Cano has links to MLS from his time with DC United and Austin FC.
North Texas SC announced Javier Cano Gallego as its third head coach in club history today. Cano joins North Texas SC from Austin FC’s Academy.
The 39-year-old has more than 23 years of coaching experience that includes stints in Spain, Czech Republic and USA.
“Javier brings energy and experience on a global stage,” North Texas SC General Manager Matt Denny said. “North Texas SC is such an important aspect of our entire organization. Javier is going to be phenomenal asset to the club and help strengthen the alignment between the first team, second team and Academy.”
Cano has a long coaching history, dating back to 2000 in Spain with CD Utiel. At the Valencian club, he managed the U-7 through U-16 Academy teams for nearly nine years before moving to Levante UD’s women’s football team in the Superliga. A year after joining Levante, Cano assumed the head coach role for Mislata UF’s U-14s and U-15s Academy teams. During his time in Mislata UF, Cano joined the Fundación Marcet, a program that helps develop players through courses and tournaments.
After spending 19 months in the Fundación Marcet, Cano joined Villareal CF Academy where he was the head coach of the U-13/U-15 and U-14/U-16 teams. He spent six years at the “Yellow Submarine” before moving to the Czech Republic where he was named the head coach of the SK Slavia Praha U-21s in the Juniorska League.
Cano has been in MLS since 2018. He was named head coach of D.C. United’s U-15 Academy. During his first year at the club, he was also called up to be an assistant coach for Ben Olsen during the 2019 MLS season. Cano was promoted to head coach of the U-19s in his second season with the club and remained part of Olsen’s staff until June 2020. Austin FC hired Cano as its U-15 Academy head coach following his stint at D.C. United. He would later be promoted to the U-17 head coach role.
Quick Take
On paper, you have to think this is a no-brainer for North Texas and FC Dallas. Cano has a perfect resume for this kind of job, coming from an extensive youth development background, and he’s still relatively young at 39 years old. Also, his experience within MLS will serve him well in this role.
But the first thing that jumps out is the connection to Valencia and what that should mean for the connection between FC Dallas and North Texas SC. We didn’t see a ton of the two sides linking up in 2022 outside of FC Dallas, sending players down and eventually signing one from the team toward the end of the season. Getting a better connection between the two sides is vital.
Overall, this feels like a win.