FC Dallas acquires center back Amet Korca from HNK Gorica, says goodbye to Franco Jara

FC Dallas bolstered its defense with the signing of Amet Korça from Croatian club HNK Gorica, pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate, the club announced Tuesday.

Dallas signed the 22-year-old, 6'3" center back to a one-year contract for 2023 with club options for the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Korça was born and raised in Arlington, Texas, attending The Oakridge School and playing for Solar SC before making his recent sojourn to Croatia. 

“Amet is from Texas and has international experience in the first division in Croatia, which is an incredibly competitive league,” said FC Dallas technical director André Zanotta regarding the move. “He brings that European experience with him as he returns home to Texas. Amet adds valuable depth to our roster.”

Korça’s three and a half years in Croatia were spent with clubs in the first and second divisions. He joined SNK Dinamo Zagreb’s academy in 2019, went on loan and later transferred to NK Dubrava where he played 65 matches in 2020-21 and joined HNK Gorica in July 2022.

Korça’s signing comes after Dallas said goodbye to veteran defender and captain Matt Hedges in December 2022, moving on to Toronto FC after 11 seasons with Dallas. In addition to Korça, Dallas also signed center back Sebastien Ibeagha from Los Angeles FC on Dec. 5, 2022, joining José Martínez and Nkosi Tafari.

“There’s no replacing somebody like [Hedges], as the player or the person,” said FC Dallas President Dan Hunt in the club’s farewell to him. “It's just how we adapt and evolve and work within the constraints that we have. We're focused on building an even better team this next year, but that's a big hole for us to fill.”

Korça will join his new teammates for entrance physicals, medical exams and testing at Toyota Soccer Center on Wednesday as Dallas begins its preseason. Training will begin Friday at Toyota Soccer Center and continue there until Jan. 28 before Dallas travels to Marbella Football Center in San Pedro Alcántara, Spain, for a training camp from Jan. 30 to Feb. 9 before coming back to Texas to complete its preseason.

While the Korça signing was the biggest roster news this week, the club made another announcement on Tuesday with possible implications on FC Dallas's long-term prospects. The club mutually terminated its contract with striker Franco Jara, whose significant salary earned him additional scrutiny during his time with the Toros. 

The club's official release noted: 

Jara, 34, joined Dallas as a Designated Player in July 2020 after signing a pre-contract on January 21 of the same year following five seasons with Liga MX’s CF Pachuca. Jara played in 78 MLS matches for FC Dallas, scoring 17 goals and netting three assists. 

“Jara was the ultimate professional during his tenure with FC Dallas," said FC Dallas technical director Andre Zanotta. “We appreciate his contributions to the club and wish him the best as he enters the next phase of his career.”

Jara's salary certainly had to be a factor in the decision. In 2022, Jara made $2.54 million in base salary, making him the 18th-highest-paid player in the league according to the MLS Players Association salary guide — outpacing such league standouts as MVP winner Hany Mukhtar, MVP runner-up Sebastián Driussi and Sounders standout Raul Ruidiaz. Jara was actually 4th in the league in guaranteed compensation, getting $3.227 million. Only Carles Gil, Rodolfo Pizarro and Nico Lodeiro made more. 

Over the past two seasons, Jara primarily played in a substitute role, making 59 regular-season appearances but only making 19 starts in that time span. After scoring seven goals in each of his first two seasons, Jara managed just three goals and an assist last year in 886 regular season minutes.