December 12th, 2008 . 12:13 pm . By: Buzz Carrick

You may have read on the blog yesterday that Coach Hyndman met with some of the media, yours truly as well.  Some bits of that marathon session showed up in Al Dia today.  Rather thank chop it up and make one little story, I’d figured I’d just give you the whole thing and you can see for yourself what the coach is thinking.  Some of this we know, and some of it is new.  One thing for sure it’s the longest interview I’ve ever had to type out.

Not all of these questions were asked by myself of course, but who asked isn’t that important and I wanted to include them all.

So here it is…

Schellas Hyndman Interview

Talk about buying out Davino’s contract.

Ok.  You know what, it was a mutual agreement.  Me coming in late and I think with Duilio injured, I don’t think he as ever able throughout the year to show his best.  We gave up quite a few goals this year and I just felt we needed something a little bit different.  And that little difference is maybe a little more athletic. 

Davino is one of the most classy people I’ve ever been around, soccer person or not soccer person.  He is a man of great integrity and a good human being.  I think he also saw an opportunity to play in Mexico, I think with Leon, the team with which he started.  He’d like to finish his career there.  So I think it was a case where both parties felt it was the best thing for both.

Did you approach him or did he approach you?

It was a situation where we both understood that things had to be changed.  My first conversation with Duilio was, “Things have to be better.” And his first conversation to me was, “I don’t think you saw the best out of me.”  With which I would agree.

But at the same time we need… I think because we’re such a young team, because we have such a young defense, that we needed something more athletic, more speed, and so forth.  So it got him thinking.

I think he really felt connected here, wanted to be here as well. But a part of him also wanted to be in Mexico and play for Leon.  It was just mutually agreed on, it wasn’t a case where we said, “We don’t want you back.”

The first move was made by you?

I think the first conversation is always made by the coach.  It’s a review of your season.  We do that with every player.  When we went through that review we just went farther.

So it was less about the money and more about not being the right fit as a player?

Absolutely.  It wasn’t the money it was more of a situation of, “What a good player, in a different environment.” Leadership qualities, but can’t speak English so you lose so much of that.  Good human being, but really being unable to be captain if you want.  Being unable to go to people.

You know we had some issues this year with a few players. It would have been nice for the captain to go over and say, “I been there, this is wrong, blah blah blah.”  But people didn’t want to get into that.

In the whole situation it’s going to be good for both parties. I think it’s going to be Duilio happy playing for Leon and for us we need to make our defense a little bit more athletic.

So when you approached him the first time you were proposing the buyout?

No, no.

When we talked the first time we were reviewing the season.  Reviewing the season and saying, “These are the things we need in the future, can you do it?”  Duilio just never felt he was at his best and I would agree.  But I also felt our defense needed a change.  We needed one athletic player in the back.  We needed one athletic player that could cover up for people’s mistakes.

When did the buyout idea come up?

I think it came up when I was down in brazil or in Argentina when I was going down looking for a defender.   And we’ve identified a couple players, and I think at that time, “Why don’t you just kinda look into it.”  I think you guys know me, I’m pretty personal so I even had a meeting with his agent.  We had lunch and I talked about some of the things that concerned me. 

In Argentina and Brazil?

Here.

That was before you left then?

Yes.  I talked to his agent cause at that time I was already trying to put things into a plan.

You said you identified a couple players, can  you talk about what you may or may not have found in South America?

I can talk in general, but I don’t want to talk about names cause once I do then I’m letting their agents know, other people know that are also competing for the same people, and the value starts to go up just form the competition. But I will get a little more specific when I can. 

We spent four days at River Plate.  We have a  tremendous relationship with them.  It’s neat when they say, “We consider FC Dallas our brothers in Argentina and we hope you consider us your brothers in Dallas.”  So it’s a great, wonderful relationship, not only to see how they develop their players form the youth all the way to the first team, but at the same time to get a chance to watch their first team train.  I think we watched their first team train three times, and watched the reserves train once, and watched a game.  So we’re looking at those players.

Now, there’s players we’re interested in, they also…

First team players?

