Nico Estévez was announced as Austin FC's second-ever Head Coach on October 25, 2024. Estévez, a bilingual native of Valencia, Spain, has MLS, LaLiga, and international coaching experience.
Estévez began his coaching career in the youth system of his hometown club Valencia CF in 2004. He took his first head coaching role with Huracán Valencia CF in the Spanish third tier in 2011. In two (2) seasons with Huracán, Estévez led the team to a record of 41 wins, 34 draws, and 13 losses. He was named the Ramón Cobo Award winner as the league’s best coach in 2012-2013.
Estévez then took charge of Valencia B in 2013, and eventually served as interim manager of Valencia’s first team for two (2) matches in which he led them to a 1-0 win in the Copa del Rey and in a LaLiga match against Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid.
In 2014, Estévez moved to the United States to join Columbus Crew SC as the team’s Director of Methodology. Estévez was promoted to first team assistant coach ahead of the 2017 season. He served in the same role for the United States Men’s National Team from 2019-2021 and again in fall 2024 as a member of Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT coaching staff.
Estévez became head coach of FC Dallas in December 2021 and led Dallas to playoff qualification in his first two (2) seasons there in 2022 and 2023. In his first season with Dallas in 2022, he led the team to a 20-point improvement over its previous season – the largest year-over-year point increase in the club’s history – and a third-place finish in the MLS Western Conference.
