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Jesus Ferreira chasing golden boot, killer instinct as FC Dallas striker

Ferreira’s 12 goals this season puts him in third place in the race for MLS’ top goal scorer.

FC Dallas put its confidence in Jesus Ferreira this offseason, and in 2022, he is repaying that confidence.

Ferreira’s goal against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, the winner in a 1-0 victory for FCD, is his 12th of the season. Heading into this week’s matches, only Valentin “Taty” Castellanos — whose move to La Liga’s Girona makes him a sitting duck in the Golden Boot race — and Austin FC’s Sebastián Driussi have scored more.

FCD manager Nico Estévez’s decision to play Ferreira as his No. 9, rather than in more of a playmaking role, looks like a stroke of genius, launching the 21-year-old not only into the race for most goals this MLS season, but putting him squarely in the conversation to be the starting forward for the United States men’s national team at this winter’s World Cup.

Yet, Estévez said he’s hardly surprised to see the decision paying off — and in fact thinks Ferreira can do even more than he’s currently doing with FCD and the USMNT.

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“I think he’s doing a good job, but I expect more from him. I think he can still give more,” Estévez said after the win against RSL. “I think his limit, his ceiling is very high and we’re here to push him.

“I think he’s doing something I was expecting. It’s not anything that surprises me, and I want him to surprise me more. I want him to keep doing more things. I think he can still do a lot more than what he’s doing right now because I believe in him a lot, I have a lot of confidence in him.”

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Prior to the season, Ferreira not only had his position switched and changed numbers, he also signed a new contract. It made him FCD’s first homegrown player to come out of the academy and become a designated player.

With that contract, Ferreira told The Striker he was hoping to notch a combined 20 goals plus assists in the 2022 season. With a dozen matches still to go, he’ll hope to adjust that target, currently sitting only three scoring stats away.

Despite the season exceeding his own personal expectations, Ferreira said he welcomes the coaching staff’s desire to push him to continue getting better and reaching new heights.

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“I’m happy with what I have right now, but I’m always looking for more,” the forward said. “There’s always new goals, new things to unlock. I’m just adding things to my toolbox that will get me there.”

Finishing clearly is in his toolbox, but after seeing Ferreira pass up scoring opportunities on breakaways in consecutive rivalry matches during the last month, there were questions about the killer instinct a forward needs to put shots on target and put away scoring chances.

“I had a conversation with him this week and we talked about how it was a long time since he’d played as a forward. This season, he’s playing forward,” Estévez said. “He has some things to keep improving in that sense, in some aspects.”

What few will question is his effort. Ferreira isn’t a traditional No. 9, leading FCD’s press and dropping into deep positions where he can set up wingers Alan Velasco and Paul Arriola reminiscent of his time last season playing as a second striker or a No. 10.

“He makes those runs day-in, day-out, 100 times, and he might get three of four of them, but he’s such a selfless worker besides his technique and quality and finishing ability and all the tangibles he has on the ball, he really does a lot for the team off the ball and works hard and really does the dirty work,” midfielder Paxton Pomykal said.

For now, Ferreira will need to continue working hard, making runs and refining his skills as a forward to reach the heights Estévez believes he can reach with FCD and the national team.

The Dallas Morning News partners with The Striker Texas to bring coverage of FC Dallas and other notable Texas soccer stories to dallasnews.com. Find more soccer coverage at thestrikertexas.com.