MIAMI – As one of his generation's finest midfielders, Héctor Herrera is well accustomed to the demands and fanfare that come with competing at the highest level.
However, the legendary Mexican international isn't quite used to the attention surrounding Houston Dynamo FC, one of last MLS season’s surprise success stories and among the favorites to make more noise in 2024.
“The expectations for this year are totally different,” Herrera recently told MLSsoccer.com at media marketing day in Miami, before their Feb. 24 opener vs. Sporting Kansas City (8:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).
“We’ve left the bar a little high, but I think we can also use that for motivation to top ourselves.”
HH at the wheel
That’s what happens when you take the league by storm practically out of nowhere, like Houston did in 2023. Amid a massive roster overhaul with 17 new signings under head coach Ben Olsen, the Dynamo surpassed expectations by winning the US Open Cup and reaching the Western Conference Final in their first trip to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs since 2017 – all while making Shell Energy Stadium a fortress.
At the center of it all was Herrera, posting a Best XI presented by Continental Tire-worthy 4g/17a and pulling the strings for arguably the league’s most dynamic, aesthetically-pleasing midfield with the help of Coco Carrasquilla, Artur and Amine Bassi – a fearsome quartet that appears set to remain intact this year.
“While it’s true we’re coming off a good season, we haven’t achieved the most important thing,” Herrera said, making clear what the goal has to be in 2024. “Winning MLS Cup. I think that’s our biggest motivation and the biggest motivation for any club."
But Houston aren’t just any club, and Herrera is certainly not just any player. A breakout star with Liga MX side Pachuca over a decade ago, the box-to-box midfielder quickly leaped to Europe, first becoming a Portuguese Primeira Liga champion with Porto in 2017-18 before joining Spanish giants Atlético Madrid, where he won a 2020-21 LaLiga title during a highly influential spell with Los Colchoneros.
His national team credentials are just as impressive, with the 33-year-old earning 105 caps with El Tri, lifting the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup and representing his country at three FIFA World Cups.
All this made Herrera a seemingly perfect Designated Player signing upon his summer 2022 arrival from Atlético, hoping to revitalize the two-time MLS Cup champions. But the No. 16 struggled to make an early impact, affected by a lingering hamstring injury, adaptation issues and distractions from the upcoming 2022 World Cup in Qatar that limited him to just one assist in 10 games.
“I always said we had to earn everyone’s respect, the league and the teams,” Herrera explained of his lackluster first half-year in Texas. “In the end, I think we did it. People were no longer nonchalant about playing against Houston.”
With this well-earned respect comes expectations, something Herrera embraces as he looks ahead to a jam-packed year for both club and country, including the 2024 Copa América. Mexico were drawn into Group B – along with Ecuador, Venezuela and Jamaica – in the tournament that takes place on US soil.
“Obviously the national team is exciting for me, even more exciting because the tournament will be in the United States,” he said. “But the main thing is to play well in Houston in order to be considered for the national team.”
On the hunt for more silverware
Herrera enters his third season with the Dynamo as a bonafide MLS superstar, among a growing list of top-tier signings highlighted by last year’s Lionel Messi-led transformation of Inter Miami CF that also included Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. The Herons acquired yet another FC Barcelona icon this winter, adding legendary Uruguayan striker Luis Suárez to their already stacked lineup.
A former teammate of Suárez’s at Atlético, the Mexican veteran believes Miami could be even more dangerous this season than the side that produced the now-legendary 2023 Leagues Cup title run behind Messi's brilliance.
“I think facing them will be a big motivator for the league’s teams,” Herrera said. “To be able to compete well with them and hopefully be able to tell your grandchildren you were able to beat them.”
Houston did just that last season. And in a tournament final no less, defeating the Messi-less Herons 2-1 at DRV PNK Stadium to capture the 2023 US Open Cup crown. It was Herrera’s first trophy at the club, one he hopes serves as a precursor to bigger and better things in 2024.
“MLS Cup is the most important one,” Herrera said, not forgetting the Dynamo’s two international commitments: Concacaf Champions Cup [by way of their USOC title] and Leagues Cup. “The others we’ll have to see how it goes for us, how we start off."
But, ever the competitor, Herrera wants Houston going as far as possible in as many competitions as possible.
“Once you’re on the pitch, you don’t say, ‘This isn’t important for me,’” Houston's captain noted. “Once you’re on the pitch, you play to win everything.”
