS level and dominate from the get-go, just as fellow Liga MX marksman, Alan Pulido, has for Sporting Kansas City.

This makes Dallas a very dangerous team indeed. From an excellent midfield led by Paxton Pomykal and Michael Barrios, a sturdy backline that is one of the higher-performing units in the league, and ample creativity, sliding Jara into the set-up to lead the line and come alive in the penalty area fits perfectly.

FC Dallas, then, should not be overlooked. They are in a relatively kind group with the Seattle Sounders, the Vancouver Whitecaps, and the San Jose Earthquakes, and have the type of vibrant, attractive team that could hit a run of form just when it matters most.

Jara’s arrival, then, puts Gonzalez’s team into the lower-elite team. They are no LAFC or Toronto, but they are also capable of beating those teams in a single knockout match. And in this strange tournament which is geared towards strange results, do not be surprised if Dallas go far.