MLS
Héctor Herrera: “I can see myself winning a second trophy with Houston Dynamo”
The midfielder spoke exclusively to AS USA about the 2023 MLS season ahead of the conference semifinal against Sporting Kansas City.
Héctor Herrera arrived at Houston Dynamo in mid-2023 as one of the biggest stars in Major League Soccer but the Mexican national team star had to endure a tough adaptation process in his first few months in the league as the Dynamo finished in second-to-last position in the Western Conference.
The 33-year-old central player has now become the driving force of the Houston midfield and in 30 regular season games played, he scored four goals and provided 17 assists.
‘HH’ contributed 21 of Houston Dynamo’s 54 goals in 34 games to secure a spot in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs for the first time in six years. Herrera had not been called up for the Mexican team since the World Cup in Qatar, but last September he did return to the squad for friendly matches under coach Jaime Lozano.
The former Atlético de Madrid player has found in Adalberto Carrasquilla a key partner in the midfield of the Houston Dynamo and both players were pivotal figures in winning the US Open Cup this season as the Texan side bagged their first title since 2018. Now they are two games away from returning to the MLS Cup final, something they haven’t achieved in 16 years, fans and club officials are relishing the prospect of winning the double this season.
The Dynamo will be hosting Sporting Kansas City on 26 November in the first semifinal of the Western Conference. A clash in which two leaders of Mexican soccer will face each other as Héctor Herrera Houston welcome Alan Pulido and Sporting KC.
What has changed in your first full year in MLS? They team has now won a title and are now in the conference semifinals.
“It’s been a very good season for us having won the US Open Cup and we are now fighting for one more title, unquestionably a more important one. I think that the atmosphere, the good relationship and positive energy that exists in the group are some of the things that I would highlight.
What is your personal assessment of the fine season you have had?
“The truth is I am very happy with what I am doing, with the group we have and with the city. I think when you find that happiness, playing becomes easier or you enjoy playing more. It is true that last year, the adaptation process was a little stressful and perhaps at the beginning of this season as well, but I had a lot of faith that we were going to do well, that we were going to form a good team and the results were going to fall for us.”
What does winning the double mean for Houston?
“I think it would be something historic for the club and would see this team write a major chapter in history books of the club. After a long time of things not going well, this is the perfect tonic for the club, players and obviously for all the people who are always supporting us.”
How do you assume the role of being the leader of the team and your good understanding with Adalberto Carrasquilla?
“I’m not trying to be different or anything because I’m a captain and carry that pressure of having to do things differently. On the contrary, I try to live normally as I am on a day-to-day basis and express and help my colleagues as I have always been done. We have a good camaraderie here”.
“I have said it on other occasions. Carrasquilla, when I arrived here, was the player that I liked the most or that surprised me the most. He is going through a good spell and I think he has worked a lot to be in this vein of form. We have a good relationship on both the field and away from the game.”
What do you think of the new playoff format and the tournaments that have been played this season?
“I think it has been a very long season and on top of that you add three more games. You have to adapt to the format and what the playoffs and then adapt to whatever comes next.”
How do you see Sporting Kansas City and what it means to play against your friend and countryman Alan Pulido?
“Now we have a one-off game at home against a team that we have played a lot this season. We played against them in the US Open Cup and they are a very difficult opponent for me. They started slowly but have ended the season on a real high”
“Their resurgence coincided when Pulido returned and started scoring goals in every game. I think he is a very key player, I love him as a player and as a person. It will be a pleasure to face him again and greet him and obviously go head-to-head on the pitch.”
Do you have direct communication with Pulido?
“I talk to him often, not just when we face each other and I plan to see how he is ahead of the game. I talked to him a lot when he was injured, to see how he was doing and when he came back I congratulated him for what he was doing this season.”