It could have been a disastrous debut. Pablo Aranguiz had never played a minute in MLS, but FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja felt confident enough to bring him off the bench in the 62nd minute of a league match against the Seattle Sounders.
In one of the league's toughest environments, on a turf field no less, the Chilean instead had a strong start to life in North America in a debut that hinted at a quick adaptation to MLS.
"The fans truly surprised me. I didn't think there would be that many people there," said Aranguiz, who signed with FCD in July from Santiago-based Union Espanola.