FRISCO, Texas (Thursday, Dec. 1) – Major League Soccer announced today that FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja has been named the 2016 MLS Coach of the Year.

In his third year at the helm of FC Dallas, Pareja led the club to its first title in 19 years with a domestic double. The club captured its second U.S. Open Cup title (1997, 2016) with a 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution on Sept. 13, followed by its first Supporters’ Shield title after registering the best regular-season record in 2016 (17-8-9 record, 60 points).



FC Dallas became the first team in league history to record consecutive 60-plus point seasons after finishing the 2015 campaign with an identical 60-point mark. In 2016, FC Dallas captured 17 wins, most in the league, along with a formidable 12-1-4 MLS regular-season home record when playing at Toyota Stadium. FC Dallas’ double title this season was the first such occurrence since Seattle Sounders FC accomplished the feat in 2014.

Under Pareja, FC Dallas has continued to cultivate and reap the rewards of its youth development system. FCD Homegrown Players logged 4,897 minutes in MLS this season, as well as 800 minutes in the team’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run and 865 minutes in CONCACAF Champions’ League play.

Dallas recently signed its 17th Homegrown Player, Bryan Reynolds, the most by any one club in MLS. The team now has nine FC Dallas Academy products on its first team roster.

Pareja becomes the second coach in FC Dallas history to win MLS Coach of the Year, and is the fifth consecutive and seventh overall former MLS player to win the honor.

The MLS Coach of the Year Award was voted on by MLS club management, media, and current MLS players. Below is a breakdown of the voting results:

Coach of the Year Player Vote % Media Vote % Club Vote % Average % Oscar Pareja (DAL) 36.42% 37.96% 28.95% 34.44% Pablo Mastroeni (COL) 27.81% 34.26% 36.84% 32.97% Patrick Vieira (NYCFC) 15.23% 13.89% 18.42% 15.85%