FC Dallas midfielder Andre Rocha was not happy at being substituted out of Saturday's game at the Kansas City Wizards, and refused to sit on the bench after coach Schellas Hyndman withdrew him in the game's 66th minute for rookie Bruno Guarda. Rocha missed training Monday (it's not clear if he was suspended or AWOL), but the following day he sat down with his coach to resolve the issue and now, writes Diego Aparicio, the matter is "under control."
"I thought I was doing well in that game, and [all of a sudden] I was subbed in," Rocha said. "We talked yesterday [Tuesday] and resolved our differences. ... I was feeling well in the game and wasn't tired." The team was down to 10 men, and Hyndman explained that it was a tactical substitution following the red card to defensive midfielder Pablo Ricchetti. However, Aparicio says that "the trend in the last three matches has been Guarda, an offensive midfielder, replacing Rocha in the right flank during the same 60-minute span."
Hyndman also said Rocha, who had scored a 35-yard goal to give Dallas the lead, wasn't moving forward far enough into the attacking third. "He's been very aware and understanding of the issue, said Hyndman. "What we wanted to do was to take care of it internally. I am not a coach that holds things against players. It's an issue taken care of -- we moved forward [but] we just can't have the same situation happen again a week later."
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