FC Dallas

FC Dallas
Full name FC Dallas
Nickname(s)
  • Toros
  • Hoops
  • Burn
Founded April 14, 1996 (as Dallas Burn)
Stadium Toyota Stadium
Frisco, Texas
Capacity 20,295
Owner Clark Hunt
Head Coach Óscar Pareja
League Major League Soccer
2014 Western Conference: 4th
Overall: 6th
Playoffs: Lost semifinal vs. Seattle Sounders FC
Website Club home page

FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS). It is one of the 10 charter clubs of MLS, having competed in the league since its inception, and was known as Dallas Burn prior to the 2005 season.

Dallas plays its home games at the 20,295 capacity soccer-specific Toyota Stadium, where they have played since changing their name in 2005. The team is owned by MLS investor Clark Hunt, who also owns the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Dallas's most recent head coach was former Southern Methodist University coach Schellas Hyndman, who stepped down from FC Dallas at the end of the 2013 season. The club hired Óscar Pareja, a former player, as its new head coach on January 10, 2014.

History

The Dallas Burn era: 1996–2004

On April 14, 1996, the Dallas Burn defeated the San Jose Clash in a shootout win in front of a crowd of 27,779 fans at the Cotton Bowl. The Burn with Jason Kreis and coach Dave Dir, would become one of MLS's better teams as they used a mid-season five-game winning streak to earn their first playoff berth with a record of 17–15. In the playoffs, the Burn would be defeated by the Kansas City Wiz in three games. The Burn started the season with mixed results. Late in the season they used a 4-game winning streak to make the playoffs. They ended their season with a .500 record of 16–16. In the playoffs, the Burn defeated and swept the Los Angeles Galaxy without conceding a goal. But in the next round, they would be defeated by the Colorado Rapids. The Burn would win their first and only US Open Cup by defeating the MLS Cup Champion D.C. United.

In their third season, at the start of the middle of the season the Burn would struggle. Despite a poor record of 15–17, the Burn would qualify for their third straight playoff berth. In the playoffs, the Galaxy swept and defeated the Burn in the first round. By June 1999, the Burn were in the middle of the pack of the Western Conference standings with a record of 5–5. With Jason Kreis' breakout year, the burn would climb to second place at the end of the season with a record of 19–13. In the playoffs, the Burn defeated the defending champions Chicago Fire. In the Western Conference Final, they would be defeated by the Galaxy and eliminated.

Dallas Burn (in white) playing against Chicago Fire in 1998

After coming within one game of MLS Cup, the Burn were ready to start the season with the cup in mind. The club started the season well, but in the middle of the spring and summer, they were struggling and made the playoffs third in the realigned Central Division and the sixth seed in the league standings with a record of 14–14–6. In the playoffs, the Burn seemed to struggle again as the MetroStars swept them in two games. At the end of the season, coach Dave Dir would be terminated and replaced by Mike Jeffries. In their first season under Mike Jeffries in 2001, the Burn would continue to play mediocre soccer and finish the season 10–11–5, after the final weekend was cut short as a result of the September 11 attacks. In the playoffs as the 7th seed team, the Burn would disappoint again, as they lost in three games to the Chicago Fire.

The Burn had a much better season from start to finish in 2002. Jason Kreis would continue to lead the club as they finished with a 12–9–7 record, their best in three years and they earned the fifth seed in the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Colorado Rapids defeated the Burn on a series-tiebreaking goal by Mark Chung in game three. The Burn started 2003 playing in Southlake, Texas in Dragon Stadium. The Burn would struggle and suffer through a rough season. Mike Jeffries was fired in September and replaced by Colin Clarke as the Burn finished the season with a record of 6–19–5, missing the playoffs for the first time in club history.

2004 saw a one-year return to the Cotton Bowl, and the team's final year being known as the "Dallas Burn". The club carried over some of their frustrations from the previous year. By late July, the Burn would be back in the playoff run, but it would not be enough as they again missed the playoffs for the second year with a disappointing 10–14–6 season. In August, club owner Lamar Hunt announced that the club, in 2005, would be rebranded and would be known as "FC Dallas" to coincide with their new soccer specific stadium in Frisco, Texas.

