With more than 30 years of coaching under his belt, Schellas Hyndman knows talent when he sees it.
But the FC Dallas coach has a rule when it comes to signing a player or hiring help. Seek other opinions. Do your due diligence.
He always makes three calls.
"So far we've really made some good decisions on people," Hyndman said.
Acquisitions like veteran goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and stylish Colombian playmaker David Ferreira have helped FC Dallas make it to the MLS Cup, where it will take on the Colorado Rapids on Sunday at BMO Field.
It's an unlikely title matchup. The Rapids were 12-8-10 in the regular season while Dallas was 12-4-14.
Hyndman is not your normal coach, either.
The 61-year-old draws on a lifetime of experience on and off the soccer field. A 10th degree black belt, he has studied and taught martial arts all his life.
Talk to him and he is as likely to quote a business management book as soccer strategy.
Like most good leaders, he looks to surround himself with the right people. Running a pro team is like bossing a mini-corporation.
He cites "The 90-Minute Manager" by Chris Brady, dean of BPP Business School in London.
The book is aimed at showing CEOs lessons to be learned from soccer managers, arguing that the sport replicates and intensifies business problems. A CEO may only be evaluated at quarterly meetings, after all. A soccer manager is judged every weekend.
It also talks of the importance of the right hiring practices.
"We've been really diligent in our work on finding players," Hyndman said. "I think if we find three of four that are outstanding, then that's 75 per cent and we're happy with that."
It took a while to find the right combination of players and instil his "culture of winning."
Hyndman inherited a 4-5-4 team in 2008, opting not to make immediate changes because he wanted to see the talent at his disposal.
The squad finished 8-10-12 for the season and went 11-13-6 in 2009.
He has almost totally remade the team since taking over and says he loves the character of his current roster, which overcame a rocky start this season to reel off a 19-game unbeaten streak to tie a league record.
"I think they really enjoy each other," he said. "They're good friends on and off the field. I walk through the locker-room an hour after training and there's five or six of them still sitting there having a laugh and a good time. They go out for team lunches and do quite a bit of things together.
"People ask me 'Well how important is that?' And I don't know how I can rate the importance of it. I just know how important it is if you don't have it."
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