Moises Hernandez got the call Friday. He needed to be in Dallas, now.
The good news? Hernandez already was there. Where else would he be? Hernandez was born and raised in the Dallas area. It’s home.
So, too, is Guatemala, the country he represents internationally and where he currently plays with Antigua GFC. Hernandez has a foot in both the DFW area and Central America, so Wednesday’s Guatemala game at the Cotton Bowl against the Mexico national team will be extremely special for the 29-year-old.
“It's honestly a dream come true. I have a lot of little dreams and one of them was playing in Dallas for the national team in front of my friends and family,” Hernandez told The Striker Texas. “When I was younger, my dad used to bring me to games when Guatemala would come to Dallas for scrimmages against the USA and stuff like that. I would always come, and I remember my dad said to me, ‘I want you to play one of these games one time in Dallas.’”
Hernandez spotted his dad singing the national anthem in the first row of Toyota Stadium on Sunday ahead of Guatemala’s 2-0 loss to El Salvador. This week, he has been able to reflect on his journey — one that now will have him play three matches for Los Chapines in the DFW area during the group stage of the Gold Cup.
The defender grew up in Seagoville and joined FC Dallas as a homegrown player in 2010, before the club was known as the player production experts they’re seen as now. In 2012, he went on loan to Guatemalan giant Comunicaciones and while that loan spell wasn’t extremely fruitful, it would lead to both Hernandez getting on the national team radar and pave the way for a future move with Los Cremas in 2017-18. It was a bit of a surprise to Hernandez that Guatemala ended up playing such a role in his soccer career, but Dallas — and even Guatemala legend Carlos Ruiz — always have been touchstones.
The connection he (and many Dallas residents) has with the Mexican community also makes Wednesday a special day for Hernandez.
“I used to go to Dallas Burn games at the Cotton Bowl. I was there when Pescado Ruiz made his debut for FC Dallas,” Hernandez said. “My wife is Mexican, all her family is Mexican, I have a lot of Mexican friends here in Dallas, so it’s something very special for me and my friends.”
Hernandez said he’s already double-checked that his kids will be at the game dressed in the azul and blanco rather than the green of El Tri and received assurances the whole family will be supporting him.
They may be in the minority Wednesday, but they won’t be the only ones rooting for Hernandez. It’s not every day a son of Dallas comes back to the city and plays in its most storied soccer venue. It also wasn’t supposed to happen this way.
Guatemala was on track to move into Group C but fell to Guadeloupe in a 13-round penalty shootout in the final match of qualification. Yet, their showing in that tournament made them the next team up when Curaçao had to withdraw from the tournament because of an outbreak of COVID-19 in its squad. That’s why he got the call this weekend to be in Dallas ASAP. Most of his other teammates, understandably, were not already in the Metroplex, and the team reformed completely with a new manager after the previous one was let go Thursday due to the qualification failure.
“Getting everybody together so fast was kind of hectic,” Hernandez said. “We didn’t know where to go, but we’re happy we’re here and are going to take advantage of the opportunity and hope for a good result to represent Guatemala.”
Like he’s done every step of his career, he’ll be representing Dallas as well — this time, however, on a field he knows well.
