FC Dallas

FC Dallas

Full name	Football Club Dallas 1996
Nickname(s)	FCD, Hoops, Red Stripes, Toros, Burn, The Branders, Dallas 96
Founded	1996 (as Dallas Burn)
Stadium	Pizza Hut Park Frisco, Texas (Capacity: 20,500)
Owner	Clark Hunt
Head Coach	Schellas Hyndman
League	Major League Soccer
2011	Western Conference: 4th Overall: 4th Playoffs: Wildcard
Website	Club home page
Home colors Away colors
Current season

FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada. It is one of the ten 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 20,500 capacity soccer-specific Pizza Hut Park, where they have played since changing their name in 2005. The team is owned by MLS investor Clark Hunt, who also owns the Columbus Crew and the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. Dallas's current head coach is former Southern Methodist University coach Schellas Hyndman.

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 midseason 5-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 the US Open Cup by defeating the MLS Cup Champion D.C. United.

In their third season, at the start and in 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 Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles 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 6th seed in the league standings with a record of 14–14–6. In the playoffs, the Burn seem 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 5th seed in the playoffs. In the playoffs, the Colorado Rapids defeated the Burn on a series-tiebreaking goal by Mark Chung in game 3. The Burn started 2003 playing in Southlake, TX 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 would carry 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 acquisition of Carlos Ruiz, FC Dallas would have a great start to the 2005 season, losing only two of their fist 17 games. On August 6, FC Dallas played their inaugural game at Pizza Hut Park and tied the MetroStars, 2–2. Mid season the club started to struggle and they went on a six-game winless streak. As the playoffs neared hey 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. Against the Colorado Rapids in the playoffs, the teams would play a scoreless 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.

The FC Dallas era: 2005–present

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

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 were 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. 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 were 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.

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.

• 

  Dallas Burn logo (1995–2004)

• 

  FC Dallas logo (2005–Present)

Stadium

Pizza Hut Park, Dallas's home stadium since 2005

• Cotton Bowl; Dallas, Texas (1996–2002, 2004–2005)
• Dragon Stadium; Southlake, Texas (2003)
• Pizza Hut Park; Frisco, Texas (2005–present)

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 Pizza Hut Park, a soccer-specific stadium in the northern suburb of Frisco.

Club culture

Tex Hooper, the FC Dallas mascot

Supporters

Dallas's main supporters group is the Hoops Nation, which was founded during the 2006 season. Membership of Hoops Nation that allows fans to get two free tickets each year, a t-shirt, and other benefits, in exchange for a membership fee. Hoops Nation was officially renamed "FCD Nation" in 2009 as part of a franchise-wide phaseout of the "Hoops" moniker. The club also works in concert with the existing supporters' group, Inferno (whose name derives from the team's days as the Dallas Burn), by offering discounted tickets to the group's special section. Other active supporters' groups are "La Raza Latina" and "El Matador".

Rivalries

FC Dallas' oldest rivalry is with their Eastern Conference rival, the Chicago Fire. Since 2001, the two clubs have competed for the Brimstone Cup, which goes to the team that wins the season series between the two teams. However, due to the teams having moved to different conferences after formerly competing alongside each other in the Central Division, the rivalry has waned in recent years. In 2005, the San Jose Earthquakes were put on hold and the team's assets were reinvented in Houston as the Houston Dynamo, sparking an intrastate rivalry with the new Houston club. The two teams play for El Capitan, a cannon that goes to the regular season victor. Recently, animosity grew between fans and players of FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids, mainly sparking from Colorado players' comments towards the fans^[1] and Colorado's victories over FC Dallas in the 2005 and 2006 MLS Cup Playoffs. 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. A new rivalry is emerging with Real Salt Lake.

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]

International affiliations

FC Dallas is formally associated with Mexican Primera División club Tigres de la UANL and Clube Atlético Paranaense of Brazil’s Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Broadcasting

FC Dallas's matches appear on regional television on Fox Sports Southwest and KTXA and WFAA (8-3) and several games are televised nationally on Fox Soccer Channel. Former FC Dallas player Bobby Rhine does play-by-play with former MLS player Steve Jolley providing color commentary.

While all matches are broadcast on radio, there is no English language radio coverage. 1540 ESPN Deportes carries Spanish language broadcasts. Carlos Alvarado and Jesús Padilla do Spanish play-by-play and color, respectively.

Players and staff

Current roster

As of August 19, 2011.^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Kevin Hartman 2 MF Daniel Hernández (captain) 3 DF Ugo Ihemelu 4 MF Andrew Jacobson 5 DF Jair Benítez (on loan from Deportivo Cali) 6 DF Jackson (on loan from São Paulo) 7 MF Daniel Cruz 8 MF Bruno Guarda 9 FW Maicon Santos 10 MF David Ferreira 11 MF Ricardo Villar 12 DF Zach Loyd 13 FW Maykel Galindo 14 DF George John

No. Position Player 15 FW Fabián Castillo 16 DF Bobby Warshaw 17 DF Jeremy Hall 18 MF Marvin Chávez (on loan from Marathón) 20 MF Brek Shea 21 MF Bryan Leyva 22 GK Josh Lambo 23 FW Andrew Wiedeman 28 MF Victor Ulloa 29 DF Moises Hernandez 30 GK Chris Seitz 32 FW Jonathan Top 34 FW Rubén Luna 40 GK Richard Sánchez

Reserve Team Players

This list shows players who have played for the team in official 2011 MLS Reserve Division games, but are not part of the senior roster.^[4]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player DF Jack Coleman MF Mike Ambrose MF Mark Ashby

No. Position Player MF David Robledo FW Daniel Garcia

Notable former players

This list of former players includes those who received international caps while playing for the team, made significant contributions to the team in terms of appearances or goals while playing for the team, or who made significant contributions to the sport either before they played for the team, or after they left. It is clearly not yet complete and all inclusive, and additions and refinements will continue to be made over time.

