For almost 20 years, the Designated Player rule has been in Major League Soccer. It was originally designed to help the LA Galaxy sign David Beckham, but has since become an important feature of a club's roster construction in the league.
At the start of the DP rule in 2007, MLS teams were only allowed one. Then it went from one to two, to three over time. Young DPs were added along the way and we’re at a place now where three is the limit in the DP roster construction model, while two is the limit in the U22 roster model.
How has FC Dallas handled this 'rule' over the year? Like the U22 model, the club has had a mixed bag of good and bad. Let's dive into the club's history with the DP tag.
Denilson - 2007
Oh boy, we got off on the wrong foot with the DP rule, didn't we? The Hunts were big on the Brazilian after his play in the 1998 World Cup.
At the time, clubs signing DPs saw it as a way to sign an expensive player like Denilson with hopes of that guy helping fill the stadium, score goals and win games. None of that really happened with Denilson and by the end of his only season here, he was not brought back in 2008.
David Ferreira - 2009-13
If FC Dallas had started their DP journey with Ferreira, we may be at a different place than we are now in this department.
While Denilson was a giant swing and a miss, Ferreira was a massive hit.
He took the club from being a fringe playoff team to being in the playoffs and a MLS Cup within one year. He won an MVP. He brought his family here and that turned into another big DP with his son Jesus.
Yes, there were tough times with Ferreira (like a season mostly lost to injury), but the good times were far better than everything else.