SEATTLE – FC Dallas' season may have come to an end Monday evening, but head coach Oscar Pareja has plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future.
Though the more experienced Sounders are moving on to the Western Conference Championship, away goals breaking the 1-1 aggregate deadlock after two hard-fought draws, Pareja was understandably proud that his team stood toe-to-toe with the Supporters' Shield winners. And he's got good reason to believe FC Dallas can get over that playoff hump come 2015.
That's because six of the Dallas starting XI at Century Link Field were 24 years old or younger, a sign that the best is still to come for Pareja's young squad.
"I think it's positive, it's good," he told reporters. "We have a group that is young, we have a lot of kids. The group that you saw today, the majority of them are guys that have many years in front of them. Maybe we don't have big names here, but we have a team.
"You saw a group of guys there, everybody sticking with the mental side that we create here and sticking with the tactics that we have in our team. We had an identity today. Mauro [Diaz] gave us a lot of that."
After being appointed to the head coaching position in Dallas just two months before the 2014 season was set to start, Pareja continued the emphasis on youth development he implemented with Colorado over the previous two seasons. Perhaps the biggest beneficiary was 22-year-old Victor Ulloa, who started the final 27 games of the season and more than held his own against Seattle's talented midfield.
But it wasn't just his team's play that pleased the former Colombian international. It was the entire occasion.
Pareja has been involved in Major League Soccer since 1998, either playing or coaching, and he said the two games between Dallas and Seattle have been the epitome of the new MLS. For the crowds. For the quality on the field, established players and those just breaking out.
"It is a product of 20 years of work in this country for many people who are involved in the game," Pareja said. "To see the crowd and to see the level of the two teams and put in that quality of a game and passion, I thought it was a great example of what we have done here in this country. We're proud of it."
The obvious disappointment of the season-ending aggregate defeat will be processed in more detail in the coming days, but in the moments after the draw in Seattle, Pareja allowed himself time to reflect on his first year as FC Dallas head coach.
"If I look back, I think the boys had a great season," he said. "It has surprised them really, but they know that I am very demanding. We're not happy, and I don't think we deserve to be out but there is a lot of work to do. I'm proud of the season that the boys had.
"Nothing to regret. For me, it is an honor to coach these players and I want to send a message of gratitude for them to allow me to coach them. It's great."
