FC Dallas’ 1-1 draw at Allianz Field in Minneapolis on Saturday proved to be manager Nico Estévez’s last with the club.
On Sunday, the team ‘announced the departure’ of the third-year Spanish manager with a statement released on their social media platforms and website.
FC Dallas has announced the departure of Nico Estévez as head coach of the club.
— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 9, 2024
📰 https://t.co/8XVblioKOL pic.twitter.com/VidMEm0G9U
The pressure had been mounting on Estévez since the start of their season in late Feb. At one point during this year’s campaign, FCD went on a seven-match winless streak. Additionally, currently only the rock-bottom San Jose Earthquakes have garnered fewer points in the Western Conference than their 14 on the year.
At his May 8 press conference, Estévez got testy when asked if team owner Dan Hunt had issued him an ultimatum for the club’s poor performance.
”No, not at all,” Estévez said. ”I understand that the start of the season has not been as we expected, but it is legitimate for the owners to remove me or do whatever they believe is best for the club,” Estévez said.
Estévez said on occasion that in other countries, coaches are fired as soon as they get into a losing streak, but in the MLS, things are different. ”There are countries where there is no patience or trust in the processes, which is why their clubs or national teams do poorly. Here in the United States, people are less pessimistic and alarmist. Here, they believe more in the process. I don’t understand why somebody would doubt my ability to be a good coach just by having a bad start in two years.”
Perhaps one of the team’s lowest moments came when playing the Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake at home on May 25. FC Dallas took a 3-0 lead in the second half of the match, only to surrender three consecutive goals and end the match in a draw. Estévez was showered with a chorus of boos as he left the field into the tunnel.
The club announced that assistant coach Peter Luccin will take over on an interim basis while they search for a permanent replacement.
The play of FC Dallas has been steadily declining after Estévez’s successful 2022 season in his first year as manager. That year, they finished in third place in the Western Conference, qualified for the playoffs and lost in the conference semifinals. In 2023, they finished in 7th in the Western Conference and lost in the opening round of the playoffs.
Estévez’s role as manager of FC Dallas was his first of such in the MLS. Previously he worked alongside current USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter as an assistant for the USMNT and Columbus Crew.
Even with the season-ending knee injury of one of FCD’s key players in Paxton Pomykal, the roster still has plenty of firepower with the likes of club-record signing, Croatian striker Petar Musa and USMNT regular Jesús Ferreira.
Peter Luccin’s first match as interim manager will be this next Saturday at home against fellow Western Conference bottom dwellers St. Louis SC.
Find more FC Dallas coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
