FC Dallas defender Walker Zimmerman ready to lift MLS Cup and more.

For Walker Zimmerman being composed under pressure has always come naturally. “I was in Portugal on a club soccer tour during spring break and we were at a Benfica game,” Zimmerman explains. “I was walking up to go to the restroom and it was up some stairs. I noticed two guys that were drunk behind me. Something inside me just said this isn’t right so I decided to go back down and get some teammates to come up with me. “

What at first seemed like a tourist’s paranoia quickly proved a wise decision. “I walked up into the bathroom with a bunch of the other guys and those two guys that had been following me both came out of the same stall,” he adds. “I think they were going to try and jump me because they recognised I was foreign.”

Listening to Zimmerman talk, without a hint of fear in his voice, is impressive even years on from the event. That same composure under pressure was evident more recently (albeit in less dangerous circumstances) when he stepped up to take the deciding penalty in FC Dallas’ playoff game against the Seattle Sounders. “I think I was already pretty confident because of the two saves Jesse [Gonzalez, FC Dallas goalkeeper] had made.” he explains.

Smashing the ball into the net past Stefan Frei you may have expected the 22 year old to engage in an adrenaline fuelled celebration, maybe even a sprint around Toyota Stadium. Instead he turned around and slowly walked back to the centre circle. The celebration flew around social media and even the club mascot Tex Hooper reenacted it last week.

There was shades of Mario Balotelli about the whole thing. The Italian was once asked why he refused to celebrate scoring a goal. His response was typical for such a unique character. “When I score, I don’t celebrate because I’m only doing my job,” he said. “When a postman delivers letters, does he celebrate?”

Zimmerman doesn’t explain his understated celebration in such quirky terms. “I never planned to do a celebration,” he explains with a laugh. “It was more of a natural reaction when the ball hit the net. It was more of an adrenaline thing. I was so excited, so in the moment, I didn’t want to run around, I just wanted to maintain that intensity level. I was looking at the guys and super excited to move into the next round. I guess it was a pretty funny reaction.”

From talking to Zimmerman it is clear that his self confidence doesn’t devolve into complacency; in part due to the influence of Oscar Pareja. The Colombian has fostered an exciting young core in Texas with Zimmerman just one of many talented prospects. Given that youth development is something the FC Dallas coach is becoming well known for, it has lead to questions regarding the secret of his success.

“He’s a coach that knows exactly what he wants,” Zimmerman says. “When you have a coach who is so clear on what he wants from his players you’re going to have players that understand their role. In dong so they’re going to perform better as an individual and for the team’s purpose. They’re obviously going to have a better performance on the field. He lets every young player know what he expects of them and that gives you a good gauge on how to get better and improve in those areas.”

However the great strength of Pareja’s side - their youth - is also seen as a potential weakness. The regular season holds more freedom and less pressure, the playoffs could see those young starlets dim under the bright lights. “I think it gives us a unique identity being so young,” Zimmerman states confidently. “Our mentality is to see that as a strength rather than a weakness. I know people say you have to have experience and we do have that with the veterans of our group but we also have a talented young core of players that brings its own strength.”

Part of that strength involves being constantly tested during practice, something Zimmerman feels has helped the team’s defence. “When you’re training day in day out against the kind of caliber we have on our team it’s only going to make you better and more experienced as well,” he explains. “If I’m dealing with a player who is extremely fast and quick on the ball I know I can handle him because I’ve played against Fabian in practice. There’s nothing different that these other players are going to bring it’s just a different player on the ball. They’ve definitely challenged me and the whole back line and it develops us into a good unit.”

So far Dallas have passed every test with flying colours. Their second leg performance against Seattle remains a particular highpoint given they went into the match 2-1 down on aggregate and could easily have crumbled under expectation. “I think our pressure was getting home-field advantage in the regular season,” Zimmerman explains. “We might have lost 2-1 to Seattle but by no means do I think we produced a performance in Seattle to justify that result. I think we proved we could be the better team in the series. We came back to a place where we’d only lost I think two or three times in the regular season and we were comfortable and confident. I think it showed in our performance and we maintained our composure through the 120 minutes.”

However their discipline was tested heavily in the second leg. A late goal from Chad Marshall looked set to put Seattle through 3-2 on aggregate. It was a dramatic moment late in the game. Yet what seemed like an unexpected twist to those watching was actually something that FC Dallas had planned for. “We’d practiced it in training that week, different scenarios,” Zimmerman says. “We all knew that we had to score at that point and I immediately ran to the half way line as a forward as I knew that’s where I had to be in that situation. We knew we had to get a goal, we’d practiced it, now lets go do it.”

And do it they did. 60 seconds later Zimmerman popped up in the box to level score and level things on aggregate, taking the game into extra time. The rest as they say, is history. Believing we have yet to see the very best of this Dallas side it seems the 22 year old is intent on lifting MLS Cup this year. For someone that grew up idolising Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, lifting silverware clad in red seems like a fitting conclusion to the 2015 season.

Perhaps then he can focus on the US Men’s National Team and the other lofty goals he has set for himself. A confident, composed young man, he certainly seems the right candidate to lead his team from the back, and help prove the kids of FC Dallas are more than alright.