Face the Facts: Philadelphia Union Are Doing It Better than FC Dallas

The Philadelphia Union are doing what FC Dallas were supposed to do - bringing youngsters to the first team and into the national team orbit. What is FC Dallas missing?

One of the reasons I fell in love with “the FC Dallas way” was their commitment to young talent, through their academy, the draft, and other means over the years. The goal, beyond championships, was to produce United States Men’s National Team players. For a few years, Dallas had a golden generation that impacted the national stage and went on to ply their trade in Europe or at home.

Think, of course, of guys like Ricardo Pepi, Chris Richards, Reggie Cannon, Tanner Tessman, Weston McKennie, Kellyn Acosta, Bryan Reynolds, Alejandro Zendejas, Jesus Ferreira, and even Bernard Kamungo. You can add a whole host of other names who went on to solid to decent careers, including Victor Ulloa and Brandon Servania.

That’s a formidable list, all of whom, other than Bernie and recently injured Paxton Pomykal, are no longer with the club.

But that pipeline of talent, while not barren, looks a little thin as of late, and other academies in North America are taking over.

Look no further than the Philadelphia Union.

In this year’s Gold Cup alone, for instance, FC Dallas can count two contributors - defenders Chris Richards and Walker Zimmerman. And you can make the case that Zimmerman doesn’t fit the academy to pro pipeline since he was a SuperDraft pick, but let’s not quibble.

Meanwhile, the Union has saturated the side. Nathan Harriel, Brendan Aaronson, Matt Freese, Jack McGlynn, Mark McKenzie, Quinn Sullivan, and Paxten Aaronson all have Union connections.

Sure, if McKennie wasn’t with Juventus at the Club World Cup, maybe he would be in the mix with this younger Gold Cup side. You can also point to some other guys, like Ricardo Pepi, healing after injuries, who will be contributors next year in the World Cup.

But the shift is concerning for FC Dallas fans who, for years, have been told that we were about building a quality team from our academy pipeline.

FC Dallas right now can point to Nolan Norris as the only academy player getting serious minutes with the first team. A close second is goalkeeper Michael Collodi, who has filled in while Maarten Paes was out. Pedrinho was a young signing from North Texas, so he gets at least a nod with an excellent season so far. Josh Torquato made his senior team debut this past week, a bright spot for sure, and Tarik Scott has grabbed a handful of minutes.

But Dallas is struggling to convert the enormous investment in youngsters coming out of the academy or getting minutes with North Texas into first-team cogs. What gives?

Meanwhile, as Matt Doyle rightfully pointed out this past weekend, the Union are trusting their pipeline and winning:

Given the number of players the Union have out on international duty, though, Carnell had to dig deeper into that bench than most teams could, and that’s worth digging into a little bit deeper because it gives me the chance to bang the drum on the value of really committing to an academy pipeline. In this instance, it paid off not just with that depth, but with the way Carnell was able to change the shape of the game with that depth.

That win put the Union top of the Eastern Conference, by the way.

Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer argued earlier this month that it may be about something in the academy’s DNA, the kind of players they are working to produce that has shifted their pedigree in the eyes of a national team landscape:

It’s surely too cliché even by Philadelphia standards to say that a bunch of Union guys brought the needed grit. Then again, given the team’s renowned pressing, might there be something to it?

“It’s in our DNA to fight, especially in Philadelphia — that’s what was installed at the club," Harriel said. “And the same thing here: Pochettino wants fighters. … To go out there and to fight like the boys did today is something to be proud of for sure.”

Eric Quill, the new FC Dallas head coach with plenty of connections to the academy, wants players who adopt a similar DAWG mentality. Is that the new bar for whether or not an academy player is ready to take the next step? Or is there simply a lack of trust and continued disconnection that will take time to fix?

One notable difference between the Union and FC Dallas brain trust - that big stubborn thing called a vision. Ernst Tanner has been the Union’s Sporting Director since 2018, and while he has been rumored to be frustrated by the Union’s lack of investment in player signings, he’s also doubled down on what has become a fruitful academy pipeline. Last year, he let long-time head coach Jim Curtin walk (after signs of disconnect between the two) and brought in a coach who would fit his vision or even be more of a “Yes Man” (as Joe Tansey reports).

That’s a risky move. No one knew if it would work, but the Union are competing without the biggest salary in the league and showcasing players for the next level.

I can’t help but think that is where FC Dallas would prefer to be.

I’m not trying to overly criticize FC Dallas, who have also tried to go this route, turning first to former academy director Luchi Gonzalez and then to former USMNT assistant coach Nico Estévez, seeking to build a unified vision between the academy, North Texas, FC Dallas, and beyond. Maybe the talent just isn’t there at the moment, or something is just not clicking.

The Gold Cup is a reminder of the hard choices Dallas is going to need to make in the future to reemerge as a premier developer of talent in North America.

Can Chief Soccer Office/Sporting Director Andre Zanotta put the resources behind that vision? Does he share the same vision as Dan Hunt and company? Does he have the freedom to make the kind of bold choices that the Union have?

Fans shouldn’t fret too much. Youngsters like Nolan Norris and Pedrinho give us hope that it may only take another year or two for everything to shift in a new direction. Maybe the team is not that far behind. Maybe Quill needs time to really unify that vision with Zanotta’s help.

But I wonder.

Given Norris's talent and the fact that he spent most of last season as a key midfielder with North Texas, it’s strange that the team chose to overload the midfield with signings in the offseason instead of trusting this young player to show what he is capable of. Yes, you want competition, but Nolan is ready, contributing meaningfully most recently with an assist in Saturday’s rout of Sporting Kansas City.

Can FC Dallas get out of its own way and achieve the vision promised years ago?

Could we see another golden generation soon?