FC Dallas relied heavily on Jesus Ferreira’s goalscoring abilities during the 2022 MLS season and after an opening night hiccup against Minnesota United, the Western Conference club celebrated their first win of 2023 thanks to Ferreira’s heroics on Saturday night.
Ferreira scored twice in an eight-minute span as FC Dallas overcome a first-half deficit to defeat the L.A. Galaxy 3-1 at Toyota Stadium. It was the U.S. men’s national team striker’s first goals of the new calendar year after being held in check last week by the visiting Loons.
The 22-year-old delivered a stellar campaign in Estevez’s first season as head coach, contributing 18 goals as FC Dallas made the MLS Cup Playoffs. Now with two goals through his first two appearances of 2023, the sky is the limit for Ferreira to take another major step forward this year for club and country.
“I think it’s an amazing adventure what he has in front of him, and we’re here to help him and to guide him in that adventure,” Estévez said about Ferreira. “But we have to also be reasonable and know that humans have moments, and I think he’s having a moment of growth that will help him to overcome some things that are important for a young player like him.”
“We needed to give it to the fans,” Ferreira said. “We had to see what we did wrong in the first game that we weren’t able to take three points and apply it to this game. And I think the team was excited and ready for the challenge.”
FC Dallas’ dynamic attack of Ferreira, Paul Arriola, and Alan Velasco all played a role in the hosts comeback performance on Saturday. Velasco’s equalizing goal came in first-half stoppage time before Arriola’s headed pass to Ferreira in the 56th minute was slotted home by the striker to boost FC Dallas in front.
Paxton Pomykal’s through ball pass to Ferreira just eight minutes later was drilled home by the homegrown forward, padding FC Dallas’ lead for good. Ferreira’s growing role for FC Dallas will remain important as the 2023 schedule pushes forward, something Estevez credits to Ferreira’s time with the USMNT over the past 12 months.
https://twitter.com/FCDallas/status/1632217377491374082?s=20
“I think he, overall, [used] that learning experience that he had there to grow,” Estevez said of Ferreira’s time at the World Cup. “We can’t forget that he’s a very young player still [and] it’s his second year playing as a No. 9.
“I think we have to be very calm with him, help him to keep growing as a person, and as a player, and we’ll see what he can do in the future,” Estevez added.
FC Dallas next visits the Vancouver Whitecaps on March 11 before hosting Sporting Kansas City on March 18.
“All those demeaning him should be quiet until he turns 28 or so.”
So he deserves 6 years of indulgence?
So he’s going to look like Lewandoski 2 years after the World Cup?
I’m happy with that if you can guarantee that and as long as he’s nowhere near the USMNT 2026 WC squad in the meantime.
Ferreiea is only 22. All those demeaning him should be quiet until he turns 28 or so. Like all young players, really like all players, he has strengths weaknesses, many of those can be fixed. By all reports, he is bright and willing to work hard and learn. You could probably say the same for Sargent, Reyna, Pepi, Dike, Hoppe and. others. Even the “old guys” in the striker pool like Haji, 24, and Pefok, 26, are not so old you can’t expect some improvement. Sure some will falter, but if you can say with absolutely certainty which will fail and which will go on real stardom, there are a whole bunch of top level teams who would like to have your knowledge.
Even Lewandowski did not become the great goal-scorer he is now until he was 23 or 24 and he continued to improve after that. Of course some players like Benzema, C. Ronaldo, and Messi excelled professionally at the highest level even at young ages.
“All those demeaning him should be quiet until he turns 28 or so.”
So he deserves 6 years of indulgence?
So he’s going to look like Lewandoski 2 years after the World Cup?
I’m happy with that if you can guarantee that and as long as he’s nowhere near the USMNT 2026 WC squad in the meantime.
re ferreira, to me he’s a false 9 or second striker type who shows back and combines on the ground with his support players. i liked him if we put some technical players out there eg reyna, and they can play off each other and wall ball to the net. because he will hand out assists as much as try to score.
the problem is if we are on autopilot as some whack it in crossing team, he doesn’t fit that, but then neither does sargent or a few guys. but then that speaks to the fundamental attacking problem of recent years ie the concept seems to be to build from the back like pep — risky and a lot of work — but then try to finish attacks with low percentage wing crossing, and from wingbacks instead of the high quality wing talent.
i actually am not opposed to 2 forward schemes because i think we need to be more defensively sound in shape. however we need to quit lazy crossing and/or players out there “because” rather than they fit the scheme and with each other. the irony of GB is he keeps mentioning “player profiles” as a reason to cut people but then the team he puts out there looks like it hasn’t played together before, and like several aren’t scheme fits. so maybe pick to a scheme like we acted like we were doing. ferreira fits certain schemes and not others. if the scheme is same ol same ol i think we just saw in qatar he was useless at the highest level, move on. if we play some other way, we can talk. i wish we were trying to feed more players in the box to feet anyway, and he’d fit that…..