Yes, There’s first team players we’re interested in.  They also have players they’ve loaned out to other countries that were interested in.  I’ve watched one player in particular probably play six DVD games.  Unfortunately when I went to watch him play, it was at the same time there was another game going where there were three players I was looking at, so I chose to watch the Atlético Paranaense game. 

But they’re expensive.  Players we want, the people in Dallas, the coaches… they’re expensive players, but they are very good.

Expensive in salary or expensive on the transfer fee?

Both.  On salary, buyout, buying the player straight out, or a loan.  Their expensive players, they’re good players.

So we’re… the trip to Argentina was very, very useful.  The thing I tried to stay away from was reserve players.  I don’t think we need any more  young players.  I think this is a double edge sword for us.  We talk about our future, we got so many good young players. I don’t know if we need any more good young players.  I think we need established player, players with experience who can help our young players grow.  So I chose not to look at their reserve players very seriously.  Even though I recorded two names I want to keep an eye on.  So I’m looking more for players that are playing on the first team. 

From there we went to Atlético Paranaense, spent five days there.  Watched their Under 17s train, which was enjoyable, but there’s not players there I’m looking at.  Went to watch the under-twenties play, who are getting ready to win the Brazilian under 20 championship, and again enjoyable but there really wasn’t players there.  And then I went to watch their first team train. Again I watched their first team train three times and watched them play a game.  There are players from Atlético Paranaense that we are making offers to.

We hope…

Was that Players plural?

Yes, let’s say two players to be specific.  Two players at Atlético Paranaense that we really like, that we would like to…

Defenders, forwards?

One’s a second striker, another one is a defender.  So a lot of that is their profile may be that Atlético Paranaense wants to send them to Europe because of the money.  There was an agent in from Dubai.  So their profile may be, “you know what, we can go to FC Dallas for $20,000 a year.  Or we can go to Dubai for twenty million dollars a year.” So it’s what is the best thing for Atlético Paranaense.  What they are going to want to do.

So I think the positive things that were made from our trip to Argentina and Brazil was 1. identifying players for immediate help.  2. identifying players for future help.  There was one very, very good player that was brought in form the 17s to the first team that they think will he’ll starting next year.  I looked at him and said, “wow, that’s a guy we get right now.” He’s going to be a high level player.  There a player with Argentina that was called into the under 20 national team that I was interested in, but they have bigger plans for him.

So there’s players now, identifying player for the future. And I think the third thing that was very, very valuable was to develop the continuing relationship for future players.  And also for our academies.  Right now we’ve got a couple players that down in Argentina training with River Plate form our academy.  We also have players that we’re encouraging to come up here and train with us.  An exchange of coaches, send a coach down there for a month.  Let them bring a coach in for a month.  Then we talked a lot about preseason. 

So we got a lot of things done.  But as I said earlier I was beat down, cause as soon as I got to Brazil we did the [Brazilian steak house].  Come on let’s take you to like a Fogo de Chow.  So it was beef, beef, beef.  

So it was a really good trip, now what we are doing is, we are… yesterday we spent three hours going through our identification of players. Also identification of college players, and we have a chance to see quite a few of them out this weekend.  For adidas Generation or drafting of players.  We’re in a good situation were have two first round draft picks and two second round draft picks.  Whether we use those draft picks or use them in a trading for others.  I think we’re in a pretty good situation.

We’re pretty far ahead of I think were FC Dallas has been in the past.  I don’t know but from talking to Marco Ferruzzi, I think we’ve been pretty organized and we’ve been targeting people and targeting positions.

Going back to trip, you seem to understand the mentality of coming here versus Europe.  You also go over there and want to bring the best you can, how do you fight that European draw to bring the best you can?

As a college coach for many years I would walk into a players house and say I can offer you 50% of a scholarship realizing other schools are offering them a full scholarship and still be able to win some of those battles.  So I think the important thing is to go in there and try and get the best possible player you can get, but we’re also in a point in time where that player may want to be in American.  That player may want to have their children grow in the states, to learn English… or potentially be in a country that could be unstable.

