With Saturday's match in San Jose marking Schellas Hyndman's final game as FC Dallas manager, here at FCDallas.com we'll be counting down our top 10 list of best moments over the last five and a half seasons that Hyndman has been at the helm leading up to Saturday afternoon's game. Here are the first three:
#10 - Butter Leather Jacket - November 6, 2010
On the day after the club's first playoff win in eight years, the talk was not only about Hyndman's squad, but the epic butter leather jacket the long-time gaffer was sporting on the sidelines at Rio Tinto Stadium. Hyndman told MLSsoccer.com in 2010 that he bought the jacket at a now-defunct Dallas-area clothing store called Marvin Brown and three years later, people still mention the jacket as a cult hero of FC Dallas lore.
What Schellas said: “It was really surprising that the jacket made more headlines than the damn wins," a smiling Hyndman said on Wednsday. "I always called it my lucky jacket, and I think the players started seeing it as a lucky jacket and then we played so well. I do still have the jacket, in fact when we needed games [recently] I almost wore it, but my wife wouldn't let me.”
#9 - First Win as FCD Coach - July 27, 2008
Hyndman's first win as FCD coach
It took Hyndman five games to earn his first win as FC Dallas manager as FCD tied three of his first four games, but his first win certainly came with a bang. Playing in hundred-degree temperatures, Hyndman and FCD schellacked David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy 4-0 behind a pair of goals from Kenny Cooper, a player who would score plenty for Hyndman over the years. Hyndman finishes his MLS career 5-6-4 vs Los Angeles in MLS Regular Season and playoff games, including a big win that will certainly pop up on the countdown later.
What Schellas said: "It was a great win. If you remember at the time I’ve got to think it was pretty hot out here and I think it was a game where their coach didn’t even let the boys come out and warm up because it was so hot," said Hyndman. "They didn’t want to be here and we were so anxious to get the win. All wins are great, but that was a great first professional win."
#8 - Jeff Cunningham's Golden Boot Run - Fall 2009
Cunningham's 2009 Season
Typically you wouldn't include individual player achievements in a coach top 10 list, but it was just too hard to leave Jeff Cunningham's run out of the list. The enigmatic Jamaican was as hot as any player in FCD history in the fall of 2009, going on a run that saw him score four goals in a 6-0 win over Kansas City as well as a run of six straight games with a goal from September 5 to October 7. Cunningham had four multi-goal games in 2009 and won four player of the week awards in a 15-week span. Cunningham's late run that nearly sparked FCD into an improbable playoff spot culminated in 17 goals, topping Rapids forward Conor Casey by one goal to earn the 2009 MLS Budweiser Golden Boot, the second time in franchise history a player has won the award as well as Cunningham's second Golden Boot.
What Schellas said: "He was a player that could make a goal out of nothing. Jeff would always come out to practice early and juggle up and down the field and he had his routine about how he was going to do things," said Hyndman. "I think he was just a player that worked really hard at his craft and became better and better. That was a year that we were just so proud of him and happy for him to win that award and when he [set the record for MLS career league scoring leader], I sent him a text right away congratulating him. He was a special player for FC Dallas."
