Lee Nguyen knows FC Dallas well
FRISCO — FC Dallas is a team Lee Nguyen knows well. The New England midfielder and Richardson native grew up an FCD fan, occasionally trained with the club during the off-season and nearly joined the franchise on several occasions.
FCD most recently tried to sign him in December 2011 as one of six teams participating in a weighted lottery for his rights. Vancouver won the lottery and released him in March 2012. However, the Revolution signed the Plano East product one day later, and the flank midfielder had five goals and two assists in 30 games last season.
Revs coach Jay Heaps sees much to like in Nguyen.
“Lee has shown not only that he has a very good sense of the game, but his ability on the ball is unbelievable,” Heaps said. “He continues to get better, and we need him to continue to impact the game for us. When he plays well, our team really plays well. His technical ability is I think pretty unmatched. What he can do sometimes with the ball is pretty amazing.”
Nguyen, 26, came to MLS after spending several years in Vietnam, where he was a rock star as the first American to play in the V-League, that nation’s top division. Before that, he played in the Netherlands and Denmark after spending one season at Indiana University.
Nguyen doesn’t dwell on what might have happened had he come straight to MLS after leaving college.
“I did take the little crazy path coming back. It made me who I am as a player and a person,” Nguyen said. “It was a great experience and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Last April, he started and played 90 minutes for the Revolution in a 1-0 loss to FCD in Frisco. On Saturday, New England gets another shot at Dallas, this time at Gillette Stadium, where the Revs haven’t lost to FCD since 2003.
“I grew up watching them since I was little,” Nguyen said of FC Dallas. “So it’s a little bittersweet to play against them. They have a great team and they’re doing really well right now. I think it’s going to be a good game.”
Facing FCD will allow him to square off against another Dallas-area product and a friend in FCD striker Kenny Cooper.
“Any time you can play your friends, it’s always great to go against them,” Nguyen said. “We know each other from way back. He was a couple years older than me, but I’ll always remember him because he was one of the top players out of Dallas for his age group.”
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