So for many of the professional players it’s not always about the money.  It’s about family first, lifestyle.  And it’s got to be money that can make them feel… quite honestly we’re talking to one player now that is a very good player from Europe and he has a contract in turkey, he’s got a contract in Mexico, and potentially he could have a contract in Dallas.  The money may be better in Turkey, the money may be better in Mexico, but the lifestyle may be better here.  So we’ve now invited him in to come and visit Dallas. So if he can come in and look at our facilities, meet the coaches, look at a home that he could buy and his family can live in…. That may make a little bit of a difference to him cause he already has his money.  He’s a well known player and he’s established, so he already has his money.  So it’s now more about lifestyle.

Is this a Paranaense player?

A player form Europe. 

Bayern Munich?

No, not form Bayern Munich, I can tell you that.  But he’s a good payer, if we are able to get him you will all be pleased.

Did you see the Funes brothers in Argentina?

I did not see them.  They’re in a situation in the training sessions where they are going through tests.

It’s interesting thing in Argentina, they bring in about ten thousand kids a year.  Ten thousand kids a year to try out for all their teams.  What they do is select the best.  They train them for a year.  After that year they decide if they are going to keep them or if they will let them go.  So when I was there it was a big test time to evaluate the player one last time to see who they are keeping and they will then also bring in some new people to compare them to.

So those boys… but the report I got on them was that they like them, they would like to keep them, and they would like to get them to play.  Cause right now all they can do is train, they can’t play.  They can’t play cause they haven’t signed anything to be with them.

Is it just the two brother that are down there?

The twins? yes.

In other words, want to sign them and keep them for the year.

Yeah, sign them so they can play.  Cause right now they can’t play.

Would that be the third or fourth division?

I think it would be playing in the youth level.  In the under 18s.

You know what is so encouraging is that we have players in Dallas that River Plate would want. 

Are they on your home list?

Of course.

Who are the other 5 players who’s options weren’t picked up.

Wagenfuhr cause of the injury, Sikora.  The others you’ll have to ask Hitchcock.  Hitch writes all these things down.

I think a big thing that has occurred that we all have to be concerned about, is the roster dropping from 28 to 24.  When the roster has dropped from 28 to 24, the first thing that comes into my mind, is that there’s going to be some player that were on this team last year that won’t be on the team this year.  Numbers 28 through 24.  They’re not going to be on the team this year cause there is no space for them.  You bring in new player.

The second thing that goes through my mind is, boy is the A-League going to get better all of a sudden.  Cause those guys are still wanting to play soccer and they’re going to go somewhere. There’s a new A-League team in Austin that’s starting up.  So now there going to play somewhere but every MLS team are going to have to let their lower level players go at this time and it’s going to make the A-League better.  It’s not going to be great for them.

So I think we’ve had some conversations with some player.  What we did was spend about 40 minutes with every player to review their personal season.  We talked about their strengths and weaknesses, we graded players after every game, after every performance, so we gave them an average of their grades.  And then we talked about their future. 

So obviously some players we said, “we hear that the roster is going to be dropped, but we we’re not sure and we feel you’re a player we want in here for preseason training, but we’re not going to be able to pick up your option right now.  But we’d love to have you back for training”  Cause it’s fair to them and it’s also fair to the new people to come in that you have a comparison.

Where are talks with Cunningham?

Very close, very close.  I think Jeff was a great addition to this team and I hope you all feel that way.  At the same time we also brought him in with the understanding that we were going to re-do his contract. 

Like all players, the first thing you offer to them, they go, “it’s gotta be better than this.”  So we’re back into making it better than that.  So that’s Hitch’s environment, but I’m sure it will get done. 

I think Jeff really likes it here.  He likes the player, he likes Dallas, he likes the team.  I think he’s wife and baby are here, he would like to buy a house and live here. He’s doing what all pros are gonna do, take care of himself.

He said he still think he can play at that level of 2006 when he won the Golden Boot, and it sounds like you agree with that.  He felt like he could even put up better number than he did in 06.

You know what, it’s a remarkable thing about people’s genes.  He’s still going very strong at his age.  You look at the boy Lima, that played for San Jose, I think he’s 35 years old.  When I was 35 years old I was walking with a limp.  This guy is 35 years old and still playing with 18, 19 year olds. 

