FRISCO — Every offseason sees plenty of change, but FC Dallas leadership Wednesday set out a plan far less turbulent than last offseason or winters in the past.
With the team coming off a trip to the Western Conference semifinals, in which FCD lost 2-1 to Austin FC on Sunday, major overhauls may not be needed.
Both FCD manager Nico Estévez and Chief Soccer Officer & Technical Director Andre Zanotta said they were disappointed in Sunday's defeat, with Estévez saying he'd likely watch the film back "1,000 times" to make sure he takes every lesson possible from the elimination.
But compared to last offseason, when Estévez was named head coach after the midseason firing of Luchi Gonzalez and the team sold forward Ricardo Pepi and overhauled its roster with club-record signing Alan Velasco and other additions, things may be relatively calm.
"We're clear that it has to be a stronger team than it was this year. We’re now starting in a better place than we did in 2021," Zanotta said in Spanish. "We understand we have a team that starts stronger, so now at some positions of course we have to look for players who can come and add to what we already have to be able to give Nico options and make his job harder for him" when it comes to selection.
That's not to say player signings will be the only news coming from the team. Some players have contract options, including club legend Matt Hedges, and the team needs to decide if it wants to utilize the option to buy players who were on loan, namely right back Nanu and center back Joshue Quinonez.
There's also Nov. 11's expansion draft, the MLS SuperDraft taking place just before Christmas and planning for other new arrivals to strengthen the squad.
Improvements to the team won't come only in the form of new players. Estévez overhauled several off-field elements when he arrived prior to last season, working with the club to modernize the gym, where players ate breakfast and the coaches' workspace among other areas.
During the campaign, he mentioned other areas where he hopes to compete with other MLS teams and clubs in Liga MX and abroad, who he'll face next year in Leagues Cup.
The manager said it's too soon to say exactly what those additions or improvements will be, but that he'll work with Zanotta and other leaders to make sure progress is still being made.
"Since we’ve been here, we've had the mentality to be a club that gets better every year, whether it's nutrition, whether it's sports psychology, infrastructure like the locker room, gym, everything that can help us. Training fields. People that work on the field," Estévez said. "Right now is when we, calmly, have to analyze everything that would be good and organize them because you can't do everything in one year ... It's about prioritizing the most important things, including technology, analytics, there are a lot of things in every department that can get better.
"If we want to be a club that moves forward, we’ve got to change some of these things," he added. "I think we’re better than when we started. Now it’s simply about adding small things that make us better and help us to compete and not be behind other clubs in this aspect."
Still, the most tangible way for the team to improve may be to add players in the transfer market. After selling Pepi, the team invested some of the funds to make a record signing in early 2021, bringing winger Alan Velasco in from Independiente.
"Our main focus right now with our scouts, with Nico is to find players that we believe will make our team stronger next year," Zanotta said.
What's still not entirely clear is how many designated player slots Zanotta will have to work with. Forward Franco Jara's contract keeps him on the team through June 30, though FCD could utilize a buyout to clear the place in the winter.
Players reported to the building later in the day for their end-of-season physicals and talks with players and their agents will continue during the next several days.
For now, FCD doesn't know exactly which mix of players will be back in the building next season, but it goes into the offseason feeling good about the work it needs to do and its ability to get it done as it once again looks to mount a run for a first-ever MLS Cup.