The FC Dallas era: 2005–present

Brek Shea in action for FC Dallas in 2010 against the Sounders

With the acquisition of Carlos Ruiz, FC Dallas would have a great start to the 2005 season, losing only two of their first 17 games. On August 6, FC Dallas played their inaugural game at Pizza Hut Park and tied the MetroStars, 2–2. In the middle of the season the club started to struggle and they went on a six-game winless streak. As the playoffs neared they went on a three game winning streak. That streak helped them into the playoffs as the second seed in the West with a record of 13–10–9. FC Dallas was matched against the Colorado Rapids in the playoffs; the teams would play a scoreless draw in the first game. After playing to a 1–1 tie in regulation time, the two teams were level again, 2–2, after the first overtime. In the shootout, the Rapids outscored and defeated FC Dallas, 5–4 on penalties.

FC Dallas again started the 2006 season well. In their first full season at Pizza Hut Park, Carlos Ruiz led the season with 13 goals, helping his team to a 16–12–4 record and the top seed in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, they struggled as they were again defeated in penalties by the Colorado Rapids. FC Dallas were on the top spot in the Western Conference for much of the first half of 2007, winning 6 of their first 10 matches. In the second half of the season, though, FC Dallas started to struggle and were in a decline, as they only won 5 games after the All-Star break, going into postseason with a record of 13–12–5, for third in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, FC Dallas lost 4–2 on aggregate to Houston Dynamo.

FC Dallas, stumbled from the start of the 2008 season, and slipped to the bottom of the Western Conference standings, which led to the firing of Coach Steve Morrow. The club hired Schellas Hyndman to replace Steve Morrow, they would showed some signs of improvement, but they would never recover as they missed the playoffs, while finishing in fifth place with a record of 8–10–12. They missed the playoffs again in 2009 and their record was mediocre at best (11–13–6). FC Dallas was despicable on the road, losing 10 games, 3rd worst in MLS. The club was 1st in goals in favor, but 2nd to last in goals against. The team played well, but that more often than not did not translate into wins.

FC Dallas had one of the most consistent seasons in 2010, losing just four games while advancing all the way to the MLS Cup championship. Midfielder David Ferreira entered the season as a relative unknown, but ended the season as the league's MVP. Goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was a knee injury away from goalkeeper of the year and coach Schellas Hyndman, after a couple challenging seasons as head coach, won MLS coach of the year. In the Playoffs, FC Dallas advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the second time, and defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy 3–0 at the Home Depot Center, thus advancing to its first MLS Cup final against the Colorado Rapids. FC Dallas lost the match by a score of 2–1, after overtime.

The 2011 campaign saw reigning MVP David Ferreira go down with an ankle injury, in a 2–1 victory against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Despite the loss, FC Dallas continued to have much success. Brek Shea led the way and took over the scoring load left behind by David Ferreira. FC Dallas was the first team in the 2011 MLS season to reach 10 wins. The 2011 MLS Season also saw FC Dallas advance past the third round of the 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup with a 3–2 victory over Orlando City S.C. with the victory FC Dallas advanced to the quarterfinals where they beat Real Salt Lake 2–0. On August 17, FC Dallas became the first MLS club to defeat a Mexican team in Mexico, beating UNAM 1–0 in the CONCACAF Champions League. FC Dallas saw their 2011 season come to an end when they lost to the New York Red Bulls in a wild-card playoff match.

FC Dallas started the 2012 MLS season with a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls at FC Dallas stadium, the two goals came from Zach Loyd and Ricardo Villar respectively. The team finished the 2012 season with a record of 9-13-12 (39 points) and missed out on playoffs. The 2013 team started well, going 8-2-3 in its first 13 matches of the season before finishing the season with an 11-12-11 (44 points) record and missing playoffs for the second consecutive season. Upon the conclusion of the 2013 season, Schellas Hyndman resigned as Coach of FC Dallas.

