Welcome to the new season! With FC Dallas opening 2024 with a win over San Jose, and North Texas SC in preseason, it’s time to dust off our power ranking of all 49 contracted players.
There is nothing scientific about this, we’re just looking at who is playing, who we and our colleagues in the media are talking about, and who the fans have been lifting up or slamming down. At the end of the day, it’s all just a bit of fun.
Starting XI
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illarramendi, Asier FCD (M) | High: 1 | Low: 1 | — 0 | Illarra was most everyone’s Man of the Match in game 1 of 2024. At 34 he’s FCD’s most polished and complete player. He ran the most miles in that opener, which is amazing, but isn’t something we want him to be doing. |
| 2 | Paes, Maarten FCD (G) | High: 2 | Low: 2 | — 0 | One of the best keepers in MLS. Pikced up in game 1 where he left off 2023. |
| 3 | Tafari, Nkosi FCD (D) | High: 3 | Low: 3 | — 0 | FCD’s best defender is reaching a new level of play and leadership. It’s his defense. |
| 4 | Arriola, Paul FCD (F) | High: 4 | Low: 4 | — 0 | Arriola is healthy and playing well. He played with an edge in the 2nd half against San Jose and had a better performance than in the 1st. FCD needs him to be good. |
| 5 | Fraser, Liam FCD (M) | High: 5 | Low: 5 | — 0 | FCD’s surprise positive addition mid-2023. He’s been a solid and steady influence with Paxton Pomykal out. Fraser can provide that physical side when needed. |
| 6 | Ferreira, Jesus FCD (F) | High: 6 | Low: 6 | — 0 | Ferreira was cleared to resume full training on Friday before the season opener but, unsurprisingly, didn’t make the bench. |
| 7 | Sealy, Dante FCD (M) | High: 7 | Low: 7 | — 0 | The surprise performer of the spring. Is this real or a false dawn? Signs are pointing both ways. Can he hold the spot in the XI and our rankings? |
| 8 | Kamungo, Bernard FCD (F) | High: 8 | Low: 8 | — 0 | Bernie got the opening day start over Lletget but didn’t look great. He’s the wrong profile for this tactical shape, is the coach forcing him into the XI? |
| 9 | Junqua, Sam FCD (D) | High: 9 | Low: 9 | — 0 | Junqua was solid as the left center back in game one and his corners were above average. What a wonderful roster piece he is. |
| 10 | Ibeagha, Sebastien FCD (D) | High: 10 | Low: 10 | — 0 | Is father time catching up? At times lacked the pace and looked stiff. And it’s just game 1. |
| 11 | Pomykal, Paxton FCD (M) | High: 11 | Low: 11 | — 0 | Pomykal was cleared to resume full training on Friday before the season opener but, unsurprisingly, didn’t make the bench. |
In the Mix
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Musa, Petar FCD (F) | High: 12 | Low: 12 | — 0 | The Moose has his visa and arrived in town on Sunday. With a week of training… Start or nah this weekend? |
| 13 | Farfan, Marco FCD (D) | High: 13 | Low: 13 | — 0 | Farfan is out a bit longer with a hairline fracture in a vertebra. Not a concern, just painful. Can he regain a starting spot? |
| 14 | Farrington, Logan FCD (F) | High: 14 | Low: 14 | — 0 | What a debut, Buzz’s Man of the Match with an amazing 1st rookie performance in the start in the home opener. |
| 15 | Lletget, Sebastian FCD (M) | High: 15 | Low: 15 | — 0 | Just late bench minutes so far didn’t get the opening day start in favor of Kamungo. |
| 16 | Endeley, Herbert FCD (D) | High: 16 | Low: 16 | — 0 | Got the opening day start almost by default, cause injures. But he did have a good spring… and a poor 1st game. |
| 17 | Maurer, Jimmy FCD (G) | High: 17 | Low: 17 | — 0 | Steady and a big locker room influence. |
| 18 | Gonzalez, Omar FCD (D) | High: 18 | Low: 18 | — 0 | Gonzalez has looked solid in spring games. He’s clearly happy to be here. |
