Last week I got the chance to speak to Fafa Picault after the new FC Dallas winger touched down at DFW Airport. The story was more on the soccer side, but the former Philadelphia Union man also revealed that he’s a foodie and excited for the city as well as the club.

Typically new players are in a bubble staying at one of the hotels near the stadium until they get an apartment nearby, getting to know the players, and not venturing too far outside of a small portion of Frisco. Not much different to how away trips are, where players don’t have free time to explore a city. Picault immediately had a list of recommended restaurants, he knew several neighborhoods in Dallas and Plano, and was like anyone else moving to a new place for the longer term. As any good person moving to Texas does, he was excited to try some of the local BBQ brisket. I got to catch up with Picault after the team’s opening practice on Monday.

“I didn’t get to hit the brisket yet! I found one good Italian place and a few Latino spots. I think the brisket will come later on after preseason maybe when we get back from the Florida trip and I’m fully fit physically, but I’m definitely excited. I’ve hit a few spots and I’ve gotten lost in the city a little bit both around Frisco, Plano, and Dallas. It’s a lovely city and the people seem lovely here as well.” Fafa Picault

Getting back to business, it was Picault’s first day on the field as the opening day consisted largely of passing drills including variations of Luchi Gonzalez’s favored Rondo. The core philosophies of Luchi-ball are something that Picault highlighted last week, and that carried through after the opening session on Monday.

“I like how how we’ve emphasized the importance of keeping the ball, keeping it clean and and and the importance of playing total football. It’s day one, so we can’t get ahead of ourselves but I think it’s gonna be something special.” Fafa Picault

Buzz went a little more in depth with his first impression on the soccer side as practice turns to two-a-days for the remainder of the first week.