FC Dallas opened the Oscar Pareja era and the 2014 season with a 3-2 victory against the Montreal Impact in front of 18,011 fans at Toyota Stadium on March 8, 2014 (Fabian Castillo, Blas Perez and Mauro Diaz scored for FC Dallas).

Colors and badge

Originally, Dallas Burn played in a predominantly red-and-black color scheme, and had a logo which featured a fire-breathing black horse beneath a stylized red "Burn" wordmark. The team re-branded as FC Dallas in 2005 to coincide with their move to Pizza Hut Park, and has since played in a color scheme of red, blue, silver, and white, and a kit design of horizontally hooped stripes.

Kit evolution

(as Dallas Burn 1996-2004, FC Dallas 2005-present)

1996
1997
1998-1999
2000
2001-2002
2003-2004
2005
2006-2007
2008-2009
2010-2011
2012-2013
2014-present
1996
1997
1998-1999
2000
2001-2002
2003–2004
2005
2006-2007
2008-2009
2010-2011
2012-2014
2015
2006

Stadium

Toyota Stadium, Dallas's home stadium since 2005

From 1996–2002 the team played in the 92,100-capacity Cotton Bowl in Dallas. In an effort to save money due to the club's unfavorable lease with the Cotton Bowl, the club played its 2003 home games at Dragon Stadium, a high school stadium in Southlake, a Fort Worth suburb. After listening to its fans, the Dallas Burn, as the team was called from 1996–2004, moved back to the Cotton Bowl for the 2004 season. Another factor to the move was the money that the club was losing due to the fact that there could be no alcohol sales at a public high school.

In August 2005, the club moved into Toyota Stadium, a soccer-specific stadium in the northern suburb of Frisco.

Club culture

Tex Hooper, the FC Dallas mascot

Supporters

FC Dallas activities enjoys the fans

FC Dallas has many supporters groups. During the 2012 season, memberships to these groups started to rise and they all became synergetic during match days. On these days, the Inferno, the DBG, the Red Shamrock and the DFE congregate in the North End (the Beer Garden) of FC Dallas Stadium to form what is now known as "North End United for FC Dallas". They each remain as their own independent entity. Yet together they are "One voice with one passion and one love" for FC Dallas.

Their mission is simple: To promote the sport. Increase the love for their club. And grow the supporters base within each of their groups.

Rivalries

Main article: Texas Derby

FC Dallas' main rival is the Houston Dynamo. The two teams reside in the same state and compete for El Capitan, a cannon that goes to the regular season victor.

Animosity grew between fans and players of FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids, mainly sparking from Colorado players' comments towards the fans and Colorado's victories over FC Dallas in the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs.[1] This rivalry was once again renewed in the 2010 MLS Cup championship match. Played in Toronto, FC Dallas fell 2–1 to the Rapids after extra time.

Song

The team anthem is called "H-O-O-P-S Yes!" and is performed by choral symphonic rock group and Dallas natives The Polyphonic Spree.[2]

Domestic and international affiliations

FC Dallas is formally associated with Arizona United SC of the United Soccer League, [3][4] Mexican Primera División club Tigres de la UANL and Clube Atlético Paranaense of Brazil's Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Sponsorship

On June 27, 2012, FC Dallas reached a three-year sponsorship deal with AdvoCare, a Plano-based health and wellness company, worth US$7.5M making AdvoCare become the official jersey sponsor.[5] In September 2013 FC Dallas reached a long term deal with Toyota to be official stadium naming rights partners. In October 2014 FC Dallas and AdvoCare announced an extension of the jersey sponsorship through 2020.[6]

Broadcasting

FC Dallas's matches appeared on regional television on Fox Sports Southwest, KTXA and WFAA (8-3) and several games are televised nationally on NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network until the 2012 season. On February 25, 2013, FC Dallas signed a deal with Time Warner Cable to air most of its games on the Time Warner Cable Sports Channel in Dallas, replacing Fox Sports Southwest as the primary broadcaster of games. In 2012, Dallas Mavericks play-by-play announcer Mark Followill and former Houston Dynamo announcer Jonathan Yardley split play-by-play duties, replacing the late Bobby Rhine. Former MLS players Brian Dunseth, Ian Joy, and Dante Washington rotate doing color commentary. In 2013, Bob Sturm replaced Yardley and Steve Jolley returned to the broadcast team, splitting color commentary duties with Dante Washington and Brian Dunseth. The TV audio is also simulcast on The Ticket (1310 AM) which also broadcasts nationally televised games involving FC Dallas. ESPN Deportes (1540 AM) carries Spanish language broadcasts. Carlos Alvarado and Jesús Padilla do Spanish play-by-play and color, respectively.

