Three important players for the Houston Dynamo in 2024
(image via IMAGN)
Most people, including head coach Ben Olsen and general manager Pat Onstad, will tell you that the 2023 season for the Houston Dynamo came as a surprise. The team was able to put things together and compete at a high level, even quicker than imagined. The 2024 season now brings expectations to continue the upward trajectory started last year. With captain Hector Herrera out for an unknown amount of time, the Dynamo are going to have to rely on some other players to carry the load. Here are the three most important players for 2024.
Coco Carrasquilla
Herrera is an obvious answer to the most important players on the team but with his injury and unknown recovery time Carrasquilla is going to have to be the cog in the midfield. Dynamo fans have seen Coco run the show for Panama in the midfield and be the guy that basically does everything. Without Herrera, that will likely be Carrasquilla’s role for the Dynamo, especially early in the season. We saw him pulling the strings Tuesday in St. Louis, especially on the disallowed goal. It’s bold to say “the Dynamo will be as good as Coco is” but it feels like that may be the case for a stretch of this season.
Erik Sviatchenko
The Danish center back has the make up to be one of the best defenders in Major League Soccer. Sviatchenko is a born leader, and you can see it in the way he demands excellence from his teammates on the field. Ben Olsen gives Sviatchenko some license to get forward into the attack and ping passes into the final third. Micael does a lot of the defensive dirty work which allows Sviatchenko more of a free role. If the Houston defense is going to be as good as it was last year, it’s going to hinge on Sviatchenko once again being the rock he has been since he stepped into the lineup.
Griffin Dorsey
As of now, Dorsey is the only natural right back on the roster. Daniel Steres can play there in a pinch and there are rumors of a new right back signing but to start the season it’s all Griff. Dorsey is so much more than a right back in Olsen’s system, bombing down the right side in the attack. With Aliyu Ibrahim on the left wing and a big question mark on the right, Dorsey will be looked at to lead the attack on the right, as he did for much of last year. There are questions about where the goals will come from this season and who will help set them up. Dorsey is going to have a huge part to play in that and his performance this season is going to be vital for the Dynamo being towards the top of the table again in 2024.
