FC Dallas dismisses coach Nico Estevez after 3-8-5 start to the MLS season
FILE - FC Dallas head coach Nico Estévez looks on from the sideline during the first half of Game 3 of a first round playoff MLS soccer match against the Seattle Sounders, Nov. 10, 2023, in Seattle. FC Dallas on Sunday, June 9, 2024, dismissed Estévez who was in his third season with the team. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
FC Dallas on Sunday dismissed coach Nico Estevez, who was in his third season with the team.
Dallas has gone 3-8-5 this season and sits in second-to-last in Major League Soccer’s Western Conference. Dallas, winless in its last five matches, was coming off a 1-1 draw on the road with Minnesota United on Saturday.
“It is always a difficult decision to part ways with your head coach. A great deal of thought and deliberation went into this move as it is still early in the season. We believe a coaching change is in the best interest of the club,” FC Dallas President Dan Hunt said in a statement Sunday. “I want to thank Nico for everything he has done for the club, including some great playoff memories.”
Assistant coach Peter Luccin will serve as interim head coach, the team said.
Estevez, who is from Spain, was hired before the 2022 season and led the team to the conference semifinals in the playoffs. Dallas returned to the playoffs last year and advanced to the knockout round of the Leagues Cup.
Dallas was 28-27-29 in the regular season over Estevez’s tenure as Dallas’ coach.
Estevez is the third MLS coach to depart his team this season. Last week Atlanta United dismissed coach Gonzalo Pineda last week and Nashville parted ways with Gary Smith in mid-May.
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