Tag: FC Dallas

Amid accusations, Lletget admits to ‘moment I regret deeply’

“A 10-minute lapse in judgment resulted in an extortion plot”

Sebastián Lletget appears to have screwed up pretty bad.

Lletget is currently embroiled in a very public scandal in which he’s been accused of cheating on his fiancée, pop star Becky G.

The FC Dallas midfielder appeared to admit at least some kind of wrongdoing in a lengthy Instagram post on Monday, saying that a “10-minute lapse in judgment resulted in an extortion plot.”

Last week, an Instagram user alleged that Lletget cheated on Becky G last year in Madrid, and seemingly had proof in the form of pictures, audio, text messages and direct messages. The user’s account has since been deleted, but the posts went viral.

After missing FC Dallas’s 2-1 loss at LAFC on Saturday due to “personal reasons,” Lletget admitted to “a moment I regret deeply” in his Instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqS4TsyM5Vs/

“I have decided to commit myself to a mental wellness program to work on the parts of me that deeply need healing,” Lletget said before offering an apology to Becky G.

“To Becky, you have been the light in my life, my strength, who has always shown me unconditional love. Instead of honoring that love every day, I have done the opposite, hurting you, and disrespecting the one person I love more than anything. I am so sorry and know I have to do whatever it takes to earn back the trust and love you deserve.

“To my FC Dallas family, my fans, friends & family, thank you for your love and support. I will do my best to be my best.”

The couple got engaged in December 2022.

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Josh Lambo retires from pro sports after career in MLS and NFL

Josh Lambo is hanging up his boots — and cleats — after spending time both in MLS and the NFL.

Josh Lambo just wrapped up a unique career.

Lambo, 32, announced Friday that he is retiring from professional sports after playing both soccer and American football in the United States.

“Today, I officially retire from pro sports. 4 years in MLS and 7 in the NFL have led me to things I could only dream of, and now I want to help others accomplish their goals as I become a speaker and author,” Lambo tweeted. “Thank you to the fans that supported me and the teammates I worked [with].”

After playing goalkeeper at the IMG Academy in high school, Lambo was selected by FC Dallas in the first round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. His MLS career never took off, but Lambo did make four appearances for FC Tampa Bay (now known as the Rowdies) while on loan in 2010.

Lambo also made two appearances for the U.S. U-17 national team and four starts for the U-20 team. After his soccer career stalled, Lambo attended Texas A&M University as a placekicker from 2012-2014.

The GK-turned-K later joined the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2015. He went on to spend eight years in the NFL, converting 128 of his 147 field goal attempts with a career long of 59 yards. Lambo scored 530 points in the NFL and earned second-team All-Pro recognition in 2019.

Lambo spent time with four NFL teams, including a five-year run with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2017 to 2021.

Several NFL wide receivers have dabbled in soccer, from Odell Beckham Jr. to Chad Johnson to Allen Lazard — but the most natural position that translates between both sports is kicker.

Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa kicked 55-yard field goals with ease at the Houston Texans’ practice facility last summer. The USMNT’s once-capped Tanner Tessmann has also dabbled in gridiron football’s kicking duties.

The most notable fútbol-to-football success story is Toni Fritsch, who won three Austrian league titles with Rapid Vienna before going on to play 14 seasons in the NFL as a kicker, winning a Super Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys.

Lambo’s soccer career didn’t go the way he hoped, but a 12-year career in pro sports is no small feat. Best wishes to him in his post-playing endeavors.

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Austin FC’s dream season rolls on to the Western Conference final

Sebastián Driussi scored the winner on an electric night at Q2 Stadium

Austin FC finished one point out of last place in 2021, its expansion season. One year later, Josh Wolff’s team is in the Western Conference final.

The Verde’s dream 2022 continued on Sunday night when they defeated Texas rival FC Dallas 2-1 in the conference semifinal at Q2 Stadium.

The game turned in three first-half minutes, during which the home side scored the two goals they would need on the night.

Moussa Djitté found the net when the ball broke to him off a corner kick in the 26th minute. Three minutes later, league MVP finalist Sebastián Driussi took advantage of a turnover to net an outstanding solo goal that would end up being the game-winner.

FC Dallas produced an improved second half, highlighted by Alan Velasco’s 65th-minute goal to give them a lifeline, but they could not produce the equalizer they needed to force the game into extra time. Brad Stuver was a big reason behind that.

The Austin goalkeeper produced one of the biggest saves of his career with the clock winding down in the second half, denying Jáder Obrian’s point-blank header to keep his side in front.

Second-seeded Austin will now travel to face top seed LAFC on Sunday in the conference final. Wolff said that matchup is what he expected all along.

“It’s what it should have been, it’s what it was always going to be,” the coach said on ESPN after the game, “so we look forward to the opportunity.”