| 19 | Twumasi, Ema FCD (D) | High: 19 | Low: 19 | — 0 | He’s been back for a week or so but is clearly not game fit. Yet he looked better in game 1 than Endeley. RWB will probably be Twumasi’s to lose. |
| 20 | Ansah, Eugene FCD (F) | High: 20 | Low: 20 | — 0 | Lost out to Farrington on the opening day start. That’s not a good sign. Just a depth piece right now. |
Second Team
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Ntsabeleng, Tsiki FCD (M) | High: 21 | Low: 21 | — 0 | Tsiki got that all-important – for a guy like him – green card. Now can he get some PT? |
| 22 | Norris, Nolan FCD (M) | High: 22 | Low: 22 | — 0 | Named a 6 by his coach but is still being used at center back. Looks full-time with FCD, not getting NTX PT. Would a USL-C loan be good for him? |
| 23 | Carrera, Antonio FCD (G) | High: 23 | Low: 23 | — 0 | Got the fantastic oppertunity loan to North Carolina FC. Good move, now perform. |
| 24 | Scott, Tarik FCD (F) | High: 24 | Low: 24 | — 0 | It’s so good to see him back playing, he’s been excelling for NTX in scrimmages. |
| 25 | Garcia, Diego NTX (M) | High: 25 | Low: 25 | — 0 | One of the big surprises of the ’24 spring and was getting big PT in Spain. The kid’s a fast-rising gamer. Can he be a homegrown? |
| 26 | Sali, Enes FCD (F) | High: 26 | Low: 26 | — 0 | Bursty and active, dangerous in moments with pace. But he’s struggling at times. Getting sent on the NTX road trip isn’t good with 1 bench spot open for FCD. |
| 27 | Korca, Amet FCD (D) | High: 27 | Low: 27 | — 0 | Out a month with a left groin issue. But had a solid spring. |
| 28 | Pedrinho NTX (M) | High: 28 | Low: 28 | — 0 | Looks like the real deal and early signs are Pehrinho could be one of the better foreign signings in NTX history An exciting player. |
| 29 | Sainte, Carl NTX (M) | High: 29 | Low: 29 | — 0 | Got a lot of first team work as a 6 and a CB this spring, invited to Spain. Will he be NTX captain this year? Needs a big season. |
| 30 | Urzua, Alejandro FCD (M) | High: 30 | Low: 30 | — 0 | Urzua has taken a step forward and matured but is behind Garcia in progression. Although the two young mids play slightly different positions. |
| 31 | Gordon, Nico FCD (F) | High: 31 | Low: 31 | — 0 | Tall CB signed from Birmingham City. He’s been starting for NTX in scrimmages so far. Intriguing profile. |
| 32 | Delgado, Patrickson FCD (M) | High: 32 | Low: 32 | — 0 | He just got here. We have no clue what kind of player FCD has in this Ecudorian yet. |
In Reserve
| Rank | Trending | Comments | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Pepi, Diego NTX (F) | High: 33 | Low: 33 | — 0 | So far he’s getting the starts at the 9 for NTX. He’s undersized but he’s got a will. |
| 34 | Pondeca, Tomas FCD (M) | High: 34 | Low: 34 | — 0 | We’ve not been seeing much of him in first team action. |
| 35 | Collodi, Michael NTX (G) | High: 35 | Low: 35 | — 0 | He’s been solid for NTX in net. Showing leadership potential already. |
| 36 | Henry-Scott, Malik FCD (F) | High: 36 | Low: 36 | — 0 | Started an NTX game at wingback but didn’t travel to Houston with a knock. FCD Homegrown. |
| 37 | Parker, Isaiah FCD (M) | High: 37 | Low: 37 | — 0 | It’s clear he’s not the coach’s favorite. Left out of the Spain trip. With Farfan out, he’s been getting reps in 1st team training. |
| 38 | Taboada, Lautaro NTX (F) | High: 38 | Low: 38 | — 0 | Losing out on starts at the 9 to Pepi. That’s not good. |
| 39 | Ramirez, Anthony NTX (M) | High: 39 | Low: 39 | — 0 | #1 on the potential FCD academy signings list back in December (and on the list for years), and here he is signed! |
| 40 | Molina, Malachi NTX (D) | High: 40 | Low: 40 | — 0 | A dangerous attacking back but he’s on a short contract. |
| It41 | Lacy, Dylan NTX (M) | High: 41 | Low: 41 | — 0 | Mostly coming off the bench for NTX this spring. Straight NTX contract. Had a game-winning goal this weekend. |
