What a long and strange weekend. Thursday on the west coast after a good win against LA, Sunday in New York and an ugly loss against Red Bull. It’s a very young season , but the game in LA was a test for us. We had so many changes from last years team and to win in a place like LA after not doing so for seven years was a very good win. The big difference between the LA game and New York (Besides the turf0 was we played with passion. We let the turf and bad weather take away from our game plan. I really did not have a good game, didn’t play bad but on the road it was not good enough. I will hope to make that right in a few weeks time.
Enjoy your football and family.
Chris Gbandi FC Dallas

My ankle is getting better and I was able to run today for the first time. My date of recovery which is six weeks seems to be going by real fast and I get the feeling I will be back even sooner. I was trying to make it back for this weekends game but that didn’t happen. I wanted to get back and tackle the guy that tackled me LOL (just one tackle).
I am looking forward to the season and will be fit for the second game against LA. I would say the first game but my red card in the playoffs last year against Colorado rolls over to opening day of the 2007 season.
On another note watching the U.S. game against Ecuador I was taken back by how far U.S. Soccer has come over the years.
The U.S. now has guys playing in England, Germany , Holland and these are some of the biggest soccer playing countries in the world. I am also impressed with how young the U.S. players are.
If the U.S. is to win a World Cup I think the next one in South Africa is it’s best shot.
I have represented Liberia internationally and I must say it would be nice if we could get a “friendly” between Liberia and the U.S.
It would be great for both countries with all the historical ties it has with each other.
U.S. Soccer, Liberian Football Federation lets make this happen.
Till next time enjoy your family and football.
Chris Gbandi

Hello everyone, I am writing to you from Curitiba on our last day here. As some of you may know, we lost
our game to Atletico Paranaense’s first team 3 to 1. The atmosphere was unbelievable. There was about
10,000 fans but the noise level made it feel like there were 20,000 fans in the stadium. Unfortunately,
i hurt my ankle on a pretty nasty tackle and ill keep you updated after my MRI on Saturday. Heres Ramon
Nunez to give you a different point of view on the upcoming season. Hi everyone, this is Ramon Nunez.
When Chris gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts about the upcoming season in his blog i was
delighted. This season is a very important one for us mainly because of the way we went out of the playoffs
last year. I felt we had the players and the talent to go further than we did, but as far as team unity,
we were a little bit divided. This year things are being ran differently and players are responding so
far. Its too early to tell, but the team is looking very unified and playing very well together. Personally, this season is a very important one for me. This year I will be given more responsibility to showcase my talent and im eagerly looking forward to
that opportunity. From time to time this season, i will try to keep you updated on my progress as well as
the teams. (thats if Chris doesn’t hogg all of the spotlight) lol. Until next time, this is Ramon Nunez
saying enjoy the upcoming season.

-Chris

Hi everyone, I’m writing to you from Curitiba, Brazil from the training facilities of Athletico Paranaense. We have been here a week and we have played two matches. One here against a lower division club which we won 2-1 and one against Paranaense reserves which we tied 1-1. The game against Paranaense reserves was intense and competitive and we as a group are looking forward to playing their first team on Wednesday.
Other than that, it hasn’t been too eventful cause we are in a gated training facility with armed guards at the gate . Things we do in our free time is play ping pong, pool, and most importantly get on the internet. They have a really nice set-up if you brought a laptop where the internet connection is right next to your bed. (But I do believe that computers are taking away from human interaction….as I walk through the hall, I see everyone on my team on their computers not even saying a word to their roomates….lol ……Guys have gotten to the point where they are IMing each other from down the hall just so they won’t have to leave their room.)
Well, till next time this is Chris saying enjoy your family and football.
PS What to look forward in my next blog: FC Dallas midfielder Ramon Nunez who is also my roomate will be sharing his views about Brazil and the upcoming season.

Hi everyone, this has been another great week of training games here in Dallas. This week we played quite a bit going to goal, from 6v6 to 11v 11. I love the week we had not much fitness and lots of playing. I don’t mind fitness but I feel the best way to get in to “soccer shape” is by playing (head coach Steve Morrow has done a good job of letting us play).
Today we leave for Brazil and I am really looking forward to the trip as it will be my first time visiting.
It should be a good trip for us as a team and we have several games lined up that will help prepare us for the upcoming season.
Pre-season gets long so going to a great soccer country like Brazil can really get guys energized.
Well I hope you enjoyed last weeks games from Europe. My boys Arsenal lost to PSV but I think they will take care of business back in London. Until next time, Chris Gbandi of FC Dallas saying enjoy your family and your football.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentines Day.
We are one week into pre-season and things are looking ok as far as the team goes. As for me and my situation, talks with the club from Norway and the league broke down and I will be playing for the ‘Hoops” again this season I’m looking forward to the season and trying to make up for what happened at the end of last season. As many of you know the playoff game against Colorado last year was a very difficult time for me because I felt like I let a lot of people down when I was red-carded.
I worked very hard this off-season to make sure that I am one of the top left backs in our league and will continue to work hard throughout the season. While I was going through that difficult time, I realized that things don’t always work out as we plan but if you are able to withstand the hard times you come out that much stronger. I’ve learned a lot from last year and I know that this year will end differently. Until next time, this is Chris hoping you enjoy your family and football.
- Chris Gbandi

