Manager Oscar Pareja Leaves FC Dallas, Reportedly for Club Tijuana
Oscar Pareja is leaving FC Dallas and is reportedly heading to take over on the bench at Club Tijuana in Liga MX.
The MLS club announced a mutual parting of the ways on Monday, just days after Goal.com first reported Pareja's departure to the Mexican club. No successor has been named yet, and the club says it will be beginning a coaching search immediately. Pareja has a long history with FC Dallas, going from player to academy coach to first-team manager over the span of two decades. Save for a stint with U.S. Soccer as a youth coach and one as the Colorado Rapids' manager, he's had ties to FC Dallas since 1998.
“This was a difficult decision for me and my family. FC Dallas has been our home for many years, but we felt it would be best for us to seek a different challenge which enables me to keep growing as a coach,” Pareja said in a club statement. “This club and its players are heading on the right path and I have no doubt they will get there. I would like to thank the Hunt family, Clark and Dan, for their support throughout my time here. The memories I have made with this club will stay with me and my family for a lifetime.”
Pareja, 50, had a 78-49-43 record in his time at the helm of FC Dallas, including a U.S. Open Cup and MLS Supporters' Shield double in 2016–the same season he won MLS Coach of the Year honors. He had a reputation for trusting and developing younger players, evidenced by FC Dallas having one of the more active academy-to-club pipelines in MLS.
It was reported that Pareja was on the radar for the U.S. men's national team job, but he refuted claims he had interviewed for the position. Instead, it appears he'll be another highly touted MLS manager departing for Mexico, with Atlanta United's Tata Martino all but confirmed to be taking over the Mexico national team.
“Oscar represents so much of what we stand for at FC Dallas,” FC Dallas president Dan Hunt said in a statement. “Our fans will always remember his enthusiasm, passion and indelible influence on the organization that resulted in remarkable success.”
