FRISCO, Texas - Nico Estévez was announced as FC Dallas' eighth head coach in club history last week. Since he's new to the club, city, and fans, we asked him a few questions to get to know him better off the field.
What was your favorite team growing up?
Estévez: “Valencia. It was a dream (working for Valencia). It was unbelievable, I had the chance to coach the first team as interim head coach. It was a very exciting week, something special having all my family and friends there. It was special."
What’s your favorite food?
Estévez: “Paella. I cook paella and I’ll do it (for the team), don’t worry.”
Do you have a favorite book?
Estévez: “Right now, it’s my dad’s book: Entre de Corazones de Ámbar, by Nicolás Estévez. It’s his first book. It’s a novel where the characters are fictional, but the story is historical. It’s about the independence of Lithuania from the Soviet Union. It’s amazing. My dad worked at a university in Valencia and he was in charge of creating and establishing relationships with universities around the world for exchange students. And he helped Lithuania to create that connection with the European Union and allow them to exchange students. He was in Lithuania for a long time and he fell in love with the city and people. He felt like he needed to write something for the country."
Do you have a favorite movie?
Estévez: "This is a tough question for me. I’ll think about it and pick one later.”
What about TV shows?
Estévez: “Lately I’ve been watching Ted Lasso. Also, Money Heist, which is big in Spain right now. (It’s called Casa de Papel in Spain). I also like The Blacklist. My wife is more into TV shows but we always try to find one to watch together.”
Is there a type of music you like?
Estévez: "Yeah, I’m huge into music. To be honest, I don’t like a specific one, I enjoy different things depending on the moment. From where I’m from (Valencia), it’s a party city. There’s a lot of electric house music, chill house and heavy house too. I like this kind of party music. But I enjoy everything. Being here, I like hip hop and rap."
Favorite sport other than soccer?
Estévez: “I’ve always liked basketball. I was very into Michael Jordan and now my favorite player is Luka Doncic. I really love him. I’ve only been to one basketball game and it was here, Dallas Mavericks against Houston Rockets. It was when I worked for the Columbus Crew Academy and we were in Dallas for a tournament.”