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USMNT striker Jesus Ferreira named MLS Young Player of the Year

The 21-year-old edged out Thiago Almada and Brenner in the voting

Major League Soccer has announced that FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira has been named the 2022 MLS Young Player of the Year.

The award honors the top player in the league age 22 and under, and was instated in 2020 to replace the Rookie of the Year award.

Ferreira had a prolific 2022 season, scoring 18 goals to tie the FC Dallas single-season record. With none of those goals coming from the spot, Ferreira was also tied for the MLS lead in non-penalty goals in 2022.

The striker topped fellow finalists Thiago Almada of Atlanta United and Brenner of FC Cincinnati.

The 21-year-old is the second straight FCD player to win the award after Ricardo Pepi earned the honor in 2021.

The ex-teammates at club level could be reunited on the USMNT World Cup roster, with Ferreira looking to be a near-lock while Pepi is battling for another of Gregg Berhalter’s striker spots.

Media vote puts Ferreira over the top

Ferreira earned 32.4% of the total vote for the award, with the votes split between MLS club technical staffs, media, and current MLS players. Almada came in second with 17.27% and Brenner was third with 8.17%.

Almada actually topped Ferreira among players and technical staffs but the media pushed the FCD striker over the edge, giving him a whopping 58.5% of the vote compared to less than 10% for both Almada and Brenner.

Ferreira and FC Dallas got past Minnesota United in their playoff opener Monday night, setting up a Western Conference semifinal showdown against in-state rival Austin FC.

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Alan Velasco sends FC Dallas through with a cold-blooded Panenka

The 20-year-old asked to be the fifth penalty taker and did not disappoint

With a chance to beat Minnesota United in a penalty shootout and send FC Dallas to the conference semis, Alan Velasco went for the audacious.

Velasco’s cold-blooded Panenka theatrically sailed just over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who nearly kept the ball out from the seat of his pants.

A sold-out Toyota Park erupted as FC Dallas sealed its place in the Western Conference semifinal against Texas rival Austin FC.

Emanuel Reynoso had given the visitors a second-half lead before Facundo Quignón found the equalizer for FC Dallas. After two scoreless periods of extra time, the game went into a shootout tied 1-1.

That’s when Velasco, despite being only 20 and in his first season with FC Dallas, asked to take responsibility.

“Nico [Estévez, FC Dallas head coach] asked who wanted to shoot and I told him I wanted to be the fifth taker,” Velasco said after the game.

FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes made one stop in the shootout and FC Dallas converted all its kicks. That set the stage for Velasco.

He was ready for the moment.

Watch Velasco’s game-winning Panenka

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The MLS playoffs begin with three days of potential upsets and chaos

Thoughts and predictions from every opening-round playoff match

After the obligatory long, strange trip, the MLS playoffs are here.

The first round will feature six one-off games, with the higher seeds all hosting. While LAFC and the Philadelphia Union kick their feet up and watch, the remaining playoff sides will try to navigate a first round that is typically volatile. If your playoff predictions are looking pretty chalky, you’re probably off base.

Pro Soccer Wire is ready for the kind of drama MLS virtually always manages to conjure up at this time of the year, and we’re diving into each and every first round match-up with analysis, broadcast information, and predictions.

MLS playoff brackets are set after Decision Day drama

Thoughts on every playoff pairing after Decision Day’s drama

It’s officially playoff time in MLS.

Sunday afternoon saw some high tension in the Eastern Conference that ended with Orlando City coming back to secure the final playoff spot over the Columbus Crew. For the Crew, a season of lost leads ended with Facundo Torres netting an 84th minute penalty kick, giving the 2022 US Open Cup champions a win they had to have to get into the playoff spot.

Fans then watched Minnesota United and Real Salt Lake win the race for the last two spots in the West, defeating the Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers in what turned out to be effectively an appetizer for the actual postseason. Minnesota largely held Vancouver to little en route to a 2-0 win in St. Paul, while the Timbers controversially dropped midfielder Eryk Williamson and were run over by RSL, falling behind by three goals before a very late goal gave them a more respectable-sounding 3-1 loss.

While the playoff dates and times are yet to be announced, we now know all 14 playoff teams, and what the first round looks like.

Jesús Ferreira opens up on mental health and working with sports psychologist

“When things don’t go my way on the field or I mess up, I tend to shut down”

U.S. national team forward Jesús Ferreira has spoken out about his challenges with mental health on the field and how seeing a sports psychologist has helped him become a better player.

Ferreira is in the midst of a career year with FC Dallas, having scored 18 goals, and appears to be the frontrunner to start at striker for the USMNT when the World Cup kicks off in November.

Speaking to reporters from USMNT camp on Tuesday, Ferreira said that a goal-less stretch at the beginning of the season left him frustrated and led to several people in his support group rallying around him.

