The Journey of an MLS pioneer: Brian Dunseth on seven teams, U.S. Open Cup glory, and Apple TV
Brian Dunseth has already staked out an unforgettable legacy as a soccer player, but now, he’s staking out a new legacy as a commentator.
Born in Upland, California, on March 2, 1977, Dunseth started playing for Upland Celtic, dominating against other teams in the state and eventually earning an invitation to a tournament in England. At 12 years of age, Dunseth faced off against teams from England, Denmark, and the Netherlands, and while he believed that he had done well enough to continue his progression, he was soon dealt a cold dose of reality. Immediately after heading back to the Golden State, Dunseth was cut from the squad.
“I was lucky enough to be playing at 12 years old for a Celtic team that smashed everybody in California. I mean, we were winning everything, so much so that we ended up going to England and playing teams from England, Holland, and Denmark. And at the end of that tournament, I was the only one on the team who got cut,” stated Dunseth in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview.
“It was devastating, because my best friend’s dad was the team manager, these are all my friends, and all of a sudden, it was my first real failure in a protected environment. From that moment on, man, it was all I wanted. I continued to play all the other sports—basketball, baseball, football, all those things—and I was like, ‘You know what? Screw those guys. I’m gonna show those MFers.’ In my mind, I just locked in.”
Despite this early rejection, Dunseth didn’t give up on his dreams; instead, he grinded even harder. He started working alongside two ex-convicts, making $2.75 an hour as a dishwasher at a convalescent hospital, and excelled as Damien High School’s #10 before being one of the last players recruited to Cal State Fullerton, who agreed to pay for his parking, books, and one meal per day, but not his school expenses.
Dunseth transitioned from #10 to center back and kept his pedal to the metal, which eventually resulted in a breakthrough 1997. After representing the United States in Malaysia in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, Dunseth became one of the first players to sign a Project-40 (now Generation Adidas) contract, effectively fast-tracking him into MLS.
He was assigned to the New England Revolution and emerged as a key figure in defense before being traded to the Miami Fusion in 2001. However, his time in the 305 came to an abrupt end after the Fusion folded, with Dunseth being selected by the Columbus Crew in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft. He enjoyed the prime form of his career, helping them come within inches of the MLS Cup Final and winning the U.S. Open Cup, before being traded to the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) in September 2003.
“I always had seemed to find myself in situations and teams where I was good enough to play, but I wasn’t good enough to be on those consistent, winning teams that challenged for titles. I never felt in my professional career like I had a coach that really believed in me, like ‘that’s my guy.’ I mean this with the utmost respect, when you look at Bob Bradley, Bruce Arena, and Sigi Schmid, those three super iconic managers in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s of Major League Soccer, even the Dom Kinnears, the Frankie Yallops, I never had those type of coaches that just had blind faith in me, no matter what.
“I was their guy, and this was going to be a cultivated winning team. So when I got in that moment, I played in the first game at Crew Stadium with the New England Revolution. It was an amazing atmosphere: Brian McBride, Jeff Cunningham, Stern John, Brian Maisonneuve, all those guys… I’m frustrated, because we should have done the double. What people forget is that we ended up losing to the Revolution in the Eastern Conference Final to a Jay Heaps goal. We would have effectively played the Galaxy in the MLS Cup Final, and hosted the Galaxy in the Open Cup Final back-to-back within the same week. We were already devastated, we were frustrated, and the Galaxy had won the most important thing.”
“We didn’t care about it, and we smashed them from the opening whistle. And I remember spraying a ball out to Freddy ‘Cabeza de Hongo’ García; he ends up playing a ball back across to Brian West, back of the net. We end up winning 1-0. And what was cool about it at the time was Lamar Hunt. He was one of the most genuine human beings that you could possibly ever come across; he had invested in the club, he invested in Major League Soccer.
“To have the U.S. Open Cup trophy named after him, to be able to be up on that stage and get handed the trophy from the owner of the Columbus Crew in the first soccer-specific stadium with his name on it, it was really, really cool. And to be in those celebratory moments, to have him in the locker room with us, I can vividly remember going over to him and hugging him and saying, ‘Without you, these opportunities don’t exist. Without you, this moment is nothing more than a fantasy for a kid that grew up in Southern California with dreams and hopes and aspirations.’ I grew up trying to consume every bit of soccer in a world that’s not like today, when you can throw on Paramount Plus and have the opportunity to watch 80 games this afternoon. It was wild how much fun it was, both on and off the field, and the stories that will never be told… it was a really incredible moment.”
Dunseth spent just a few months in Texas before moving to Swedish side Bodens BK, returning after a year and spending a season with Real Salt Lake. He then bounced around from Chivas USA to the LA Galaxy, becoming the first-ever player in MLS history to be on the roster of seven different teams before retiring in 2006.
Similar to other Californians like Jordan Gardner, Dunseth continues to play a leading role in shaping American soccer culture, working for major outlets like Fox Soccer Channel, ESPN, SiriusXM, and NBC Sports and calling Real Salt Lake games for his local channel. And today, he’s serving as a commentator on Apple TV alongside Max Bretos, traveling across the country and announcing a number of different Major League Soccer matches.
“Usually, if it’s a West Coast game like Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake, or LAFC—those type of games—I’ll travel Saturday morning to the game just because it’s more efficient; I’ll gain that extra hour, call the game, come back first thing Sunday, and miss a majority of my kids’ soccer. Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I’ve got Counterattack with Tony Meola on SiriusXM FC; I’ll wake up at 6 and get the kids ready for school. Now my oldest is driving, I don’t have to worry about him; middle boy back to school, youngest to school; I’ll do the show from 8 to 11 local time. If I’m booked to do any appearances or podcasts, I’ll try to knock those out on Mondays. I have a podcast called ‘Week in the Tackle’ with Tom Rennie. He’s the Premier League announcer for TalkSport; he’s amazing, really, really talented, he does the football show on SiriusXM, and our podcast on ‘Week in the Tackle’ is usually recorded either Monday or Tuesday. Thursday I’ll do a local show, called Talking RSL, for one of the local television channels.”
“If I have any hosting commitments or any appearances sprinkled throughout there, Fridays are usually committed to doing SiriusXM in the morning, and then doing our preview conversations with coaches. In the midst of all of this, I’ve got three boys that are playing ECNL soccer, so I’m heavily invested in driving them to practices and staying at their practices and being there with them, because I miss out on a majority of their games. And in the mornings of those Saturdays, I’m usually glued to my computer or to my phone, logged in to the Hudl Cam to watch their games, and then communicate with them afterwards. I’ve been happily married for 20 years… there’s always something going on, there’s always something that we’re either driving to or trying to get to, with my kids so heavily committed to soccer.”