If you had said FC Dallas would meet the New York Red Bulls in the 2011 MLS Cup playoffs, the assumption would have probably been that it would be in the finals. FC Dallas was, after all, coming off a finals appearance last year and was largely expected to only get better with another year of experience. The Red Bulls were coming off their most successful regular season in history and some were calling them the best team MLS could buy heading into the 2011 campaign.
MLS Cup Playoffs 2011, Preview: Neither FC Dallas Nor New York Red Bulls Expected This
FC Dallas and the Red Bulls both entered the season with hopes of winning a first-ever MLS Cup. Now one of their seasons will end in the wild-card round.
The thought that these teams would be meeting in the wild card round of the playoffs would have been almost unthinkable. Yet, here we are on the eve of their Wednesday night matchup trying to assess what happened to these two promising teams. In both cases, we can safely say that lack of serious depth got the most of them.
In the case of FC Dallas, their depth was tested in their first ever foray into the CONCACAF Champions League. It’s probably too early to say they failed that test, but it should come as no surprise that they aren’t giving much indication that a return trip is something they relish in the near future.
FC Dallas got off to a 13-5-5 record and was even on the outskirts of the Supporters’ Shield race. Since then, though, they have gone 2-5-0 and were actually in danger of missing the playoffs before winning two of their final three games.
The major culprit was roundly considered to be fatigue and distraction. Brek Shea was being run ragged while traveling all over the globe with FC Dallas and the United States national team, George John was flirting with Blackburn Rovers and Designated Player Fabian Castillo spent a good chunk of the summer playing for the Colombian U20 team.
For a good chunk of the season, the Toros seemed perfectly capable of overcoming the loss of last year's MLS MVP David Ferreira to an injury that ended up costing him the final 28 games of the regular season, but it ultimately proved too much. Coach Schellas Hyndman also threw cold water on the likelihood of Ferreira returning to the field anytime soon, recently saying that his star midfielder's only real chance of playing is if FC Dallas made the finals. They are also likely to be without midfielder Ricardo Villar, who is still recovering from a foot injury.
The Red Bulls’ struggles have been similar, but seem to have been more the making of coach Hans Backe’s insistence on using a short bench. The Red Bulls have been hit as hard as any team by national team call-ups, which has helped keep them from finding the kind of rhythm teams usually find during the dog days of summer.
Backe has not made his life any easier, though, as he seems unwilling to use the players at his disposal. Just seven players have made as many as five appearances off the bench and only four players could be reasonably dubbed regular reserves. For the most part, Backe seems content to pick his starting XI and let them finish it off.
The strategy has yielded mostly frustrating results. While just two teams had fewer than the Red Bulls' eight losses, no playoff team had fewer than their 10 wins. Their 16 ties ended up setting a new MLS record (which they now share with the Chicago Fire, who had the same number of ties this season).
Interestingly enough, both of these teams are perfectly capable of beating just about anyone in the field. The Red Bulls and FC Dallas each beat both the Sounders and Galaxy, the league's top two teams. They also have some head-scratching losses on their resumes: FC Dallas lost both their matches against the lowly Earthquakes and the Red Bulls claimed just one point against Chivas USA.
This could be the point where one of these teams turns around their season and makes a serious run. It will also be where one of their seasons comes to a much earlier end than either expected.
For more on the MLS Cup playoffs, be sure to check out SB Nation Soccer. For more on FC Dallas, visit Big D Soccer. For more on the Red Bulls, visit Once a Metro.
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