TUCSON, Ariz. — Gyasi Zardes knows his second season with the Crew wasn’t good enough.

"A goal of mine is always to be better than the last year … I didn't reach that last year," Zardes said last Wednesday. "I have to make sure I'm better than last year because obviously the league is getting better, but also when I'm thinking of myself as a player, I want to always just progress."

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Zardes finished 10th in MLS in 2019 with 13 goals over 28 games, three of which came via penalty kick. He went through ups and downs, but found his form late by scoring four times in the final six games.

The American striker has perhaps the calmest demeanor of any player on the field, which sometimes is mistakenly interpreted as Zardes not caring about missing an opportunity that a starting striker should finish.

It’s quite the opposite, and he’s keenly aware that hitting the 19-goal mark he set in 2018 on the way to being named MLS Comeback Player of the Year is possible with the Crew’s offensive reinforcement this season.

"I missed a lot of opportunities," Zardes said. "But the biggest thing you can do is learn from it. That's the biggest thing I did (in the offseason)."

The 28-year-old designated player has never focused on his mistakes but has certainly received criticism from fans of the Crew and the men’s national team alike. He said he learned not to carry those with him from watching Robbie Keane when they were teammates with the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Zardes pointed to a preseason game against Phoenix Rising when he missed a chance he said he should have finished, but ended up scoring the winner in the second half. At the end of an offseason that hardly began because of national team camp and club trainings, Zardes bagged three goals in two games in the Visit Tucson Sun Cup this past week, including two goals in the final game on Saturday.

"If I miss an opportunity, I know my teammates are going to help me get another opportunity in that same position," he said.

Crew midfielder Pedro Santos said he sees that calm demeanor as a key aspect of the striker’s game because Zardes doesn’t become desperate and play away from his strengths.

Zardes’ goal total should be higher if he stays healthy, just because he won’t miss any games with the national team. To his credit, he still showed the ability to score key goals at key times.

This year, he has Fanendo Adi behind him, whom he has already accepted as someone who will challenge him. That’s a good thing. The Crew needs Zardes never to be content, even if his demeanor is interpreted different from reality.

"I love that he wants to be better," coach Caleb Porter said. "I love that he wants to continue to carry our team with more goals. That's what we need out of our DP striker."

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