Arturo Alvarez (2005–2008) Leonel Álvarez (1996, 1998–1999) Kenny Cooper (2006–2009) Jeff Cunningham (2008–2010) Duilio Davino (2008) Chad Deering (1998–2003) Denílson (2007) Mark Dodd (1996–1999) Brian Dunseth (2003) Cory Gibbs (2004) Clarence Goodson (2004–2007) Ariel Graziani (1999–2001) Brian Haynes (1996–2000) Shaka Hislop (2006–2007) Eddie Johnson (2001–2005)

Matt Jordan (1998–2002) John Kerr (1996) Jason Kreis (1996–2004) Antonio Martínez (2000–2003) Dax McCarty (2006–2010) Roberto Miña (2005–2008) Drew Moor (2005–2009) Steve Morrow (2002–2003) Ronnie O'Brien (2002–2006) Dominic Oduro (2006–2008) Óscar Pareja (1998–2005) Heath Pearce (2009–2010) Bobby Rhine (1999–2008) Pablo Ricchetti (2007–2010) Jorge Rodríguez (1997–2002)

Carlos Ruiz (2005–2007) Darío Sala (2005–2010) Hugo Sánchez (1996) Mark Santel (1996–2000) Diego Soñora (1996–1997) Alain Sutter (1997–1998) Juan Toja (2007–2008) John Jairo Trellez (1999) Joselito Vaca (2001–2003) Simo Valakari (2004–2006) Dave van den Bergh (2009) Greg Vanney (2005–2006) Anthony Wallace (2007–2010)

• See also All-time FC Dallas roster

Team management

• Manager: Schellas Hyndman
• Assistant Manager: John Ellinger
• First-team Coach: Marco Ferruzzi
• Goalkeeping Coach: Drew Keeshan
• Athletic Trainer: Joshua Watts

Head coaches

• Dave Dir (1996–2000)
• Mike Jeffries (2001–2003)
• Colin Clarke (2003–2006)
• Steve Morrow (2006–2008)
• Marco Ferruzzi (2008) (interim)
• Schellas Hyndman (2008—present)

Achievements

• MLS Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2010

• MLS Supporters' Shield
  • Runners-up (1): 2006

• MLS Western Conference
  • Winners (Regular Season) (1): 2006
  • Winners (Playoff) (1): 2010
  • Runners-up (Regular Season) (3): 1996, 1999, 2005
  • Runners-up (Playoff) (2): 1997, 1999

• Lamar Hunt US Open Cup
  • Winners (1): 1997
  • Runners-up (2): 2005, 2007

• Minor Trophies
  • Brimstone Cup (8): 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
  • Texas Derby (2): 2008, 2010
  • Lamar Hunt Pioneer Cup (2): 2010, 2011
  • Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic (1): 2011

Record

Main article: List of FC Dallas seasons

Year-by-year

Year	Regular Season	Playoffs	US Open Cup	CONCACAF Champions' League
1996	2nd, West	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Did not qualify
1997	3rd, West	Semifinals	Champions	Did not qualify
1998	4th, West	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Did not qualify
1999	2nd, West	Semifinals	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2000	3rd, Central	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2001	3rd, Central	Quarterfinals	Round of 32	Not held
2002	3rd, West	Quarterfinals	Semifinals	Did not qualify
2003	5th, West	Did not qualify	Round of 16	Did not qualify
2004	5th, West	Did not qualify	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2005	2nd, West	Quarterfinals	Final	Did not qualify
2006	1st, West	Quarterfinals	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2007	3rd, West	Quarterfinals	Final	Did not qualify
2008	5th, West	Did not qualify	Quarterfinals	Did not qualify
2009	7th, West	Did not qualify	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2010	3rd, West	Final	Did not qualify	Did not qualify
2011	4rd, West	Wild Card	Semifinals	Group Stage

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
Total	458	192	189	77	691	692	623	'	'

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

International competition

• 1998 CONCACAF Cup Winners Cup:

Group Stage v. Necaxa – 1:4

Group Stage v. Cruz Azul – 1:2

• 2004 La Manga Cup:

Group Stage v. Odd Grenland – 1:2

Group Stage v. Dynamo Kyiv – 2:2

Semi-Finals v. Stabæk – 2:1

Fifth Place Match v. Bodø/Glimt – 1:3

• 2007 North American SuperLiga:

Group Stage v. Guadalajara – 1:1

Group Stage v. Pachuca – 1:1

Group Stage v. Los Angeles Galaxy – 5:6

• 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League:

Preliminary Round v. Alianza – 2:0

Group Stage v. UNAM – 1:0

Group Stage v. Toronto FC – 1:0

Group Stage v. Tauro FC – 1:1

Group Stage v. UNAM – 0:2

Group Stage v. Tauro FC – 3:5

Group Stage v. Toronto FC – 0:3

See also

• Johnny Stark

References

1. ^ Major League Soccer: News: Article
2. ^ adidas MLS Soccer
3. ^ FCdallas.com
4. ^ MLssoccer.com

External links

Dallas-Fort Worth portal

• Official Website
• Big D Soccer (un-official FC Dallas News Source)
• 3rd Degree (un-official FC Dallas News Source)
• Official FCD board, courtesy of BigSoccer