With preseason behind them, Dynamo ready for a new journey under Ben Olsen

With a clean canvas in front of him, Ben Olsen seeks to paint a successful season for Houston Dynamo FC.

It'll be a large-scale work to turn around a club that has missed the MLS Cup Playoffs in eight of the past nine seasons and the current makeup of the roster is reminiscent of abstract expressionism. With the right conversations (and strategy), perhaps the former MLS midfielder can achieve the results a handful of coaches before him have been unable to attain in the Bayou City.

"We have a lot of work to do," Olsen said following the club's final preseason match.

"We are figuring out who we are slowly. We were starting to hone in on who we are with the ball, without the ball and each game gets us a little clearer in our identity," he continued. "It's still going to morph as we go. This was a big step for this group, to win a game and the first time where we really kind of put the defensive part and the offensive side of the ball together."

The Dynamo concluded its preseason with a 2-0 win over rival FC Dallas on Saturday. The scrimmage result looks even better considering the absence of Designated Player Sebastian Ferreira, key offseason signing Franco Escobar, and depth options Griffin Dorsey and Thor Ulfarsson.

Ferreira and Ulfarsson were out dealing with visa issues, as has been the case with winger Ifunanyachi Achara throughout the preseason. Dorsey and Escobar are categorized as day-to-day while Brad Smith, potentially a starter when healthy, is still recovering from an ACL tear last season.

The missing players altered the lineup in the final match, with Corey Baird playing as a center forward instead of his more common winger role and Daniel Steres, a central defender, stepping in at right back. Amine Bassi, who Olsen will count on to succeed during the season, stood out among the better performers.

"It was nice to see Amine Bassi come alive, and you see some of his qualities," Olsen said. "We've been waiting for that, he's been behind physically, I think, in the preseason, which hurt him at times on the offensive end because you've been doing so much work. If we can start to connect passes, you can see some of his qualities.”

Bassi was signed on a Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) deal from Ligue 2 club FC Metz. With additional experience in the EFL Championship with Barnsley, the Frenchman, who has represented Morocco internationally, has high expectations to be a starter from the opening match and one of the leading contributors in assists.

Ivan Franco appears more of a development project as the player has looked green during the preseason. The young Paraguayan reunited with Designated Player Sebastian Ferreira and the appeal of that partnership has many fans hopeful. 

"He had a good preseason, you can see his energy is real, he’s scrappy," Olsen said. "He's learning the league and his teammates, and just like everybody else is in the group. That's going to take some time, but we've been very pleased with his overall effort. He's a competitive kid. You take notice of him when he's on the field. He's not shy and he's going to be a good MLS player." 

Teenage Hadebe and Ethan Bartlow have been the primary center-back pairing in the past few weeks and, barring injury, will likely play most of the season together. The trio in midfield is expected to be headlined by star midfielder Hector Herrera, rising star Adalberto Carrasquilla and new signing Artur.

Herrera will play his first full MLS season after joining midway through last season from Atletico de Madrid. Carrasquilla stood out as the Dynamo's most consistent player in 2022 and Artur has been brought on to bring his MLS Cup-winning experience after five seasons at Columbus Crew SC.

"This is the first day in preseason where we really saw them connect offensively," Olsen said of the trident in the final preseason tuneup. "They've been really sound defensively and have a clear understanding of what we want to do. Today was really nice to see them enjoying the ball with each other and really trusting each other."

The forward corps will get the biggest spotlight to start the year. Where will the goals come from? Can DP Sebastian Ferreira provide 20 goals or more to hang among the MLS elite?

Two years removed from the league, Olsen begins his second head coaching opportunity with plenty of challenges. He's starting fresh in a market where he has no historical ties to the club, like he did at D.C. United. But he has been supported by his GM and former assistant coach Pat Onstad.

After some time to reflect, the 45-year-old coach is "jazzed" to be back.

"I needed to get away after 10 years, but I'm energized and I'm excited to go on this journey with these guys. I love Houston, I love the city. So far, every day I'm here, I feel more comfortable here. I like this group, their mentality, the project," Olsen remarked. "I'm very excited and I just can't wait for the real games to start. The league seems super healthy. It's changed since I've been out a year and a half. It's the Apple deal and the level teams and the talent, the buying and selling of players it has changed a little bit, all for the better and I'm glad to be back."