I don’t know if these are better options for a 2 striker front but here’s mine. Let me have the 3-5-2 as my formation.
CP & Pefok, CP & Wright, CP & J Mo. CP & Vasquez; or Weah & Sargent, Weah & Dike, Weah & J Mo; or Pefok & BA, Wright & BA, Vasquez & BA, Dike & BA, Ebobisse & BA; or Sargent & Tillman, Tillman & Hoppe, Tillman & Pefok, Tillman & Dike, Tillman & Vasquez; outside the box unconventional – Hoppe & Dike; Green & Weah, Green & Sargent, Green & CP; or LDT & CP, or Zendejas & Pepi, Zendejas & Sargent and that’s just off the top of my head. I have to add that Ferreira & Pepi are a proven commodity. Check how many g’s & a’s, chances created, shots on goal, they had together in one whole MLS season before Pepi went to Augsburg. (Jesus scored 1 goal, and Pepi played half a season the year prior). To have both Jesus & Pepi competing for the same position was self defeating. I would like to see Jesus in LM for the US. He doesn’t have a vertical game, meaning vertical jumping ability, but everything you want in two-way midfielder. Jesus doesn’t suck, he’s just being played out of position with the Nats. The elephant in the room has always been LM, not CF or backup LB. Why is it always LB to LW and we rarely see the LM involved in a bit of 3 man run of play?
Point of clarification are you saying in place of Jedi or inside Jedi? Why not as the AM instead of the LM? I don’t remember Ferreira ever being on the left, although Nick really let’s him to where ever he wants.
Nico not Nick, kindle autocorrect is horrible.
Overstood JR! In a 3-5-2 Ferreira is 2nd striker or up top. In a 4-3-3 he’s in between CP -LW, Jesus- LM, Jedi- LB. Ideally for me, in a 4-3-3 -I would like to see Weah, Jesus, & Jedi on the same side (1st strike- speed & power) and have CP, McKennie, Dest on the other side (possession & decision making) of formation.
I still want him with the USMNT. I think he would be great in a two striker formation.
Not saying he can’t have a roll with the USMNT, but he’s 4th or deeper at CF and probably 3rd behind Weah & Pulisic if we were to play a 2 striker formation.
Not disagreeing with you, but who do you place ahead of him?
I’m guessing Sargent, Pepi and Pefok?
In a 2 Striker set up? I think he’s about equal to Pepi, in terms of production and how they don’t work as well in a single striker set up.
I wonder what Dike will do to the shake up if he keeps scoring in the Championship?
I like him as a left or especially a right winger, personally. He’s got really snaky moves on the ball and is a very good dribbler, and the guy is both fast and sudden. I also like the fact that as a RW he’s very inclined to pinch inside and make runs down the middle channel, which opens up the space on the outside right channel that our outside backs like Dest and Yedlin really like to get into, and it can at times get a guy who’s a really great finisher onto the field. I like him a lot better than Jordan Morris, for instance.
I think he’s got both a USMNT and a European-league future, but I think it’s likely as a winger and not a striker.
If they had a 2 striker formation the USMNT potentially has better options.
I’ve seen most of his US games going back to Olympic qualifying.
Every time, it’s the same thing. Why is he there?
Couldn’t you say that about all the strikers in the pool? Which is kind of the problem right? None of them have great scoring rates for the NT and are streaky for their clubs. They seem to all go 5 goals in 5 matches then 10 without.
What better options? Curious to hear these better options?
JR
“Couldn’t you say that about all the strikers in the pool?”
No. Not even close.
The others all have unrealized potential, meaning I’ve seen evidence that if they can be their best selves, they can do the job for the USMNT.
The USMNT missed Josh after he got injured in Qatar.
Ferreira started vs the Netherlands. Did anyone notice?
The others have ceilings they haven’t reached yet. Ferreira seems to be in the attic above his ceiling already.
Ferreira has Wondo syndrome. Great in MLS but unable to bring that greatness to the USMNT.
He’s had LOTS of chances to give us reason to hope and so far all we get is despair. We saw it with Lletget and Ariolla, then Yueill, then Long and now Ferreira.
How many examples of throwing good money after bad do they need?
Will Vasquez be the same? If USMNT capped him half as much as they have Ferreira, they might actually find out. Wouldn’t you rather waste caps on Zendejas rather than wasting any more time on Ferreira?
Instead they seem to insist on pissing away caps on this guy.
Ferreira was so awful in Olympic qualifying that I was shocked that he got back into the picture with the senior team.
I get it , he did well with Dallas and that Gregg saw him as the man to make his fake 9 go but Gregg’s judgement is not always perfect.
When Ferreira puts on that fugly USMNT jersey he goes back to looking weak, slow and useless. An embarrassment.
The best option for Ferreira, right now, is maybe as a reserve for the mascot spot behind Roldan and Long.