# 2010 FC Dallas season

The 2010 FC Dallas season was the fifteenth season of the team's existence.
Dallas' season was highlighted by qualifying for the first MLS Cup Final in franchise history, where they ultimately came up short, losing to the Colorado Rapids in extra time, from an own goal by George John who inadvertently deflected a ball into his own net. In spite of the MLS Cup shortcomings, Dallas earned a preliminary spot in the 2011–12 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, for next year.
During the regular season, the club set a team record for longest home unbeaten streak, with six matches. Additionally, during this unbeaten streak from May to October, Dallas set an MLS record for longest road unbeaten streak (11 matches) and overall unbeaten streak (15) before eventually losing to Real Salt Lake towards the end of the season. The unbeaten streak, gave Dallas their best regular season record since 2007. David Ferreira of Dallas was crowned the league's Most Valuable Player.
Outside of MLS, the club a short-lived spell in the U.S. Open Cup play-in proper. In an April 28 qualification match against D.C. United, the club, fielded primarily by reserves, lost 4–2.
As of 2024, this remains FC Dallas' only MLS Cup final appearance, making the club one of three surviving original MLS franchises to never have won the title (alongside New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls) and of the 10 existing teams founded before 2005 to not have done so. At the time of their MLS Cup loss, the club had also never won a trophy; this was rectified in 2016, when they won a domestic double of the Supporters' Shield and the U.S. Open Cup, the last of these same 10 teams to win silverware.

## Review
### Preseason
### March

Dallas began their fifteenth Major League Soccer regular season with a 1–1 draw in a home match against the Houston Dynamo on March 27, 2009.

### August

FC Dallas hosted a friendly against the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League Champions Inter Milan on August 5, 2010.

### September

The month of September saw Dallas obtain several landmark records for their club and for the MLS. As of September 21, 2010, those records are:
Longest Active Home Winning Streak – 6 Games – Club Record – ending with their tie at home to New York Red Bulls
Longest Road Unbeaten Streak – 11 Games – MLS & Club Record
Longest Active Unbeaten Streak – 15 Games – MLS & Club Record
In September, a heated match with New York Red Bulls on September 16 produced well-publicized controversy. New York Red Bulls forward & designated player, Thierry Henry injured FC Dallas goalie Kevin Hartman in celebration of the Red Bulls' first goal of the evening by Mehdi Ballouchy in the 48+ minute of the match.. Henry kicked the ball after the play had ended. FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman was on the other side of the ball and suffered a knee injury as a result. The Disciplinary Committee determined Henry's action to be unsporting and issued a $2,000 fine.
As a result of Henry's actions, FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman spoke out against the referees decision; saying it showed a "lack of courage". Further controversy was ignited following the MLS Disciplinary Committee's decision to fine Henry with no suspension preceding New York Red Bull's next match against star-studded Los Angeles Galaxy. FC Dallas player Brek Shea, however, was fined $1000, red-carded and suspended for an additional game during the same match.

### October

On October 2, the club qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2007. They qualified following a 2–1 victory at Gillette Stadium against the New England.
The regular season ended on a rough patch for the Toros, as they would have to travel for away games against Los Angeles Galaxy and Real Salt Lake; at the time the first-place and second-place clubs in the league, respectively. The two game-trip ended in a pair of back-to-back losses for Dallas on October 17 and 23, and ultimately ended their chance for winning the Supporters' Shield.
Amid controversy surrounding the playoff's format, Dallas was the third seed Western Conference bracket, drawn against the second-place West club and MLS Cup defending champions, Real Salt Lake.
The Conference Semifinals served as a two-leg, home and away aggregate series with no away goals rule enforced. Dallas hosted Salt Lake on October 30. Despite an early goal from Fabian Espindola in the fifth-minute, the Toros would rally with a pair of goals from Jeff Cunningham and Eric Avila, giving not only them victory, but a lead in the a series.

