Dynamo return for 2024 preseason with new goals and higher expectations
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo returned to Houston Sports Park this week to kick off the 2024 preseason. The club will be looking to keep the momentum going from a very successful 2023 season that featured a Lamar Hunt US Open Cup championship and a trip to the Western Conference Final.
Coming into 2023 with a brand-new coaching staff and almost a whole new roster, no one really knew what to expect from the Dynamo. Now, coming into 2024, the expectations have changed drastically. General manager Pat Onstad knows the club has changed, and yet it is still striving to get better. “I’m always trying to see what we can do to improve the team,” Onstad said Wednesday at training. “That’s not just the guys on the field. That’s the staff around the building. For us internally, it’s always trying to find ways to get better. We still have a long way to go, as far as reaching where we want to be. We want this club to be like we were 15 years ago, when people knew we were the team to beat. I still think we'll have a target on our back, but we want to get to a point where people say we’re the team to beat in our league. That we are the model franchise. So, we still have a long way to go.”
It’s not just the front office that knows the expectations have changed; the players feel it too. “The expectation is to have that success and more,” midfielder Artur said. “We finished the year in the best form possible and we need to make sure we continue that. We want to play on the road the way we play at home – with the confidence this group has. There’s no other option. We must keep growing. We know we are a good team, but we need to work hard and have a dominating presence on the field.” One of the things the Dynamo have emphasized is having winners in the locker room, guys who have been there and won that. Artur is one of those players, and he knows they have to keep growing.
Goalkeeper Steve Clark is also one of those veterans who knows what it takes to continue taking on the challenges of a new season. “It’s definitely different than last year, because we were searching for an identity,” Clark said. “This year, just because we have confidence, we have a good feeling and we're a more cohesive group, there are going to be a lot of challenges that are different than last year. They could be unforeseeable, but we’re ready to meet those challenges. Just because we feel good as a group, we feel confident and we're different than last year, it doesn't mean this pursuit in 2024 is going to be any less challenging. We're ready to face that head on.”
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
Captain Hector Herrera is the straw that stirs the drink on and off the field. Herrera knows last year is just that and it’s time to go bigger and better. "What we did last year is in the past, right? This is a new season, a new beginning and there are new objectives, new goals and what we did last year is in the past,” Herrera said. “In football, they look at you and value you for what you do now, in the present or game-by-game. So, we are preparing very well to try to evolve more every day and be able to have a good season, an excellent season, hopefully an unforgettable season. The only way to do that is by winning the title."
Head coach Ben Olsen is beginning his second season in Houston and knows the start of a new season brings a fresh start. “The first day is always a great day, every year,” Olsen said. “There’s a lot of optimism and energy. It’s just nice to see everybody and get outside. Guys came in fit and excited about a new year. I know the expectations have now changed here a little bit. In a lot of ways that is what we signed up for. The goals and the standards are very similar to what we started with last year. We want to be in the postseason, and we want to compete for trophies. We know this is a very different year with different opportunities.”
It’s been a quiet offseason for the Dynamo as far as transfers, losing Corey Baird to free agency and re-signing Griffin Dorsey as the notable moves. The core group of a team that was among the best in the league is back, however, and that brings even more confidence. “The majority of the players who appeared in a lot of matches for the team returned, which is important,” Artur said. “The group benefits from that because we already know each other and are familiar with our playing habits. So, to start the season with that chemistry will be important and helpful for us this season.”
With expectations comes new challenges as well. The Dynamo will compete in the Concacaf Champions Cup next month and they know that teams will see them differently now than they may have in the past with the “old Dynamo”. From underdogs to favorites is something Herrera is embracing for 2024. "That's our goal, to be a contender, a protagonist in the league and a team that can compete in each game,” the Dynamo captain said. “Personally, I like that kind of pressure. The other one too (underdog), I liked it because it motivated you to be able to do things well and move forward. When I arrived here, that is what I expected and what I wanted from the team and today, thank God, the season we had last year showed everyone what we are capable of. Teams are going to see us differently this year and that is motivating."
So, what are the goals for this Dynamo team. Onstad made it clear that “this is a playoff team. The guys come in with that expectation.” For Clark it’s about taking on whatever 2024 has in store for the team. “There are going to be a lot of challenges that are different than last year,” the goalkeeper said. “They could be unforeseeable, but we’re ready to meet those challenges. Just because we feel good as a group, we feel confident and we're different than last year, it doesn't mean this pursuit in 2024 is going to be any less challenging. We're ready to face that head on.”
It's going to be a very busy 2024 for the Dynamo and it starts in about a month. There are multiple competitions to navigate this season that bring the chance at winning trophies. You could sense after the first two days of practice, this club, from top to bottom, is more than ready to take the next steps to start putting themselves back into the upper echelon of Major League Soccer.