The English Premier League star Vinny Jones used to write for a well known English paper.
He gave people of England a professional footballer’s opinion about player’s , coaches, officials that no other journalist could deliver.
People loved his column because he wasn’t afraid to share his views. Whether they were good, bad, popular or inflammatory Vinny put pen to paper and made no apologies. He wrote with the endless emotion that would electrify readers evoking emotion.
He gave them something they would never have been able to attain otherwise.
I share a few things in common with Vinny other than my strong will and a wide array of opinions although mine rarely hit the newspapers although I still have a copy of the LA Times article which I mentioned I would slide tackle my own mother if she were wearing the other team’s jersey. (It took me about a year but the answer is yes my mom has forgiven me). So this where I turn to you the reader’s……what do you really want to know about? What are the questions you want answered? What is the issue you think all MLS players are biting their tongues about?
Thanks to the courage of Glenn Davis you now have your chance…….Ask away.
-Craig Waibel

Gbandi blog

Hi everyone I was hoping to have more information on my transfer situation but as it stands things are still in the workd. IK Start of Norway are looking at other players and are still in negotiation with the league and FC Dallas.
I think by the end of the coming week I should have a definite answer if the transfer will happen or I will remain with FC Dallas.
I really appreciate all the support that I have received from both FC Dallas and IK Start supporters. I just hope in the next week or so I can start to prepare my mind for the upcoming season. Until next time enjoy your family and your football.
-Chris Gbandi

Today I am writing to you from Norway, yes nice cold Norway.
I’m here on a week training session with a team in the First Division called AK Start. The team is located off the South Coast on Norway in a beautiful beach city called Kristiansand.
The players on the team are nice guys and have accepted me as a teammate. In Norway it is all about team spirit.
They feel it is the only way they can compete with the big clubs of Europe. So when a player comes in they welcome them with open arms. That’s not the case in most countries (including the U.S.). I’m here on short notice because this club really needs a left back. If I play well enough and they want me they then must purchase me from MLS where I have a contract.
You never know what can happen ….one minute you are home training for the upcoming season and the next I am in Norway
Looking forward to my next blog and until then enjoy your family and your football.
Chris Gbandi

This past week we lost our great owner Lamar Hunt. My
thoughts and prayers go out to his family. I was very
fortunate to have had the opportunity on several
occasions to sit down with Mr. Hunt and just talk
sports. I love football, so I would always ask him
about the K.C. Chiefs. He would sit and talk for as
long as I wanted. Anything, from how he thought the
coach was doing at the time, to who his favorite
player was, he was open with me. He was a kind and
humble man who would treat you with respect no matter
who you were. Thanks so much for all you did for the
sport of soccer in this coutry. But most of all thank
you for just being a wonderful human being.

Until next time, have a Merry Christmas and Happy New
year. Enjoy your time with family and friends.

Hi everyone, this is Chris Gbandi of FC Dallas writing from beautiful but cold Dallas, TX.
I hope everyone is getting in the Holiday spirit and spending time with family and friends.
Monday was a big day for FC Dallas. The fourth head coach in club history was named at Pizza Hut Park. Steve Morrow, our assistant for the past two years was named our new head coach. We as players are happy the process is over and we can now start to look forward to the 2007 season.
I feel as though we have the players here in Dallas that can ultimately bring a Championship to the city.
The fans in Dallas are great and show our team alot of support so we are primed to win a championship for them in 2007.
As for me personally, today was another day doing re-hab. I had minor surgery on my knee about four weeks ago. Recovery is going well so I intend to be fully fit come pre-season.
My days are uneventful right now doing about 4 hours of re-hab daily yet I realize the importance of a disciplined recovery. As a kid growing up I never knew I would be where I am today playing a game I love and getting paid for it. I hope everyone out there is doing what they love and having fun doing it.
I look forward to writing these blogs and until next time enjoy your family,friends, and your football .(a.k.a. soccer the beautiful game.)