Alan Velasco's coming around to life in MLS at just the right time

FRISCO — The last time Alan Velasco was voted FC Dallas' Man of the Match, the cowboy hat the club puts on the top player's head wandered off.

So after Saturday's 4-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, he wasn't letting it out of his sight.

"The last time I couldn’t take it! I don’t know, what happened, if they hid it from me or what, but right now I’m taking this one home to remember it by," Velasco told The Striker after the match. "I’m happy. It’s a really good-looking hat."

The best part for FCD fans is the Stetson isn't the only bit of Texas that Velasco is fitting into better and better.

The Argentine winger had his best game of the season Saturday, with the goal and the assist only the beginning of an assured performance.

Despite promising a Striker reporter a goal after Thursday's training session, Velasco passed up an early chance to set up Jesus Ferreira and ended the night with four key passes in addition to the assist.

"I knew if I did things well, it was going to come. It was just a feeling I had during the week, and luckily it came off — and it was even better with the victory," Velasco said.

FCD manager Nico Estévez meets weekly with the 20-year-old and said he's often reminded that the player is in a new country and a new league for the first time since leaving Argentina. 

This week, Estévez said, the message during the meeting was simple: "You’re doing a lot of things well. Simply this last pass, maybe you’re sending it really strong or you’re not seeing things well enough. Be calm because you have the skill and ability to do it."

But Velasco isn't sitting back and waiting to have the coaching staff help him get better. He's working individually with a nutritionist and becoming even more confident about his game.

"He’s in great shape, physically he’s got a nutritionist and has changed a number of eating habits," Estévez said. "I think all that is helping him get the level physically. He understands the league better, we better understand how to utilize him and I think all these things are coming together and he’s being able to feel comfortable."

His teammates are trying to help too. With a picture of Diego Maradona tattooed across his back, it should come as no surprise that Velasco has a strong respect for those who have come before them. That's why he sought out FCD forward Franco Jara upon arrival, looking to learn from a player who played three seasons in Europe, where Velasco hopes he'll be playing sooner rather than later.

The younger players on the team also have been doing their part to make sure Velasco feels at home in North Texas after leaving Independiente, the only club he'd known before his winter move.

"He's young. He's coming to a different country, away from family. For me, it's trying to make him feel comfortable. Everyone can see his talent, so now it's just trying to help him grow, help him mature in the league," said left back Marco Farfan. 

After landing on the MLS Team of the Week for the third time this season, Velasco now is turning his attention to the last eight matches on the FCD regular season schedule and, he hopes, a playoff spot in his first season in the league.

If he can continue to show the form he showed Saturday, he'll need room for more hats.