Hector Herrera sets the record straight about MLS
Mexican international and Houston Dynamo midfielder Hector Herrera took the opportunity to set the record straight about the level of play in the MLS.
In an interview with our own Rodrigo Serrano, Mexican international and Houston Dynamo midfielder Hector Herrera took the opportunity to set the record straight about the level of play in the MLS.
“The truth is that I have been pleasantly surprised by the league. From the outside, you may talk about how it isn’t a very competitive league. But once you arrive, you see the rhythm that they play with here and how many quality players there are here, you realize that the MLS is a very good league. And it is getting better every day. In the last few years, there have been lots of great lineups, players who play very well on the ball, and the truth is that I really like it.”
For players, particularly at the top level in Europe and Latin America, the biggest draw pulling them to make a move to the MLS may not be what happens on the field, but rather everything off of it. Herrera admits that in a country where soccer stars are not hounded by fans and press at every turn, simply being able to go to the store is a true job benefit.
“Beyond soccer, that may be the most important thing: that you can live a good life, a tranquil life, not just 100% soccer in your head all the time. That is something that is attractive for players, the good quality of life here in the United States, and truthfully I love that I can train in the morning and then spend the afternoon with my kids. I pick them up from school and we go to their after school activities, its a normal life.”
But when asked if perhaps the compromise that he had to make in order to have that lifestyle was playing in a sub-standard league, Herrera was clear that the MLS is a strong league.
“I honestly can’t pretend to speak for every league, I have played in four different ones (La Liga MX, Liga Portugal, La Liga España, MLS), so I can’t say what the others are like, but the MLS is growing and in the next few years, say between now and the next World Cup, it is going to grow even further. So I can’t say if it is one of the world’s top leagues, but there is no doubt that it is definitely moving in the right direction.”