How North Texas SC coach Michel Garbini is seizing his opportunity before the playoffs

“Are you hungry or do you just want to eat?”

That’s the tried-and-true maxim of North Texas SC interim coach Michel Garbini.

His players hear it almost every day. For them it’s very simple: do you just want to win or do you want to win? need win?

Michel comes from Brazil and – like many of his compatriots in this sport – is only known by his first name. Michel knows how important it is to win. Success on the field took him from a small but populous island on the southern coast of Brazil to Belgium, Greece and finally the United States.

His longest stay in the United States was with FC Dallas, where he played for three seasons and became known for his magical left foot.

After a playing career that spanned nearly two decades, Michel settled in Dallas to become an assistant coach for the newly formed North Texas SC – FC Dallas’ second team. In a team with constant squad and personnel changes, Michel was the only constant. On match day he was the man behind the scenes, but in training he was the center of attention. Whether it was position-specific drills, small-sided games or full 11-on-11 games, Michel was there, leading by example with and against players over 20 years his junior.

That changed this June, halfway through North Texas SC’s sixth season. The club’s head coach, John Gall, was appointed to the FC Dallas coaching staff as an assistant to Peter Luccin. Finally Michel got his chance.

“John stepped up and that was good for him,” Michel said. “And I’ve been preparing for this all these years. My time had come. I think we’ve done a good job at the moment and taken the team to the playoffs. I’m super happy to be in this moment with the players and staff.”

Michel is modest. His North Texas team earned the most points in MLS NEXT Pro (62, six more than anyone else), the best goal difference (+24, six more than anyone else) while securing the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Under Michel’s sole leadership, North Texas went 9-3-4 and won three of four extra-point shootouts.

“He gets the best out of players and it shows in the results, so the transition has been pretty smooth,” said North Texas captain Nico Gordon, who earned a spot in the league’s top XI. “He’s really good, honestly. He likes to play. He has a great passion for the game. He keeps track of the guys so he knows what the guys can give. He’s been with us for a long time and pushes us forward every day.”

Success in the regular season is one thing. The playoffs are another. Michel knows this better than anyone, having helped the club to the league title in his first season in 2019 as assistant to head coach Eric Quill. Seven players from this team later played for FC Dallas, three became regular players for the US men’s national team (Ricardo Pepi, Tanner Tessmann, Bryan Reynolds).

“This team had a lot of talent,” Michel explained. “We can see that they are still playing at the highest level. And it will be the same here this year. In the future we will see some of these players at the highest level. (In 2019) we said, ‘Okay, there’s something special about this group.’ We felt that way. (This year) we’re doing it again.”

To reach the heights of 2019, Michel’s team needs to improve even further. Individually and collectively, they must do their best every day for the next month. But they also can’t look too far ahead. They begin their playoff season this Sunday, October 20, at home against seventh-seeded Whitecaps FC 2. For Michel, having the right mentality is key.

“My question to the players every day is: Are you still hungry or do you just want to eat something?

“I think we’re still starving.”