Andre Zanotta has been the chief soccer officer and technical director for FC Dallas since 2019, where he's been working to reinforce the club's reputation as one of the league's preeminent clubs in terms of youth development.
With FC Dallas currently hosting this year's Generation adidas Cup in Frisco, Texas, Zanotta stopped by the MLS Today podcast and discussed his time with the club so far with hosts David Gass and Bobby Warshaw. In his two years in MLS since joining FC Dallas from Brazilian side Grêmio, Zanotta said he's been impressed with the strides league-wide that have been taken to cultivate young talent.
"Getting here and seeing the quality of players, I was like ‘Wow, it’s really changed,'" Zanotta said. "At first I didn’t know if it was something that was just FC Dallas, but then you see and especially now, we’re watching GA Cup here, and how many teams are investing more in youth development. Obviously it’s a very different culture, there’s so many things we could speak about the differences [between] Brazil and the US, but I’m really pleased and initially was surprised, but now understanding more I see how clubs are seeing youth development as such a key component for MLS."
FC Dallas have been one of the standard-bearers for the youth movement in the US for years now, with players such as Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi and Tanner Tessmann all starting with the club's academy before garnering hefty overseas transfer fees and continuing their careers in Europe, with McKennie and Pepi breaking through as key players for the US men's national team.
Others like Jesus Ferreira, Paxton Pomykal and Brandon Servania have become regular contributors with the first team in MLS, while Ferreira has also joined Pepi as a recent fixture for the USMNT during Concacaf World Cup Qualifying.
"I think being not only Texas, but especially Texas, California, Florida, the proximity with Latin America and the Latin culture, I see way more soccer culture in here than obviously other states," Zanotta said. "If you go North you don’t see as much presence of this soccer culture as you see here. And the interest on a normal week here, if you go out on these fields you see our schools, you see almost 4,000 kids, boys and girls, that are playing soccer here."
It's a movement that has spread league-wide, as teams throughout MLS have seen greater returns from their youth programs in recent years. With the advent of the new MLS NEXT Pro league, Zanotta said he expects the level of talent to only increase from here, both with FC Dallas and throughout the country.
"I think FC Dallas has been at the forefront of youth development in this country and with not only the methodology or training, but scouting, finding Tanner or Thomas Roberts in areas that are not usually you find many soccer players," he said. "Pepi came from El Paso, but right now I see that other teams have found their way. Philadelphia’s a great example. San Jose, they’re doing very well, their U-17 team there is really good. So, I think more and more you see, Real Salt Lake is another great example, the Galaxy, I could mention quite a few."
For the full interview, be sure to check out the latest episode of the MLS Today Podcast HERE.