“At the beginning of this year was there were a good amount of games that I went in a row without scoring,” the 21-year-old said. “For me as a forward my goal is to score goals and so there’s a lot of pressure on myself and from myself, and I needed to focus on clearing that out of my mind and making sure that I knew that goals will come.

“I have a group of friends, group of coaches and group of teammates that came to me and made sure to let me know that I bring more to the team than just scoring, and that’s what led me to work on my mental health.”

Ferreira said that his agent suggested seeing a sports psychologist, whom the striker credits with helping him focus on the basics during games in which his end product is falling short.

“[I’ve been] working with a guy that has helped me understand that in games, I need to focus more on having a good touch, making sure that my press is good, making sure that my runs are good, making sure that I can come down and help [the team] on my first touch for the build-out. And so just making sure that I have a good game before I think about the final product.”

(Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports)

The striker is aware of what makes him tick on the field, admitting that at times he can get frustrated easily when he isn’t performing up to par.

“For me, I’ve always had a problem with my mood,” Ferreira said. “When things don’t go my way on the field or I mess up, I tend to shut down.”

Through his work with a sports psychologist Ferreira said he was now in a much better place, which could partially explain why 2022 has been the best year of his career thus far.

“Whenever I get frustrated, I can move on faster when things aren’t going my way,” Ferreira said. “Just think about positive things and making sure that I’m thinking about having a good game instead of my final product. Just little things like that have helped me stay focused on the game and stay present.”

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Jesús Ferreira and Paul Arriola caught LAFC asleep at the wheel

A heads-up play turned the tide of a high-profile MLS matchup

Saturday night’s high-profile showdown between FC Dallas and LAFC was turned on a heads-up play from FCD that made the visitors look a bit foolish.

Dallas trailed 1-0 late in the match despite a 13th-minute red card for LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead, with Chicho Arango’s goal the difference for the first-place visitors.

But everything turned in the 78th minute when LAFC’s Franco Escobar was whistled for a foul on Marco Farfan on the edge of the box. Escobar vociferously protested the call, which prompted his teammate Jesús Murillo to come over and try to calm him down.

In the meantime, Paul Arriola made quick eye contact with Jesús Ferreira, who slowly began drifting into the pocket of empty space that Murillo had vacated.

The result? A quick free kick, an opportunistic finish, and the game’s tying goal. Minutes later, Ferreira would score again to give the home side a 2-1 win. The USMNT forward reached 18 goals on the season, which tied a franchise record.

“We have that chemistry inside the field and outside the field,” Ferreira said of Arriola in a postgame interview on FCD’s local broadcast. “Whenever we can see each other and sense each other, we know that something’s going to come. So once I saw him pick up the ball, I knew that there was going to be a play and then I got on the end of it.”

Watch Ferreira’s opportunistic goal vs. LAFC

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USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi moves to Groningen on loan

Pepi’s heading to the Eredivisie

With the No. 9 role for the U.S. men’s national team up for grabs, Ricardo Pepi is on the move.

The USMNT striker is leaving Augsburg for a season-long loan with FC Groningen in the Eredivisie. Groningen did not announce further details, but Fabrizio Romano has reported there is no purchase clause involved in the deal.

“(Groningen) is a big club here in the Netherlands,” Pepi told the club’s site. “They’ve developed some great players: Luis Suarez, Virgil van Dijk, Arjen Robben. These are world-class players. I know this is a great club for me, and it’s gonna be a good season.”

“Ricardo is a great talent, who has an international reputation,” said Groningen technical director Mark-Jan Fledderus. “At the beginning of this month his name was mentioned to us and we have already had a conversation with him. Shortly afterwards his situation at Augsburg changed and his arrival seemed no longer an option for us. Until yesterday. We acted very quickly on this and last night Ricardo drove to Groningen to complete his transfer today.”

The move comes at a critical time for Pepi’s USMNT hopes. The competition for potential strikers on Gregg Berhalter’s roster for the World Cup is suddenly fierce, while Pepi’s candidacy has fallen off. Since making the jump from FC Dallas to Augsburg, Pepi hasn’t scored a goal at club level, and his last goal with the national team came back in October of last year.

Even with that drought and the addition of Bosnian striker Ermedin Demirovic as a new starter, Pepi had still appeared in every Augsburg match this season. However, he had clearly become a second-choice option for head coach Enrico Maassen, even with Augsburg generally playing with two strikers. So far this year, Pepi has 107 minutes spread across five appearances in all competitions, and only one start.

In that regard, a move to Groningen and the notoriously free-scoring Eredivisie makes sense. For one thing, Groningen needs the help: they’ve scored five goals in four games this season. It’s also a league where Americans have scored plenty of goals, going back to the days of Michael Bradley at Heerenveen and Jozy Altidore at AZ.

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