Players and staff

For details on former players, see All-time FC Dallas roster.

Current roster

As of January 24, 2015.[7]

No. Position Player Nation
1 Goalkeeper Kennedy, DanDan Kennedy      United States
3 Defender Hernandez, MoisesMoises Hernandez (HGP)     Guatemala
4 Midfielder Bekker, KyleKyle Bekker      Canada
7 Forward Pérez, BlasBlas Pérez      Panama
8 Midfielder Ulloa, VictorVictor Ulloa (HGP)     United States
9 Forward Texeira, DavidDavid Texeira      Uruguay
10 Midfielder Díaz, MauroMauro Díaz (DP)     Argentina
11 Forward Castillo, FabiánFabián Castillo (DP)     Colombia
12 Midfielder Hollingshead, RyanRyan Hollingshead      United States
13 Forward Akindele, TeshoTesho Akindele      Canada
14 Forward Harris, AtibaAtiba Harris      Saint Kitts and Nevis
16 Forward Craft, CoyCoy Craft (HGP)     United States
17 Defender Loyd, ZachZach Loyd      United States
18 Goalkeeper Seitz, ChrisChris Seitz      United States
21 Midfielder Barrios, MichaelMichael Barrios      Colombia
22 Defender Keel, StephenStephen Keel      United States
23 Midfielder Acosta, KellynKellyn Acosta (HGP)     United States
24 Defender Hedges, MattMatt Hedges      United States
25 Defender Zimmerman, WalkerWalker Zimmerman (GA)     United States
27 Midfielder Watson, Je-VaughnJe-Vaughn Watson      Jamaica
29 Forward Zendejas, AlejandroAlejandro Zendejas (HGP)     United States
31 Midfielder Michel, Michel      Brazil
33 Defender Earle, OtisOtis Earle      England
44 Goalkeeper Gonzalez, JesseJesse Gonzalez (HGP)     Mexico

Out on loan

No. Position Player Nation
26 Midfielder Garcia, DannyDanny Garcia (HGP; on loan to Arizona United)     United States

Team management

Head coaches

Honors

Record

Year-by-year

Year Regular Season Playoffs US Open Cup CONCACAF
Champions' League		 Avg. Attendance
(Regular Season)		 Avg. Attendance
(Playoffs)
1996 2nd, West (17-15) Quarterfinals Semifinals Did not qualify 16,011 9,963
1997 3rd, West (16-16) Semifinals Champions Did not qualify 9,678 9,312
1998 4th, West (15-17) Quarterfinals Semifinals Did not qualify 10,948 8,130
1999 2nd, West (19-13) Semifinals Quarterfinals Did not qualify 12,211 10,988
2000 3rd, Central (14-14-4) Quarterfinals Quarterfinals Did not qualify 13,102 7,555
2001 3rd, Central (10-11-5) Quarterfinals Round of 32 Not held 12,574 17,149
2002 3rd, West (12-9-7) Quarterfinals Semifinals Did not qualify 13,122 7,184
2003 5th, West (6-19-5) Did not qualify Round of 16 Did not qualify 7,906 Did not qualify
2004 5th, West (10-14-6) Did not qualify Quarterfinals Did not qualify 9,088 Did not qualify
2005 2nd, West (13-10-9) Quarterfinals Final Did not qualify 11,189 10,104
2006 1st, West (16-12-4) Quarterfinals Quarterfinals Did not qualify 14,982 15,486
2007 3rd, West (13-12-5) Quarterfinals Final Did not qualify 15,145 12,537
2008 5th, West (8-10-12) Did not qualify Quarterfinals Did not qualify 13,024 Did not qualify
2009 7th, West (11-13-6) Did not qualify Did not qualify Did not qualify 12,441 Did not qualify
2010 3rd, West (12-4-14) Final Did not qualify Did not qualify 10,815 11,003
2011 4th, West (15-12-7) Wild Card Semifinals Group Stage 12,861 10,017
2012 6th, West (9-13-12) Did not qualify 3rd Round Did not qualify 14,199 Did not qualify
2013 8th, West (11-12-11) Did not qualify Quarterfinals Did not qualify 15,374 Did not qualify
2014 4th, West (16-12-6) Semifinals Semifinals Did not qualify 16,816 13,196

