FC Dallas interim head coach Peter Luccin is one of three finalists for the permanent head coaching position, according to Chief Soccer Officer André Zanotta in Tuesday’s end of year press conference.
“We started the head coach search process a month ago,” Zanotta explained. “There’s so much interest for coaches to come to MLS. We got more than 120 candidates and we narrowed that down to 13 or 14. Sandro (Orlandelli, FCD’s technical director) interviewed those coaches and presented all this to Clark and Dan (Hunt, owners of FC Dallas).
“We will bring three finalists to be interviewed here in the next couple of weeks so we can make a final decision. Peter (Luccin) is one of the three candidates.”
Luccin joined the FCD coaching staff as an assistant in 2019 before being promoted to interim head coach this June following the dismissal of Nico Estévez. In his half season at the helm, Luccin earned an 8-7-3 record in MLS play.
FCD president Dan Hunt went on to explain how previous MLS coaching experience will be factored into the club’s final decision.
“For me, it is a big factor. There are great coaches around the world and we've been interviewing international candidates, with a lot of great ideas, but MLS is a unique league. It's got a unique set of rules that are so different. It's always nice to have candidates with some kind of either MLS experience, MLS roots, or an understanding or a personal relationship with us as an ownership (group) or technical staff.
“We've all seen plenty of international coaches that have come in (to MLS), and maybe struggled with the structure of this league and how it is set up. Because it's really not a free for all on players. It's a lot more thoughtful process. And so that's been a big, a big part of the conversation. But we also want people who understand who FC Dallas is, what our ethos is, and people we can connect with and all work together in a positive way.”
Aside from the coaching search, Zanotta and Hunt discussed the club’s roster and how they plan to improve it ahead of the 2025 season. They spoke at length about the team’s defensive struggles this season, having conceded 56 goals—19 more than in the previous campaign (37).
“We need to strengthen our defense, it’s something we really struggled with this season,” Zanotta said. “It’s not only on the defenders, it’s a collective action for all players. But defenders is (the position) where we’re really going to target for improvement for next season.”
Hunt: “We've got to add some impactful players, and we got away from who we are defensively this this year, which was unfortunate and a little bit unexpected. And so we'll obviously focus there. We have these great assets and guys who can score goals, and so we've got to give them the ball service so that they need to do that.”
On the topic of roster building, Zanotta clarified that the club will announce decisions regarding players’ contract options after informing them within the next week. As of now, FCD has three players out of contract (Jimmy Maurer, Ruan, Asier Illarramendi), one on loan with an option to buy (Patrickson Delgado) and 15 more with contract options for 2025: Eugene Ansah, Liam Fraser, Sebastien Ibeagha, Sam Junqua, Dante Sealy, Nkosi Tafari, Ema Twumasi, Antonio Carrera, Herbert Endeley, Logan Farrington, Omar Gonzalez, Amet Korça, Tsiki Ntsabeleng, Isaiah Parker, Malik Henry-Scott.
If the club activates a player’s contract option, they’ll be on the roster for 2025 and potentially beyond. If their option is declined, they’ll become free agents.
