The MLS soccer team FC Dallas trained at MSU facilities Friday, Jan. 19. 

Garrett Melcer, FC Dallas Digital Content Manager, said the team was at Sheppard Air Force Base as part of the MLS team’s aviation marketing campaign but stopped on campus to train for a pre-season game against Inter Miami.  

“This morning they worked out with the Air Force guys, then did some marketing stuff for the internal channels and now they are here for the pre-season training at MSU,” Melcer said. 

Sebastian Vanegas, former MSU soccer player and FC Dallas’s player care manager, made the connection with MSU to get the team to train at the Mustangs field. 

“This is amazing, coming back and seeing people enjoying the practice,” Vanegas said. 

The practice was open to the public, students and the media, which made the presence of  fans noticeable at the practice.  

The players and the staff took some time at the end of the session to take pictures with the audience and give autographs. 

Striker Jesús Ferreira said he was surprised with all the people that went to the practice, considering the weather conditions, and showed his excitement for sharing some time with the fans.  

“It’s amazing to see how much impact we have on people and kids, they are all here in the freezing cold enjoying practice and seeing how much they look up to us, so it’s always amazing to take a little bit of our time to give them something back,” Ferreira said. 

The striker also said he enjoyed the training session and that he was thankful that the university shared the field with them.  

“I know this is a team that has been winning a lot lately, so we are excited and thankful that they borrow their field to us,” Ferreira said. 

FC Dallas head coach Nico Estévez said MSU has great facilities that made it easier for his team to have a good preparation for the hard game they will be facing. 

“We are trying to build new things for the coming season, we know it is a pre-season game, but Inter Miami is a tough game so in order to train properly we need great facilities such as the ones in here which would definitely help us to face the game in the right way and hopefully get a good result,” Estévez said.