### November

The first leg of the quarterfinals was played at FC Dallas' home ground Pizza Hut Park on October 30, in the northern Dallas suburb of Frisco. Early in the match, Salt Lake striker Fabián Espíndola bagged a fifth-minute goal to give the visitors a critical away goal and a 1–0 lead in the match and on aggregate. The team rebounded from the setback thanks to a 44th-minute equalizer from Jeff Cunningham. Shortly into the second half, things looked more promising for Dallas when a dangerous sliding tackle in the 49th minute from Salt Lake's midfielder Javier Morales resulted in an immediate red-card ejection from the match, resulting in the Royals having to play a man down. Kittian international, Atiba Harris was ejected in the 88th minute, causing a 10 vs. 10 match for the final two minutes before injury time. While things were looking to stay on parity for the first leg, a last-minute goal from Dallas' Eric Avila gave the Toros a needed 2–1 victory over RSL.
   Our midfield has been tremendous this year. We're getting the best out of Daniel Hernandez. He's not just the anchor back in the middle third, but he's also the captain of the team as well, a bit of an inspirational player and also my right hand on the field.
Dallas traveled out to Salt Lake City to take on the Royals for the second leg on November 6. Although Dallas had a 2–1 aggregate lead, they were playing in Rio Tinto Stadium, considered by many to be one of the most intimidating soccer atmospheres in the United States, where Salt Lake hadn't lost a match since May 2009. The match drew a near-capacity crowd of roughly 19,500 spectators. In the 17th minute of the match, a goal from Dallas midfielder and American international Dax McCarty gave the Toros a 3–1 lead on aggregate and a 1–0 lead for the match. For a majority of the match, deep into the second half, Dallas held this lead. A late equalizer from Robbie Findley leveled the game at 1–1, but it was too little, too late for RSL as the Dallas eliminated the defending champions, 3–1 on aggregate.
November 6's victory over Salt Lake propelled Dallas into the Western Conference finals against the MLS Cup runners-up from last year, Los Angeles Galaxy. Heralding international superstars such as David Beckham and Landon Donovan, the Galaxy were coming off a run in the regular season, capturing the MLS Supporters' Shield with a 17–7–8 record. The Galaxy had defeated Seattle Sounders FC in their quarterfinal series to qualify for the championship. Since the Galaxy were the top seed in the Western Conference bracket, while Dallas was the third, Los Angeles hosted the final.
In front of a sold-out capacity crowd of 27,000 at the Galaxy's home ground The Home Depot Center, Dallas dismantled the Galaxy with goals from David Ferreira, George John and Marvin Chávez. The 3–0 victory for Dallas avenged their 2–0 loss at the Home Depot Center, and they handed the Galaxy their worst loss at home since a 4–1 defeat to the Puerto Rico Islanders in a Champions League play-in proper. The victory gave Dallas a spot in their first ever MLS Cup final.
The MLS Cup final was held on Sunday, November 21, 2010, in Toronto, Canada. The match between the Colorado Rapids and the FC Dallas Bulls kicked off at 8:30 pm EST. The final began slowly with the first goal not coming until the 35th minute. A strike from FC Dallas midfielder David Ferriera gave the Bulls a 1–0 advantage. The equalizer came from Colorado Rapids forward Conor Casey in the 56th minute. The game-winning goal came by way of a deflected shot from Colorado Rapids forward Macoumba Kandji. Kandji's shot deflected off the leg of FC Dallas defender George John and trickled into the net past keeper, Kevin Hartman. Rapids head coach Gary Smith commented following the victory, "Honestly, I don't mind how they come. If they're winners, it doesn't matter. The overriding thought is they must be under some pressure to make that mistake."

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Player | Previous Club | Fee |
| January 14, 2010 | Zach Loyd | Unattached | Drafted |
| January 14, 2010 | Andrew Wiedeman | NorCal Lamorinda United | Drafted |
| January 14, 2010 | Jason Yeisley | Reading Rage | Drafted |
| March 8, 2010 | Kevin Hartman | Kansas City | Trade |
| May 13, 2010 | Milton Rodríguez | Real Cartagena | Undisclosed |

### Out

| Date | Player | Destination Club | Fee |
| November 16, 2009 | Daniel Torres | | Released |
| February 2, 2010 | Blake Wagner | Vancouver Whitecaps | Free |
| March 1, 2010 | Pablo Ricchetti | Westham Azzurri | Free |
| March 5, 2010 | Dave van den Bergh | | Released |
| April 2, 2010 | Steve Purdy | Portland Timbers | Free |
| July 30, 2010 | Anthony Wallace | Colorado Rapids | Trade |
| August 31, 2010 | André Rocha | Panetolikos | Released |

### Loan
#### In

| Player | From | Start | End |
| Álvaro Sánchez | San Carlos | August 1, 2009 | March 15, 2010 |
| Marvin Chávez | Marathón | August 18, 2009 | November 30, 2010 |
| Jackson | São Paulo | August 13, 2010 | December 31, 2010 |

#### Out
## Major League Soccer
### Standings

Conference
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LA Galaxy | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 59 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 2 | Real Salt Lake | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 45 | 20 | +25 | 56 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 3 | FC Dallas | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 50 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 4 | Seattle Sounders FC | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 48 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 5 | Colorado Rapids | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 46 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 6 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 46 | MLS Cup Playoffs |
| 7 | Houston Dynamo | 30 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 33 | |
| 8 | Chivas USA | 30 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 28 | |
Overall
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | LA Galaxy (S) | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 59 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 2 | Real Salt Lake | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 45 | 20 | +25 | 56 | |
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 51 | |
| 4 | FC Dallas | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 50 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 5 | Columbus Crew | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 50 | |
| 6 | Seattle Sounders FC | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 39 | 35 | +4 | 48 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 7 | Colorado Rapids (C) | 30 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 46 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 8 | San Jose Earthquakes | 30 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 46 | |
| 9 | Kansas City Wizards | 30 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 36 | 35 | +1 | 39 | |
| 10 | Chicago Fire | 30 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 37 | 38 | −1 | 36 | |
| 11 | Toronto FC | 30 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 35 | CONCACAF Champions League |
| 12 | Houston Dynamo | 30 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 33 | |
| 13 | New England Revolution | 30 | 9 | 16 | 5 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 32 | |
| 14 | Philadelphia Union | 30 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 35 | 49 | −14 | 31 | |
| 15 | Chivas USA | 30 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 31 | 45 | −14 | 28 | |
| 16 | D.C. United | 30 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 21 | 47 | −26 | 22 | |

### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | Pts | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 30 | 50 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 42 | 28 | +14 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 25 | 13 | +12 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 15 | +2 |
Last updated: March 30, 2011 Source: Major League Soccer Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Stadium | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | H | A | A |
| Result | T | T | L | T | T | W | W | T | L | T | W | W | W | T | W | T | T | W | W | W | T | W | T | T | T | W | W | T | L | L |
| Position | 8 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 |

### Match results
#### Regular season

Win  Tie  Loss

#### Playoffs

FC Dallas qualified for the 2010 MLS Cup playoffs following a 2–1 victory at New England on October 2. Amid the controversy surrounding the playoff structure, Dallas was seeded as the number three team in the Western Conference bracket, drawn against the second-place West club and MLS Cup defending champions, Real Salt Lake. The draw took place at Major League Soccer's headquarters in New York City on October 24.
The Conference Semifinals served as a two-leg, home and away aggregate series with no away goals rule enforced. Dallas hosted Salt Lake on October 30. Despite an early goal from Fabian Espindola in the fifth-minute, Dallas would rally with a pair of goals from Jeff Cunningham and Eric Avila, giving not only them victory, but a lead in the a series.
RSL and Dallas played at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy on November 6 for the second leg. A 17th-minute goal from Dax McCarty gave Dallas a 3–1 advantage in the series, and not only jeopardized Salt Lake's chance for going on the Western Conference Championship, but the chance that Salt Lake would end their home-match unbeaten streak. A goal from Robbie Findley ensured the streak would stay alive, but the tie secured Dallas a spot in the Western Conference Championship, as Dallas would advance 3–2 on aggregate.
Dallas played in Los Angeles against the Galaxy for the Western Conference Championship. Dallas shutout LA 3–0, becoming the final original MLS club to make it to the MLS Cup.
Dallas took an early lead over the Colorado Rapids in the MLS Cup, but the Rapids came back to score a goal in the second half and forced overtime. Early into overtime, a cross deflected off of Dallas defender George John and into Dallas' net. Despite several late chances for Dallas, the Rapids held on, win the MLS Cup 2–1 off the overtime own goal.

## U.S. Open Cup

With an 11th-place finish in Major League Soccer last season, Dallas did not automatically qualify for the 2010 edition of the U.S. Open Cup. Instead, they would have to qualify in a series of matches against unqualified MLS clubs to enter the tournament. They were paired against last year's 10th-place finisher, D.C. United; where they played the United at RFK Stadium on April 28.
Goals from Bruno Guarda and Dax McCarty would not be enough as Dallas would fall 4–2 to the United to end their short USOC campaign.

## Jerseys

| Home | Away | Away Alternate | Away Alt. 2 |
| Type | Shirt | Shorts | Socks | First appearance / Info |
| Home | Red / White hoops | Red | Red | |
| Away | Blue / White hoops | Blue | Blue | |
| Away Alt. | Blue / White hoops | Blue | White | MLS, May 5 against Houston / MLS Cup 2010 |
| Away Alt. 2 | Blue / White hoops | White | White | MLS, June 26 against Chivas USA → 2008 Away Shorts |

## Squad

As of August 21, 2010.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | USA | Kevin Hartman |
| 2 | DF | USA | Daniel Hernández |
| 3 | DF | USA | Ugo Ihemelu |
| 4 | DF | USA | Heath Pearce |
| 5 | DF | COL | Jair Benítez (on loan from Deportivo Cali) |
| 6 | DF | BRA | Jackson (on loan from São Paulo FC) |
| 7 | FW | COL | Milton Rodriguez |
| 8 | MF | BRA | Bruno Guarda |
| 9 | FW | USA | Jeff Cunningham |
| 10 | FW | COL | David Ferreira (on loan from At. Paranaense) |
| 12 | MF | USA | Eric Avila |
| 13 | MF | USA | Dax McCarty |
| 14 | MF | USA | George John |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | USA | Kyle Davies |
| 16 | FW | SKN | Atiba Harris |
| 17 | MF | BIH | Perica Marošević |
| 18 | FW | HON | Marvin Chávez (on loan from Marathón) |
| 19 | DF | USA | Zach Loyd |
| 20 | FW | USA | Brek Shea |
| 21 | MF | MEX | Bryan Leyva |
| 22 | GK | USA | Josh Lambo |
| 23 | FW | USA | Andrew Wiedeman |
| 24 | DF | USA | Eric Alexander |
| 26 | DF | USA | Anthony Wallace |
| 27 | DF | CAN | Edson Edward |
| 31 | FW | USA | Jason Yeisley |
| 44 | GK | ARG | Darío Sala |

### Formation

4–5–1 formation against Real Salt Lake on Nov. 6