So I think Jeff has those great, god given genes.  He still has his speed, still has quickness, and he also has this great experience and intelligence.  I think for him to have the type of season that he had in 2006, I think the supporting case, the people around him, has got to help.  When you look at our team this year, we didn’t get al to of goals form our midfield, so our goals came from our forward, particularly Kenny.  But if we can get some more help from our midfield, I think the player like Jeff and Kenny will find more opportunities to be free.

Everyone was aware of Cunningham’s reputation, but when he got here he was almost the opposite from that in reality.

That’s the bad thing about a reputation.  You work your whole life to have a good reputation and you do one thing wrong and you’ve ruined that whole reputation.  I think that Jeff has probably irritated some people in his career, didn’t see eye to eye.  And probably as a young player, finding success, probably wasn’t willing to compromise as much.  I think that sour situation in Toronto was to our benefit cause he came in getting a breath of fresh air.  “Wow, Dallas.  What a great city, they want me.” And he re-started his career and opportunities here and he’s really enjoyed it.

You recall the first game he played in was Columbus, he only trained a few days and I started him against Columbus, which was a little bit of s surprise to a lot of people.  But I didn’t bring him here to say, “you gotta earn your starting position.”  Instead he went out and scored a goal.  I think it was a good faith for me to say, “Jeff you’re one of the people we want.  We’re going to play you now.  All we ask you to do is be a good person  and good team player.” And I think he’s been great. 

Quite honestly, there was one issues in practice were something went wrong.  I just grabbed him and I said, “let’s go sit down and talk.”  We had a great conversation and I said, “Jeff these are not the kind of things that I want here.”  We understood each other, we looked each other in the eye, we communicated, and we walked away.  Ok?  After training he took a shower, walked into my office and said, “thank you so much for the way you handled that.”  So I think that he’s a great guy.

I just think that sometimes if you get in someone’s face, you can’t think that they’re a ten year old who’s going to say “yes sir” and walk away.  You just got to be able to communicate with them.  I think he has such a reputation of a fighter that sometimes people expect that.  My thing with him is to just talk to him as an adult. 

The worst thing a player can have with a coach is when they are not communicating, cause you’re always going to think the worst.  “The coach doesn’t like me, the coach has something against me.” You’re always think why the coach is doing what he’s doing and you turn it over ten different reasons.  I don’t want to every get into that situation, I always want to go to a player so they don’t have to think about what I’m saying.  I’m honest and  truthful with them and hopefully we can work it out.

Now that’s not always going to happen but with Jeff I think we’ll be able to get everything squared out cause he wants to be here.  He probably took it as one of the hardest on our team that we didn’t get into the playoffs.  It was right after that, that I had the little issue with him.  I said, “why are you doing this,” and he goes, “coach, this is so hard, coming out here and training and not playing in the playoffs.”  So we talked it through and got it all sorted out. 

I think he is a good player for us and think he’ll be a better player if we get some supporting cast around him.

You said FCD had made best offer to Kenny, and eventually you needed to know what Cooper’s plan is.  Have you reached that point where he’s told you what he wants to do and are you planning to have him here or not have him here?

Good question.  I think… if I’ve been on the job for six months, this has been going on for six months.  This is one issue that just never seems to ever go away. It’s tough cause you want the best for the player and he’s a great, great kid…. a young man and he’s a good player and he’s got such a great future.  I think he’ll be in Europe whether it’s this year, next year, or two year’s form now. 

But I think we are very close of making a decision.  I think what’s going to end up happening, my feeling is, it may come to a point where the team corms first and it’s, “Kenny, you’re here no matter what.  You’ve had this opportunity, this has gone on a little to long. We don’t want to lose you, we’ve given you that chance to find something else.  It hasn’t worked out”  I mean the Rosenborg situation was a done deal then it fell apart, in the mean time we’re going right and left, and left and right not knowing. 

In the mean time, let’s not underestimate that he is an absolute great talent.  Can this team survive without someone scoring 18 goals?  So when you look at all those end products we don’t want to lose him, but we also realize that if we are going to lose him, when I’m in Argentina, when I’m in Brazil, I’m also having to look for a striker.  Now I’m getting people from Europe saying, “I’ve got a great striker for you.”  But I would like to not think about that. 

