FC Dallas signs Ramiro, Jimmy Maurer joins Houston
A pair of transactions involving FC Dallas sees a new midfielder enter and a long time friend head south
While this week hasn’t been populated by major trade rumors or extensions for key players, the Toros have been in the news. Let’s talk about it, starting with the outbound player first.
Jimmy Maurer Signs With Houston Dynamo
It’s a two year deal for Dallas’ long time net minder, keeping him with the Dynamo through 2026. The 36 year old logged eight seasons in Frisco, with 66 appearances and 16 clean sheets. A pair of those came at the end of last season, filling in for the injured Maarten Paes.
One of Dallas’ longest tenure players, Maurer’s departure comes at minimal surprise. Many expected him to retire after 2024, with Maurer even taking a front office job specifically meant for players transitioning off the pitch. Instead he’ll give it another go, competing with Andrew Tarbell for the top job in the Bayou City. Steve Clark, who was Houston’s starter, is a free agent after an option declination.
This creates some questions for Dallas. Per the accepted depth chart, this means Homegrown keeper Antonio Carrera would become the #2. As discussed in FC Dallas 2025 Part 1, Carrera’s future development will be the main point of interest. There’s a world in which Carrera backs up Paes full time while moonlighting with North Texas SC to stay fresh. It’s unclear if that would be enough to help him reach the ceiling, since barring injury Paes would be in net for 85% of the first team games.
That could mean Dallas tries again to loan Carrera. His sojourn to North Carolina last season went poorly, with him struggling to find regular time in a three keeper setup. If the choice is to send Carrera out, care would need to be taken to make sure he plays regularly. There’s a real chance come the end of 2025 Dallas could need him as starter if Paes performs at a high level again causing a European team to come calling. Carrera being prepared to take the reigns is a crucial part of Dallas’ future.
Assuming Carrera goes out, Dallas needs a backup keeper still. Internally the option becomes Michael Collodi, the MLS Next Pro keeper of the year who helped lead NTSC to their first MLSNP title this season. While concerns about his size might restrict his starter chances, his shot stopping and organization could make him the ideal backup especially if Dallas doesn’t want to outlay much for the position. It’d also lend credence to coach Eric Quill’s desire to continue a pipeline within the organization.
Should Dallas want a veteran, there’s some options out there. The aforementioned Clark is a long term starter who could be ready to transition backwards. Former San Jose keeper JT Marcinkowski could be an option; he’s 27 but missed all of 2024 with a knee injury. Long time MLS names like Tim Melia, Clint Irwin, and William Yarbrough all out there among others. If Dallas went the veteran route, one would think they’d be looking one year with an option for whoever wanted the job.
FC Dallas Signs Midfielder Ramiro
Wednesday afternoon, Dallas announced their acquisition of the 31 year old Brazilian-Italian national via free transfer. Ramiro played his last two seasons at Cruzeiro, the same club that Geovane Jesus came from in 2023, of Brazil’s Serie A. There’s a front office connection here, as Chief Soccer Officer Andre Zanotta was at Gremio in 2017 when Ramiro had 6g/4a in a season that saw the club win the Copa Libertadores.
That season was Ramiro’s best; he’s never had more than two goals or one asssist in a season since. In May of 2023, he tore a ligament that cost him the rest of the calendar year before playing 27 games in 2024 while starting 17. Per FBRef, here’s his scouting report from the last 365 days:
It’s not eye-popping to say the least, although the final column shows a bit what tape shows. Ramiro’s best fit looks to be a defensive midfielder in a double pivot, where he acts as the defensive minded player next to a more offensive minded player. In watching some clips you see a willingness to do the dirty work, specifically with a well timed slide tackle (although go ahead and wager on a red card from one of those if you’re the betting type). Unlike most MLS signings, I don’t think Ramiro will struggle much with the league’s physicality. He seems built for it, or at minimum unafraid of such.
His passing isn’t magical, but more direct. He wants to get the ball, look for what’s next, and move it on. That’s an asset for new coach Eric Quill’s side, who wants to have a more direct/aggressive game. While he’s more suited to defense, he’s not afraid to get up the field and play. The effort is there to be sure, and we’ve heard a lot about the type of culture Quill wants. This seems a step in that direction based on first impressions.
Let’s not kid ourselves however: This is a reclamation project. At his peak Ramrio had a transfer value of 5,000,000 Euros when he moved to Brazilian giant Corinthians in 2019. Since then availability has been an issue, with just 51 total matches played since 2021. Couple that with his age and there’s a reason Dallas was able to acquire him on a free, with a current market value of 700,000 Euros per TranferMarkt.
Dallas needs midfield help, it’s not a secret. This isn’t the Designated Player midfielder everyone has desired, but this deal doesn’t exclude that from happening. Salary details are still unknown, but based on circumstance it’s hard to imagine this costs the club much. There’s a good amount of upside to this, but it does come with risk. The hope is that Zanotta’s previous experience with Ramiro gave the club a better understanding of who he is on pitch and in the locker room.
One thing this almost assuredly does is close the door on an Asier Illarramendi return. The Spanish midfielder is out of contract, and considering Ramiro will occupy an international slot this feels a like for like Illarra. Which makes sense; Illarra turns 35 in March while Ramiro won’t be 32 until late May. Dallas only has room for one player of this profile, and Ramiro has now filled it. This isn’t reporting, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Illarra joins up with old coach Nico Estèvez in Austin. The vibes feel right, and Austin could use someone like him as they start the post Josh Wolff era.
And finally…
Dallas now turns to a couple big events. Free agency continues, but Friday’s SuperDraft looms large. Dallas has the 11th pick in the first round, although last year they moved up to get Logan Farrington at three. If you’re looking to get ready for the SuperDraft, some reading recommendations:
Over on FC Dallas dot com, Garrett Melcer has a catch all about what to expect featuring quotes from John Gall.
On the league site, Charles Boehm talked with Zanotta and director of scouting Leo Baldo about how and why the club finds success in the SuperDraft more than others.
At Big D Soccer, Drew Epperley worked though how he thinks the club should handle this year’s SuperDraft
If you really want to nerd out, Old North State Soccer has a huge database of information regarding draft eligible players. It’s got great charts and such, sortable in many different ways, and appears as comprehensive a resource as we’ll get publicly.