It has been quite the year for FC Dallas. I know that is an understatement as we continue in our offseason coverage.
Today, I wanted to go through some of the top storylines that dominated the headlines for FC Dallas in 2025.
Here are five of the top storylines of the year - in no particular order.
The roster overhaul
Going into the offseason before the 2025 season, the club was in a massive transition period. Not only did the club need to find a new head coach, but there were a lot of potential moves floating around on a roster that was fairly locked in for the 2025 season.
FC Dallas went out and hired Eric Quill in mid-December and the roster overhaul kicked in to high gear from there.
The big moves happened shortly after as the club not only traded fan-favorite Paul Arriola to Seattle, but they also shipped Homegrown star Jesus Ferreira out as well.
Drew Epperley
They also traded Sam Junqua to RSL (in exchange for Anderson Julio) and Nkosi Tafari to LAFC. Then after months of saying they weren't going to sell Alan Velasco, they then shipped him off to Boca Juniors.
The club also brought in six new Homegrown players in one single day. Yes, six.
Roster turnover is natural in MLS, but not to the level that FC Dallas had in 2025. Over night, the team looked drastically different.
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The Failed Lucho Acosta Experiment
I've discussed the swing and a miss that was Lucho Acosta a lot this year. From the regression to the transfer to Brazil.
Drew Epperley
Drew Epperley
I still think the front office did what they could here and was very much in the 'right' for saying this wasn't the player for the club.
One thing the move also showed for me was that it allowed Quill to coach the way he wanted to coach in Dallas.
The importance of Osaze Urhoghide
I had hesitations about this signing back in February. Mainly, I didn't think that the rumor made sense for FC Dallas to go after a guy in the French second division. But, damn, I was way off on this one as Urhoghide turned out to be an absolutely home run for the club.
In Urhoghide, Dallas got a guy that is physical, athletic, and has all of the right tools to be a Best XI guy in MLS at his position. I think once he fully sorts out the timing of some of his tackles, balances the aggression that we've seen from him at times, the better he'll end up being.
Also, adding in another TAM-level guy like him to the center defense will truly help him reach that full Best XI potential. While I think he can guide this defensive group on his own, I'd really feel better about his chances of earning some hardware in 2026 once another top caliber guy is lined up next to him.
Petar Musa goes for the club record
I knew Musa would lead the club in scoring in 2025. That never felt in doubt for me when I made my predictions before the preseason began in January. I mainly did not think he'd get close to the club's all-time single-season goal record. Instead, I thought he'd net around 15 or 16 goals and call it a day.
It turns out, Musa is now tied with three other players (Jason Kreis, Kenny Cooper, and Jesus Ferreira) with 18 goals in a single season. For whatever reason, that mark still seems to be the mountain no one at this club can climb over.
The biggest bummer in his quest for the goal mark had to be how it ended, a Decision Day suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
Still, when you look back at Kreis, Cooper and Ferreria's 18 goal season, those were on some really good FC Dallas teams. Sure, this team made the playoffs, but for the majority of the season it was not a good team. Musa carried the attack on his back and between July and October, he was part of anything and everything the attack was creating.
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The formation flip
Once Acosta was gone to Brazil, Quill took the biggest gamble of his coaching career and switched his preferred formation of a 4-2-3-1 into a 5-2-3.
The shift was a necessary one. It wasn't what Quill wanted to do this year, but it is what fit the need of this club at the time.
It provided space for guys like Bernard Kamungo and Kaick to get more time on the field in positions that they needed to grow in. Kamungo is not potentially one of the best left wing backs in the league after the last two months of the season.
It created a dynamic duo up top between Logan Farrington and Musa. Once Chris Cappis came to the club, it allowed space for him to get on the field and become the player FC Dallas fans were hoping to see in the center of the midfield. And it allowed Patrickson Delgado a chance to prove his worth.
It give space for a nice rotation of defenders in the back. Before the shift, the defense was giving up 1.9 goals per game. After the move it improved to 1.2 goals per game.
This move got guys in the right spots and allowed the team to go on the run between August and October. Dallas went from 13th place in late July, all the way up to 7th place at the end of the season.
Honorable mentions: The rise of Michael Collodi, the massively improved road record, finally signing Chris Cappis, and Bernard Kamungo as a full back.
