FC Dallas: Coaches, culture and course corrections
New man in charge Peter Luccin wants more energy and effort tonight against St. Louis
Around FC Dallas, the roster is what it is. Maybe summer will see some reinforcements arriving into Toyota Stadium – club president Dan Hunt and chief soccer officer Andre Zanotta suggested as much.
While there are definitely missing pieces, the roster requires fortification more than wholesale makeover. Especially considering three talented components still on the long-term shelf.
What the team needs most as interim manager Peter Luccin takes charge and attempts to make his case for further consideration: a shift in culture.
More to the point, the team needs a course correction.
Nico Estévez was loved
The players had a good relationship with Nico Estévez, who was dismissed to begin the week. And it was mutual. FCD captain Paul Arriola has talked about how great a human being Estevez is, how he always made each player feel loved and appreciated.
He was a friend and mentor as well as their manager. When things went wrong, Estévez would often say, “You have to show them love.” That patient and heartfelt approach, rooted in earnest belief, fosters trust. Trust is critical in the player-manager dynamic.
But you can take that stuff too far – and perhaps Estévez did. Taken too far, it can strip away a degree of the players’ on-field accountability.
As Luccin has taken charge, he is asking for energy and effort. Luccin has been careful not to talk about tactics or personnel this week; even a 10-15 minute period of forcing St. Louis to figure out what FC Dallas is doing could be helpful tonight. So, no reveals!
But I suspect it’s also because he doesn’t think FC Dallas needs some meaningful tactical makeover. I suspect the principles of play will remain mostly the same. But just as Luccin was more of a hammer as a player, I suspect he’ll be more of a hammer as a boss. He’ll re-balance the formula: Yes, he understands how to show players love, but he also wants more purpose and intent. He wants mental focus and an unyielding attitude – for a full 90 minutes, rather than 75 or 80 minutes.
I suspect he might simplify some things, just to create more clarity and clear mental space to help the players retain that hardened, focused edge.
And I doubt he’ll tolerate some of bad habits and mistakes that were repeated a little too often this year. Jogging back sometimes on defense? Yeah, that’s not going to cut it.
This is the needed course correction.
This coaching change feels different
This midseason change feels a lot different than when Luchi Gonzalez was let go mid-season three years ago. That is to say, there’s reason to hope that 2024 can be spun up into something worth remembering rather than discarded as a year to forget.
First, there’s more of the season still to play. Dallas had just eight games remaining on a season adrift as Gonzalez was dismissed in late September. In this case, tonight marks the exact midpoint of a 34-match schedule.
Beyond becoming part of the playoff conversation – still possible because of Major League Soccer famously (or infamously) lenient playoff structure – there’s even more apples to pick off this tree.
There’s Leagues Cup. Let’s be clear, FCD winning it is a pretty big lift. Miami and Leo Messi are out there. So is LAFC (fortified by then through Olivier Giroud). And Real Salt Lake is chewing through folks right now. And that’s just in the West, not even starting to talk about the powers in the East and the Mexican clubs. But if FC Dallas just made some noise in the tournament, maybe bully its way into the quarterfinals, say, it would put some kind of marker on 2024, at least.
And there’s the Lamar Hunt Open Cup. Yes, it’s a diluted field this year, but who cares at this point? FCD has won two matches – perhaps unconvincingly but, again, who cares at this point – to reach the quarterfinals. Someone will win it. If Luccin and FCD put a lot of eggs in this basket, it would be a major trophy earned, no matter how you slice it.
Another reason it feels different: That team in 2021 had some talent, including 18-year-old Ricardo Pepi, 20-year-old Jesus Ferreira and 21-year-old Paxton Pomykal, but was absolutely threadbare in certain places. Phelipe started in goal but wasn’t starting quality. The starting front line as Luchi Gonzalez kicked off the 2021 season: Freddy Vargas, Franco Jara and Jader Obrian, none of whom were starting quality MLS contributors in 2021.
This team? It’s got more top end talent – Maarten Paes, Petar Musa (we think), Ferreira (we still hope) and Asier Illarramendi. And there are solid roster pieces in players like Nkosi Tafari, Paul Arriola, Sebastian Lletget, Marco Farfan, if Luccin can perhaps squeeze more out of them.
Again, it’s about a course correction. It may not all happen tonight against St. Louis. In fact, it probably won’t; Luccin and his remade staff had just four practice sessions.
But we’ll see tonight if the stuff that really needs alteration – the purpose, aggressive intent and energy – is moving in the right direction.
Great insights into the current state of FC Dallas and the potential impact of the coaching change. I agree that Peter Luccin's focus on energy and effort could bring the necessary spark to the team. While Nico Estévez was beloved for his heartfelt approach, a shift towards accountability and mental toughness might be just what the team needs to turn things around.