FRISCO, Texas — May the 2026 Major League Soccer season begin.
FC Dallas President Dan Hunt said, “the way we finished 2025 is the expectation of this club” in his opening statement of the season-opening press conference.
A preseason that took place in both Frisco and Algarve, Portugal, plus additions to the coaching staff and changes made to the roster, have the squad primed and ready for this coming Saturday’s match against Toronto FC to ring in the new season.
Hunt says this is the deepest roster FC Dallas has ever had, that making the 20 player game roster is going to be a challenge because they are “too deep at every position.”
The club will have no further outbound transfers except for GK Maarten Paes, according to Hunt, who says part of Paes’ reason for transferring was family related. There has been interest in players like forward Petar Musa, but Hunt says FCD is focusing on more inbound than outbound transfers.
One such inbound transfer being attacking midfielder Joaquín Valiente’s. Chief Soccer Officer André Zanotta says they are working on getting his visa approved in time for this Saturday—whether it gets cleared in time, him starting immediately or coming off the bench will be up to head coach Eric Quill.
Zanotta says he created more options for Quill in every position—that it’s his job to bring a headache to him, with lots of players fighting and wanting the opportunity.
Quill says this team’s mantra is simple: this roster is a bunch of dogs.
A player who has “dog in his DNA” is Valiente, whom Quill also describes as “illusive on the dribble,” someone “who’d make the first guy miss,” a “1v1 guy who unbalances opponent in midfield” and a player who is “gonna be a fan favorite.”
Quill says he loves this team’s chemistry, and that they’ve been building ever since the first day of preseason given that all of the team has been together since then, minus Valiente.
A team that “failed here last year in our stadium,” Quill said the number one change they are focusing on is being who they were on the road, at home. At Toyota Stadium, the team had 6 wins, 3 draws and 8 losses. Away from Frisco, they had 5 wins, 8 draws, 4 losses.
Hunt said the team needs to “match that form on the road,” and that consistency is needed at home for the fans.
FC Dallas also conceded first 11 times last season, across MLS league matches and the U.S. Open Cup. Hunt noted how they cannot concede goals first, noting the team did that too much last season.
Toronto is first on the schedule for FC Dallas, the rest of the season to follow putting this new FCD team to the test.
