OPINION: United's Dallas tradition

Manchester United progressed in two Cup competitions this week - and one of those ties took them to Wembley - so it is hardly surprising that the announcement of their participation in another went somewhat under the radar.

For the first time since 2013 the club have entered the Dallas Cup, the youth tournament held annually every Easter.

The truth is it could have been a mundane week for United and this news would not have hit any headlines but that is as much to do with the evolution and modern state of football and, perhaps, the perception that a soccer tournament held in the USA cannot possibly be seen as prestigious - particularly considering the political debates, that show no sign of easing, involved internally in the development of young players in North America.

And yet - against all the odds - this week long tournament in Texas continues to thrive, and exists as the longest running international youth competition of its kind. Other competitions have been created - the UEFA Youth League - to give young players a taste of this senior environment and so, consequently, the Dallas Cup is perceived in much the same way as the Club World Cup is for international sides. In so many ways it serves as the ultimate testing ground for young players and yet does not get recognised in the same way.

There are differences, of course. Teams who compete in the Dallas Cup are invited or are applicants, as opposed to a qualification process.

Since its conception in 1980, teams from around the world have sent sides of various age brackets to face off in the Lone State.

And Manchester United's history and connection with it is one of the lesser known stories of both club and competition.

United have used it for the professional development of their young players out of the domestic spotlight. As a 12 year old, Adam Eckersley (who played Hearts in Scotland in 2015, and currently plies his trade for FC Edmonton in Canada) was part of the squad the Red Devils took over to Dallas in 1998.

‘It was huge,’ he said, in an interview for my 2014 book Fergie’s Fledglings. ‘Being twelve and going to the States - United are huge at any level, so we had people who were coming just to watch us. There was so much hype and it was very much an introduction to the kind of thing we might expect if we progressed… we were signing autographs, which was a surreal feeling… you probably won’t find a footballer who’s older who says they enjoy signing autographs, it’s something they have to do, but at the time it feels like a really big thing.’

Former QPR and Millwall manager Gordon Jago - then, as he is now, a legendary figure in Dallas soccer - was charged with the task of turning the competition around just after the turn of the century. Post 9/11, families were understandably reluctant to allow their young children to fly to America and the number of international applicants declined dramatically.

Jago reached out to Manchester United, who agreed to send an under 12’s team. The news of their participation effectively turned around the fortune of the Dallas Cup, with many international sides suddenly keen to take on the famous British team. Jago went further still and worked with United and Real Madrid to arrange their under 18 sides to play in a marquee opening event in 2006.

That meant the clubs would be drawn in the same group as each other, and thus meant one must be eliminated, and so, the opportunity existed for another side to possibly face off against one of arguably the two most famous teams in the world. That United/Real clash brought a record attendance of 17,105 to FC Dallas’ ‘Pizza Hut Park’. United’s goalscorers were Giuseppe Rossi and Frazier Campbell, while Darron Gibson also starred.

Today the Dallas Cup thrives out of the international spotlight it richly deserves. The emphasis on professionalism - which extends to the use of professional referees, many of whom have come from England in recent years, including Howard Webb - has been conducive to a standard and integrity that is unrivalled and unmanufactured. It boasts a culture of excellence that the American game has been desperate to give its senior game.

A large part of that is down to its attitude to cultural progressiveness and breaking down barriers by using sport. For Dallas Cup XXV the board reacted to a BBC programme in Israel and worked with the FA in England and Israel to create an opportunity for a ‘Peace team’ for under 12’s - comprised of nine Israeli boys and nine Palestinian boys as well as two Israeli coaches, two Palestinian coaches and two Peace Centre officials.

Some of the children stayed with local families through the competitions HomeStay program and in one home, an Israeli boy and a Palestinian boy stayed together. When the Palestinian boy was asked on local television how he had enjoyed his time in Dallas he said of his housemate, ‘When I came, he was my enemy but now he is my friend.’

Ask anyone involved in soccer and Texas and they will speak almost exclusively of Jago’s influence and non-stop enthusiasm in his retirement years as the factor for rescuing the competition but when one pauses to consider the significant impact of such a tournament on a cultural level, particularly in the modern climate, it becomes clear how important it has been.

Manchester United, like Jago, can be given justifiable kudos for their own role in the tournament’s survival. When their under-19 team travels to Dallas they probably won’t be aware of the significance of the club’s relationship with the competition. It’s a story that certainly deserves more recognition.

Wayne Barton (@WayneSBarton)

Wayne Barton has been the football columnist for international broadcaster Setanta Sports since 2011 and has been described by the Independent as ‘the leading writer on Manchester United on the period between Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson’ after numerous books on the club and autobiographies. The most recent are ‘74/75’ with Tommy Docherty and ‘Rise Of The Underdog’, the autobiography of Danny Higginbotham.

Wayne has also worked in Hollywood and across the USA with Gold and Platinum selling musicians and actors from the monster hit TV show ‘Breaking Bad’.