Year-by-year stats

Carlos Ruiz was FC Dallas's top scorer in 2005, 2006 and 2007
Year League Record Top Scorer
P W L D F A Pts Name G
1996 32 17 15 NA 50 48 41 Jason Kreis 13
1997 32 16 16 NA 55 49 42 Dante Washington 12
1998 32 15 17 NA 43 59 37 Jason Kreis 9
1999 32 19 13 NA 54 35 51 Jason Kreis 18
2000 32 14 14 4 54 54 46 Ariel Graziani 15
2001 26 10 11 5 48 47 35 Ariel Graziani 11
2002 28 12 9 7 44 43 43 Jason Kreis 13
2003 30 6 19 5 35 64 23 Jason Kreis 7
2004 30 10 14 6 34 45 36 Eddie Johnson 12
2005 32 13 10 9 52 44 48 Carlos Ruiz 11
2006 32 16 12 4 48 44 52 Carlos Ruiz 13
2007 30 13 12 5 37 44 44 Carlos Ruiz 7
2008 30 8 10 12 45 41 36 Kenny Cooper 18
2009 30 11 13 6 50 47 39 Jeff Cunningham 17
2010 30 12 4 14 42 28 50 Jeff Cunningham 11
2011 34 15 11 7 42 39 52 Brek Shea 9
2012 34 9 13 12 42 47 39 Blas Pérez 9
2013 34 11 12 11 48 52 44 Blas Pérez 11
2014 34 16 12 6 55 45 54 Blas Pérez 11
Total 594 243 237 113 878 875 812 ' '

Note: MLS did not allow ties prior to the 2000 season as games were decided by shootout when tied at full-time.

International competition

Group Stage v. Mexico Necaxa – 1:4
Group Stage v. Mexico Cruz Azul – 1:2
Group Stage v. Norway Odd Grenland – 1:2
Group Stage v. Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv – 2:2
Semi-Finals v. Norway Stabæk – 2:1
Fifth Place Match v. Norway Bodø/Glimt – 1:3
Group Stage v. Mexico Guadalajara – 1:1
Group Stage v. Mexico Pachuca – 1:1
Group Stage v. United States Los Angeles Galaxy – 5:6
Preliminary Round v. El Salvador Alianza – 2:0
Group Stage v. Mexico UNAM – 1:0
Group Stage v. Canada Toronto FC – 1:0
Group Stage v. Panama Tauro FC – 1:1
Group Stage v. Mexico UNAM – 0:2
Group Stage v. Panama Tauro FC – 3:5
Group Stage v. Canada Toronto FC – 0:3

See also

References

  1. ↑ Major League Soccer: News: Article
  2. ↑ "adidas MLS Soccer". Adidas.com. Retrieved December 3, 2011.
  3. ↑ "FC Dallas announces USL PRO affiliation with Arizona United SC". FC Dallas. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Arizona United Soccer Club Affiliates With Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas". Arizona United SC. February 9, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ "FC Dallas signs multi-year, multi-million dollar jersey deal with AdvoCare". FCDallas.com. FCD Press Services. June 27, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ "AdvoCare, FC Dallas announce extension to 2020 of jersey sponsorship deal". MLSsoccer.com (MLSsoccer.com). October 24, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Players". FCDallas.com. February 16, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2015.

External links

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