It’s been rough going for the Houston Dynamo after failing to qualify for MLS Cup playoffs in six of the past seven seasons. The lone appearance came in 2017 as Erik “Cubo” Torres led the team in scoring. They’ve lagged behind the other Texas teams seeing attendance declines in each season even taking into account attendance restrictions due to COVID. But with the addition of Mexican international Hector Herrera, which could help signal a change in the right direction for the franchise.
The club announced on Wednesday that Herrera signed a pre-contract agreement through 2024 with an option for the 2025 season. His career in Europe has been an impressive one, as he’s captured a La Liga title with Atletico along with winning the Primeira Liga and Portuguese Super Cup with Porto. Herrera will stay with Atletico Madrid through the end of their club season as they continue to challenge in the Champions League and in La Liga. You can watch his Colchoneros on Paramount+ on March 15 against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the second leg of the UCL round of 16.
“On behalf of the City of Houston and our loyal, passionate soccer fans, I’m honored to welcome Héctor Herrera to Houston Dynamo Football Club,” majority owner Ted Segal said. “General manager Pat Onstad and I have focused on identifying a difference maker for our club and Hector’s talents make him a perfect fit. As important, through this signing process, I was heartened to hear Héctor’s commitment to our club and the city of Houston, and I look forward to him becoming part of our community very soon.”
It’s a move that makes sense for Herrera coming into a World Cup year in need of playing time. In theory and if healthy, he’ll be actively playing for 12 months out of this year as MLS ends its regular season in October and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar begins Nov. 21.
Since leaving Porto, Herrera has gone from one of the first names on the team sheet to more of a rotational player for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, but that doesn’t mean that he won’t have something to offer Houston as he’ll surely be a permanent fixture in Paulo Nagamura’s starting XI.
For projects like the one Onstad and Co. are going through, you need a player who can push the side’s ambitions. Herrera can slot right into midfield and help bring a winning mentality to the side. It’s not like he can come and underperform as he’d like to accompany Tata Martino and El Tri to Qatar for the World Cup as well. Mexico will have dates at home against United States, at Honduras and home against El Salvador during the final fixture of qualifiers in March — you can stream all three games on Paramount+.
You add the Herrera signing with the fact that the club splashed cash to bring in Sebastian Ferreira from Libertad, and you can clearly see that the Dynamo are moving in the right direction. It’s a long road to erase seven years of mediocrity, but it seems like they are going in the right direction to try put an end to their woes.