Just like Dario Sala.  We resigned Dario Sala.  Isn’t it nice to not have to worry about a goalkeeper?  Now I can think about other things.  So we gotta come to a complete… “you’re here or you’re not here.” And I think it’s going to be very soon.

Are you willing to let him go or are you more inclined to keep him? Cause you hold the cards.

I think part of Schellas is I want the best for the player.  Did it help us letting Toja go?  Now when you look at it, no.  We didn’t get into the playoffs and that was our aim.  So it hurt us, I think, to let Toja go.  But I don’t think I would have ever got out of Toja what he gave the year before.  I think Toja was much better the year before.  So what was the difference?  I think it was mental.   So Toja wanted to be somewhere else.  So I did what was the best thing for Toja, I don’t think it might have been the best thing for FC Dallas, but I did the best thing for Toja. 

With Kenny, I would like to also do the best thing for Kenny. I like Kenny a lot, I like his family a lot.  Sometimes I try to make decision on how I would want to be treated.  If my grandson had an opportunity to go play for Man U, I wouldn’t want somebody to say he cant go. 

I want to do the best thing for Kenny, but I can not hurt this team to do that.  If I hurt this team to do that, then I’ll be watching from the stands or some place else.  I wont be here.  My responsibility is to my self, and my family, and this program.  So we are working very hard to compromise, and try and work with Kenny.  It think we’ve offered him a very good contract.  Now it’s just what is in his mind.

Clark Hunt said the league doesn’t want domestic player to take a DP slot.

Correct.

So in Kenny’s case what is the compromise you’re talking about, is that a designate player or?

No, it can’t be a designated player.  You probably know, that is the league were to agree to make Kenny a designated player, Taylor Twellman is going to show up, Shalrie Joseph is going to show up, Landon Donovan is going to show up, Brian Ching is going to show up… and it’s going to be, “You gave it to Kenny Cooper, why not to me?” 

Believe me we went to the league on this.  We want to keep him.  We’ve done everything we possibly can with Clark’s blessing and the league has come back and said no.

The Rosenborg deal didn’t go through cause of Kenny?

Yes.

Can you talk about Pablo Ricchetti?

It’s an interesting thing, when I was down in Argentina.  Cause you know Pablo played there, at River Plate.  I brought up the point and their administrator said to me, “This is the normal way here.  If a player has a good year he wants a new contract. Forget that his contract has two more years on it. It’s normal, everybody does it.”

“So what do you recommend for me to do.”

He goes, “You need to let Pablo know he’s not at River Plate.  He’s in the West and you have your own ways of doing things.”  Cause as I just said to you about the designated player, if we just tear up the two years Pablo has left o his contract and give you a new contract, who’s not going to come in next time?  I would. 

Pablo is very important to this team. He’s a very good player, and he’s a very good person for the community.  With Pablo Ricchetti, I’m staying completely out of it.  It’s not my job. You give me the players that want to be here and then I’ll coach them.  With Pablo if he has any concerns, he’ll share them with Michael and i think he and Michael will be able to sort it out.

What if he does like Toja and plays poorly next year?

I think my only answer to you on this, is that every player, every coach, and every person has choices.  You make your choice.  If your choice is, “I’m not happy and I’m not going to do it.” Then that’s your choice.  And we’ll move on with somebody who wants to play here 

I hope it never gets to that, but I’m also not naive to think that… Juan wanted to leave.  I think Juan and I had a good relationship.  But I could never get through to him…  He wanted more money, he wanted more money, he wanted more money… and then when it got the point where it wasn’t going to change and then, “I’m injured and I can’t play today.” And it started to effecting the team.  And that’s where I said maybe it’s time to move on.

But I have complete confidence that everything will be all right with Pablo.  I think he wants to be here and I think he’s a great man.  He’s got a house here, family here.  I just think the mentality is from River Plate, where it’s been accepted there, why wouldn’t it be accepted here? 

I stay out of contracts and contract negotiations.

He mentioned LA, was that just posturing?

