FRISCO, Texas — In our weekly series featuring Schellas Hyndman, the FC Dallas head coach addresses 11 topics in brief, including the tragic death of FC Dallas great Bobby Rhine, Brek Shea’s time with the national team and playmaker David Ferreira.
I-II. First off, in a tragic time for the 17-year-old club, former FC Dallas soccer legend and broadcaster Bobby Rhine passed away at the age of 35.
“We’re all shocked, we’re all stunned. Our hearts go out to his family and every one of us knows him well.
“Either he played for me, or he is a teammate with some of the guys, or the media, the telecast, which I thought he was putting himself into being one of the best in the country.”
III. Telling his players the difficult news before their Tuesday training session was perhaps the hardest thing Hyndman has done since becoming head coach.
“It was probably the most difficult training session that we’ve had because there’s nothing any worse than a death. As a coach, one of the hardest things that we do is waive players, trade players – it’s very hard to do – but now I’ve encountered a new one and that’s telling you that we’ve lost a person.”
IV-V. Rhine shared an April 18 birthday with Hyndman’s daughter and will be honored by the club as it progresses towards the MLS Cup playoffs.
“[Team president] Doug Quinn and [owner] Dan Hunt both came out to practice at the end and addressed the team and received permission … from the league to wear black armbands – which we will – and to dedicate the rest of the season and hopefully championship to the memory of Bobby Rhine.”
VI-VII. Back on the pitch, midfielder Brek Shea represented the United States in their friendlies against Costa Rica and Belgium, playing the full 90 in both matches.
“I think all of the minutes is fantastic. The first game [against Mexico], he came off the bench and he did ever so well to earn himself a starting position as [US head coach Jurgen] Klinsmann is looking for something special on his flanks, more of a player that can make things happen. … I think Brek has shown that.”
VIII. Shea’s performance in both matches earned him accolades from his US teammates, Klinsmann and his club coach.
“I think the first game against Costa Rica, he gave two to three outstanding passes. I think the second game, again he had some very good moments and he’s fighting hard. I thought he did well enough in both of those games to still be in the picture.”
IX. While Shea was with the national team against Belgium, FC Dallas resumed training on Tuesday after a grueling stretch of games that began in July.
“In reality, I don’t think we’ve had a good training session for two months. And it was for either recovering, traveling, or days off whenever we could.”
X-XI. On the training field with the team on Wednesday was 2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira. The Colombian worked with FCD trainers passing and getting touches on the ball before running for an extended period of time.
“I don’t know what the updated time schedule is on him, but I think it’s encouraging that he’s doing more and more.
“Whether that timetable is in three weeks … or it could be five weeks, our goal is can we have him at some point in time before we get into the playoffs.”
Robert Casner covers FC Dallas for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached on Twitter: @robertmcasner