| 42 | Orejarena, Leonardo NTX (M) | High: 42 | Low: 42 | — 0 | The 16-year-old mid, signed from Barca Arizona. Mostly he’s been playing for the U17s but has been getting minutes with NTX since camp opened. |
| 43 | Zanne, Abdoul NTX (M) | High: 43 | Low: 43 | — 0 | On loan from Mimosas but we havne’t seen him a ton. |
| 44 | Londe, Leonard NTX (F) | High: 44 | Low: 44 | — 0 | Open trialist signing. |
| 45 | Darub, Victor NTX (G) | High: 45 | Low: 45 | — 0 | 18 year old keeper from Flamengo. Not sure he’s played yet. |
| 46 | Jesus, Geovane FCD (D) | High: 46 | Low: 46 | — 0 | Out till midseason, give or take, with the ACL tear. |
| 47 | Velasco, Alan FCD (M) | High: 47 | Low: 47 | — 0 | Out till late July or August with the ACL tear. |
| 48 | Rose, Tyshawn NTX (D) | High: 48 | Low: 48 | — 0 | Interesting prospect but he’s hurt. One of the more dynamic players NTX has grabbed from college. |
| 49 | Mulato, Jose FCD (F) | High: 49 | Low: 49 | — 0 | Mulato was told he isn’t in the plans for 2024 and didn’t report. Technically, he’s still on the FCD books but we expect something to change soon. |
So there we have it, Asier Illarramendi broke Jesus Ferreira‘s year-long grip on first place towards the end of 2023 and he starts 2024 on top.
At the other end, Jose Mulato has been scouring the globe to find a new club. Currently, back in Colombia, he’s been in Turkey and reportedly speaking to teams in Slovenia. His roster status is loaned out, but there hasn’t been an announcement as to who, so it’s possible North Texas SC is stashing his roster status while he finds a new club.
Will Herbert Endeley get back to his preseason form? Will Petar Musa charge up the rankings when he gets on the field? I guess we’ll just have to wait until next time to find out.
I love this ranking every year! Thanks for all you do, Buzz.
You’re welcome. Glad you enjoy them!
Bernie had 85% passing, 1 chance created, 2/3 successful dribbles, 1 cross, 2 long balls, 2/2 tackles won, 1 clearance, 1 headed clearance, 3 defensive actions, 1 recovery, 9/10 duels won and 5 fouls drawn. In his first game playing 10. I think he had a way better game than people give him credit for and he’s only getting better from here.
As a 10, dont care so much about the D, although 9/10 duels is nice. 2/3 dibbles is ok.
What bothered me was how lost he was in a formation/tactical sense. He was disconnected from the shape and out of position.
But he’s still a good player, so he did good things are times.
Understandable. I think part of that comes from his lack of academy background. He’s still learning the tactics of the professional game but I think he’s gonna be a lot better by mid season.
100%. agree
I think that eugene is better overall compared to farrington and should be getting more starts. Is yet to start for dallas outside of preseason. Nico, give him a chance!
I mean more starts when musa or Ferreira are not healthy or available.
I had a question about Pepi. Is his contract a hybrid deal? I noticed his was the same length as Malachi’s (Him signing 10 days prior iirc) or is his contract shorter because of his age kinda like college players who have a shorter timeframe to prove themselves?
My source tell me Pepi’s deal is a straight NTX deal. His deal is an NTX deal and shorter because he wasn’t a prime Academy talent. He came through late from ECNL and only got Academy PT retroactively after he trained with NTX. He also didn’t have any big college offers the club needed to outbid. He’s got a tougher road.
Were decisions made regarding Turner Humphrey and Mads Westergren?
They didn’t make FCD. Both are with North Texas SC. No official word on if they will get offers, but I assume both will get them.