How Dallas Burn’s First Starting Lineup Was Built

Players who had never been together before.

Some came from different semi-professional leagues and others came from very distant countries.

Several of them did not even understand or speak English.

That’s what Dave Dir found when he was hired as a coach to build from the ground up the first and only Texas team to participate in the inaugural MLS season in 1996, which included 10 clubs.

“It was like putting a puzzle together,” Dir said as he looked for an exact example of the challenges he faced in forming the first lineup in the history of the Dallas Burn, a franchise that changed its name to FC Dallas in 2005.

“It was a very difficult task because the players did not know each other; Some played indoor soccer, others came from second division teams, others played outside the country, so it took a lot of imagination to find a way that they could all play together at a good level, “he said.

To prepare for the first game in the history of the Dallas franchise in MLS, Dir had a very short preseason so he decided to take his squad to Mexico with the purpose of facing well-structured teams that could give him an idea of ​​which was the true potential of its players.

Back in Dallas, Dir faced serious problems to find the 11 players that would make up the starting team that on April 14, 1996 would face the Clash of San José in the Cotton Bowl, in what would be the first official game in the history of the the franchise.

“I didn’t have enough defenses to build the team, I had a lot of injured players and some others arrived at the last minute,” Dir recalled.

Diego So Señora was one of those players who came practically from the airport to the field to make up the first starting lineup of the Burn.

The Argentine did not do preseason with the team and arrived just a few days before jumping onto the field as the right back of the Dallas team.

A few hours before the match against the Clash, Dir captured on a sheet of paper, in his own handwriting, the names of the 11 players who starred in the first chapter of the Dallas team’s existence.

“At the time I didn’t think about the historical implications, but we were very excited to take the field. When you play your first official match and build a team from the beginning, you feel a great emotion to see your players jump onto the field and see them play together for the first time, ”said Dir.

The Burn won 2-1 their first game in MLS in shootouts (penalties at the end of regulation time in which the player started in front of the half court and had five seconds to kick on goal).

Forward John Kerr scored the winning goal for the Dallas team.

“It was a great satisfaction and pride to win in front of our fans,” said Dir, who now lives in Florida and is dedicated to consulting with soccer clubs.

Mark Dodd was the starting goalkeeper in the first game in Dallas team history and the memory of that day continues to thrill him.

“It was a magical moment,” said Dodd, who was 30 years old when he played his first game for the Burn.

“The most memorable thing was walking out of the tunnel onto the field, I remember it was a beautiful sunny day and seeing 30,000 fans screaming to support the team was like a dream come true,” said Dodd, who resides in North Texas and currently is dedicated to developing technology businesses.

The number of attendees at the Cotton Bowl to witness the first game in the club’s history was 27,779 fans, a situation that created chaos among the team’s managers at the time.

The club made 25,425 seats available to the public, but seeing that the number of fans was going to exceed its original forecast, the team had to rush to remove the tents that covered a portion of the stadium seats.

“We had 28 ticket booths open to sell tickets, 10 minutes before the game started there were still people lining up to buy their tickets,” said Billy Hicks, who was the general manager of the Dallas Burn in 1996, in a statement that recovered the 3rddegree.net portal

The first player hired in the history of the Dallas franchise was Mexican forward Hugo Sánchez.

The golden age of the Mexican striker, in which he won five goalscoring titles in the Spanish League, had already passed, but he was assigned by the league as the club’s flagship player.

But Sánchez had a contract with the Austrian first division club Linz and could not be present in the first eight games of the Burn. Sánchez played 23 games for the Dallas team, scored six goals and provided three assists.

Without Sánchez’s presence, the only other experienced player on the Dallas squad was Colombian midfielder Leonel Álvarez.

“Leonel was the king of the team,” said Dir.

Álvarez came to Dallas after a 13-year career that saw him play for the best clubs in Colombia and for Real Valladolid in Spain.

With the selection of his country he played 101 games, two World Cups (1990 and 1994) and five America Cups (1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1995).

“Leonel was the most professional player we had and the one who took the leadership of the team; I can’t imagine it would have been our first season in MLS without Leonel, “said Dir.

“There are players who are going to win the ‘talk’ (money) to the MLS, to go for a walk, on vacation, and I could have done the same, but I understood that you had to help and work with humility to have a strong team,” he said. Álvarez, in telephone contact with Up to date from Colombia.

“It was not necessary to contribute a grain, but a grain of sand every day,” he emphasized.

“Professor Dave used to tell me that I was like the ‘daddy of the chicks.’ Despite the fact that I was 30 years old with a lot of football to give, he saw in me not only how I played, but how I transmitted at the group and individual level, that is why he gave me the responsibility of being the captain ”, recalled the Colombian .

Although it is difficult for him to clearly remember his debut, that former midfielder with a mustache and lush curly hair registered 22 games played, three goals and five assists, and participated in the MLS All-Star Game in 1996, he valued that the effort made was not in vain.

“You close your eyes and realize that time passes very quickly. Today you look at the greatness of MLS and it makes me happy to speak after 25 years of something so beautiful that we began to build; we leave good seed ”, he pointed out.

In his first season in MLS, Dallas advanced to the playoffs by finishing second in his conference with 41 points. In the playoffs he was eliminated by the Kansas City team. DC United was the champion that season.

Who would win a game between the 1996 Dallas Burn and the 2021 FC Dallas? That is a question that defies the passage of time.

“You know, definitely if I were the goalie, I would surely (win) the 1996 team,” Dodd said with a laugh.

“I have had to comment on games from the past for television and the truth is that it amazes me how good the game was at that time,” said Dodd.

The former goalkeeper made reference to the level of play with the already very common comparison of different eras of NBA basketball.

“Magic Johnson could compete with the players of now in the NBA,” he added.

Dodd added that many of the MLS teams back then could compete against current teams.

“But having said that, now there is more depth to the teams. Simply and simply because there is more money and more international interest in the league so there are high quality players who are willing to come to MLS. In short, the great players of that era are just as good as the great players of today.

Former coach Dir shares that idea, but there is something he values ​​more than anything.

“Honestly, it was the funniest time of my life because creating something out of nothing was very different from any gold job I’ve ever had.”

Former coach Dave Dir describes the first lineup players in Dallas Burn history in five words or less:

Alignment:

Goalkeeper Mark Dodd: Very professional, good leader

Defending Diego So Señora: Dynamic and aggressive left back

Defending:Ed Puskarich: Versatile indoor soccer experience

Defending Richard Ferrer: Tremendous competitor

Midfielder Leonel Álvares: The King

Midfielder Garell Elliott: He ran very fast Midfielder

Midfielder Chad Ashton: Very technical, good player

Midfielder Lawrence Lozano: Multifunctional, could play various positions

Forward Jason Circle: No one believed that I would be so talented

Forward Washington Rodriguez: Brilliant left foot

Forward: Ted Eck: Amazing work ethic

Freelance reporter Emmanuel Quispe contributed to this report.

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