You know what, that was… I think what ended up happening is that teams just put out  to Dallas, “hey we like Saragosa, we like Kenny Cooper, we like Brek Shea, we like Dom.”  Everyone has people on our team they like.  The same ones we do.  I mean I contacted Colorado, “I like Colin Clarke, I like Ugo.” Cause they played for me.  I don’t know that just cause I said that, that it means I want them.

No, no one has really contacted me and said, “we want to trade for this player.”  But I’ve had people contact me about all of our players. In emails, saying, “hey any interest in moving so and so.”

You said before you had specific requests for Pablo?

In an email.  We’ve had specific requests for a lot of our players. 

An interesting thing is how many teams out there likes our players.  There’s a lot of teams out there that like our players. I think we have a lot of talent.  I think they look at our player to make them better.  But they don’t want to give up their players. 

Whether it’s a Kenny Cooper, “We’ll give you our third string striker for Kenny Cooper.”  That’s the kind of stuff we have. 

Are you concerned with Shea’s second surgery this year?

He already had it.  He just had the second miscues.  What happened was, I was in Argentina, so you probably didn’t hear much about it, but he had that meniscus tear and they sowed it up.  He’s been working like crazy, he’s probably in there working now.  All excited, we were getting ready to send him to the under 20 camp, cause the doctors were going to release him.  And we took him into a few more tests out there and he felt a pop.  So the doctor looked again and did a surgery on him the other day and this time they removed a part to he meniscus that did not heal.  It didn’t connect well, so they thought the best thing to do was remove it.

This is going to be a quick recovery, three to four weeks.  So I’m not concerned by the number, I’m maybe more concerned about maybe the first time it didn’t take and we just needed to make it better.  If it had been an ACL and we just had another ACL, I would be concerned.

Dello-Russo improved after you got here, can you talk about that and maybe how he did toward the end of the season.

Dello-Russo is a warrior.  He fights every day in training.  He works extremely hard.  He’s one of those guys if you’re going to be taking a ten hour flight somewhere you want to be sitting next to him.  He’s just a good guy.  And I think he was given some opportunities by me.  He’s versatile, you know he can play midfield, wide, center, defense. 

But he did pick up a it of an injury the later part of the year, a hamstring.  It was interesting because I don’t think he ever disclosed it with us.  If you look at his last game against LA when Eddie Lewis ran by him, he wasn’t able to be quick enough to get him.  I said something to him, “I thought you should have handled that.”

And he said, “we’ll I’m still injured.”

“I didn’t even know you were injured.”  So this is a relationship I need to do with with my trainers and players.  We need to know anytime you’re not 100%, cause that effects our decision making.

But he’s young and he’s getting his opportunities.  Making a [road] trip was great, maybe playing, maybe not playing, was great.  I thought he did well.  It thought he did well, and he’s a player we did pick up his option.  He’s from Maryland, and I won’t hold that against him.  In fact he was on the team that beat SMU.

So how many players do you think you still need?

That’s a good question, I think we need a couple positions.  A center back.  We need a center back who can bring some experience and also a little bit of athletic ability.  Maybe a little bit of hardness.  Somebody who is aggressive, win some balls in the air.  And make you pay a little bit if you come in there.

I would like to see a left sided midfielder.  We did not pick up Sikora’s option cause we just didn’t see enough.  If you think about it Sikora is a player we brought in for Arturo Alvarez.  We never got Victor on the field till the end and it was just one game.  Even though he did ok in that game, he scored a goal, I just didn’t see enough.  So I think we need a left sided midfielder.

As badly as Bruno may not want to hear this, I think we may need a true #10.  I think we need a true #10 that is a Schelotto type, a De Rosario type.  A player that can change the game, a player that can sore goals, a player that can make the killer pass. 

And hopefully that’s all we need.  Course if we lose Kenny we need a striker.  But right now I think a strong defender, a flank player on the left side, and a true #10.

All from Argentina?

No, they are from all over.  One that we may get from Europe, we may have one from South American, it all depends, and also one from the league.  We’re still talking to people in the league.

Do you place a priority on who you will invite, who might come first the Europeans before the South American?

You mean in order? I think what we need to do is make contract offers, a proposal, and then see how they respond to that.  You know if they accept that proposal or contract, or here’s a negotiation and we’ll have that, then we’ll sign them.

Well that ought to last a while…

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