Hector Herrera feels 'committed to the club' — and now, it's time to show it

There is one thing for sure about the Houston Dynamo in 2023: The expectations are much higher for Designated Player Hector Herrera.

After a summer arrival in 2022, with the FIFA World Cup looming at the end of the year, the Mexican national team midfielder arrived in Houston with plenty of celebration and grandeur. The expectations, as he put it, were "to win, win, and win."

Plagued by injury, Herrera only played in 10 of a potential 16 matches for a total of 682 MLS minutes. He registered one assist as the team went 2W-6L-2D in games he appeared in.

"I feel committed to the club, with the project they showed me, and have no doubt that, just as the sporting director and the president do not sleep, I spend my time thinking about what we can improve, what we have to do to make a competitive team," Herrera said following the final match of the season. "I'm not saying the best, first, we have to be competitive and then we will be winners. I feel total confidence to talk to them and show them or express my feelings."

The Dynamo finished second-to-last in the Western Conference and missed the MLS Cup Playoffs for a fifth straight season and eight out of the previous nine. Head coach Paulo Nagamura was fired eight months after his hiring and former D.C. United coach Ben Olsen was hired as his replacement in the offseason.

In Qatar, Mexico failed to get out of the group stage for the first time in eight consecutive appearances. Herrera was a starter in the scoreless draw with Poland and lost to eventual champions Argentina before being benched against Saudi Arabia, a win for Mexico but not by enough goals to advance.

Online and across Mexican media outlets, Herrera shouldered some of the blame for El Tri's worst period since the country missed the 1990 World Cup. Social media was filled with demands that he retire from the national team, and his move to MLS continues to be criticized as a cash grab instead of a way to continue testing himself at an elite level.

"I made the most of my vacation, to rest completely from everything that means soccer," said Herrera on the first day of preseason. "I rested from news, from soccer, of everything, to be able to completely rest my body and come here with the best mentality. My goals are simple, I think to prepare as well as possible for the start of the championship and then it is clear, the goal of a team is always to win and win titles."

While Herrera remains hopeful to be in the national team picture, Qatar 2022 may have likely been his final World Cup appearance. With three years and five months until the next edition, co-hosted by his home nation, Herrera knows he has to deliver great performances in MLS as a minimum.

The club has expressed its higher expectations, going hand in hand with the player's ambitions. General Manager Pat Onstad mentioned his desire to see Herrera be a leader like he is with Mexico in an interview with the league website.

The club should expect more from a player among the top earners in MLS. The other two Designated Players, forward Sebastian Ferreira and defender Teenage Hadebe, will also be expected to perform well with both earning over $1 million each.

The club parted ways with 14 players and brought 13 new faces. Despite the season getting underway, the club is still defining its roster with midfielder Luis Caicedo arriving this week and two signings yet to join the team.

Among the notable changes is midfielder Artur, a 2020 MLS Cup champion with Columbus Crew SC, who alongside Herrera and Adalberto "Coco" Carrasquilla will be part of the Dynamo's key midfield trident. A key part of the preseason was the trio getting on the same page.

"We have a good relationship, good communication is developing, not only among the midfielders, but among the entire team," said Herrera after the final preseason match. "There is a good atmosphere, good players, good people, happy people who like the group. This is very important. It is a topic that has been talked about a lot during the preseason. 

"I am of the idea that the team is a family," he added. "It is important to know what kind of person you have next to you. After all, you spend more time with your teammates than with your family. It is important to fight for each other. That's how I've done it throughout my career and this is not going to be the exception."

The team spent part of their preseason in Herrera's home country. The Mexican star was showered by requests for autographs and photos in Mexico City and Toluca, so if his teammates didn't know the degree of his stardom they have to by now.

Herrera treated the team to dinner during their stay in the Mexican capital. He also presented his teammates with a gift box featuring a handpicked luchador mask.

The team took advantage of its Mexico trip to shoot some footage for its jersey reveal. Herrera at the Angel of Independence, perhaps Mexico's most iconic monument, is part of the club's image. Although he did not rule out the possibility of a return to Europe in the future, he has planted his roots in the Bayou City and expressed his desire to deliver a winning team.

Hector Herrera, whether it's fair or not, will be judged by his numbers and the success of the team. In his mind, he has to know that and welcomes the opportunity to be the star the Houston Dynamo are betting on him to be.

"We are motivated, we are aware of what the beginning of the season means. We want to have more people in the stadium. We want to give people the confidence to come and watch us, with joy, with good soccer," said Herrera to start the season. "We want all the home games to be full, but I think it also depends on us. To be able to generate that good confidence to the people, to the fans, and that way, even if it's a midweek game, that they say 'I will not miss a Dynamo match because I'm with them 'til death and they are making me excited with what we are seeing."