The following quotes were obtained at FC Dallas training on the 26th of October by one of 3rd Degree's frequent contributors.

Talk about facing Real Salt Lake again?

“They’re a very good team. They’re defending champions and this is where last year they really turned it on, in the playoffs. They kept that going the whole year. I have a lot of respect for them. They’re a very good team and an experienced, effective team. For us, it’s a new season and an opportunity to play and continue to chase our dreams of bringing a championship to Dallas.”

What do the six players with playoff experience bring to your team?

“I think they’ll bring that experience since they’re players that have been there. If you look at our roster, very few of our players have been to the playoffs. Our mentality is to take it like we’ve taken every game this year. A lot of our games have been playoff like environments. We’ve been in competitive games and this is going to be another of those competitive games. The difference is a continuation of competing for a championship or being eliminated. These are high-pressure games.”

Javier Morales did some damage against you last time you faced RSL.

“He did and I thought Beckerman made some good plays as well as Espindola and Saborio. Those are key players that caused us some problems. They have Johnson coming in, Andy Williams coming in and Findley. They really have a good strike force. But in regards to Morales, a very skillful player, great vision, good first touch, very good on free kicks and the killer pass. He’s a lot like David is for us. So we’ve got to be very concerned about him as we are about them as a team.”

Is it important to play well at home in the opening game?

“I think both teams realize that they’re going to have a home game. When you look at their record at home, they’ve done extremely well. I don’t think they’ve lost in 25 games or so forth. We realize how important our home game is as well. If we are able to get the home result we want to get and then go there and do something special, I think it would meet our needs. Saying that, all home games are important in this league and we’re a team that like most teams, has done very well at home. We’re going into this game with everything we possibly can to have success.”

Your thoughts on your first playoff game as a pro coach?

“I think it’s fantastic. For me, it’s a pressure that’s been with us all year, the pressure that as coaches we put on players and as coaches we put on ourselves. So the pressure is not the issue. For me, it’s just the players getting a good performance. You look at our game against Salt Lake. We lose 2-0 but we didn’t have a bad game. Look at our game against LA. We lose 2-1 but we didn’t have a bad game. But we have to have a better game. So, we had too many people that had solid performances but didn’t have good performances. What we need is more people to have good performances.”

Has the constant shuffling in the back contributed to all the goals being let in?

“I think that’s part of it. I think it’s also the potential MVP of the league in the goal isn’t there. That’s the reality. When you look at the saves he has made, the key saves that Kevin has made, he was always good for one a game where he’d make a fantastic save. The other thing you really miss is the coordination between goalkeeping and back line. Yes, you have changes in players but you also have to have coordination and communication. I think Dario has done a good job for us but when you look at why we’re giving up those goals, it’s a combination of the changing of the players and then the communication and the coordination.”

Is it impossible at this point to get that cohesion back in the defense?

“It’s obviously going to be a challenge but I also think this team has exceeded expectations. Let’s not be so concerned with how hard it’s going to be to get it back. They’re going to get it back because they’re special.”

Is it a benefit to have players like Eric Avila and Brek Shea coming off the bench in the playoffs?

“They both helped us. When you get players like that coming off the bench for you to add a little bit of spark in the attack, that was what we needed against LA. After we gave up that silly goal early in the second half, we really took the game to them. I think our fitness level, our demands and ability to get forward really helped. Those are two guys that we definitely will be thinking about getting on the field.”