As Oscar Boniek Garcia reports for duty at BBVA Compass Stadium, I’m wondering three things today about the Dynamo’s new DP midfielder.
First) Where will the man play?
I assume it’s along the right, although Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear has mentioned the possibility of deploying him centrally.
Seems to me that the talented Honduran international can solve the riddle of the right side, a place of discontent lately in the land of Orange. No one in Houston has made this his position since Brian Mullan’s 2010 departure.
Colin Clark landed at Robertson Stadium in 2010, having arrived from Colorado in the Mullan trade but coming off an ACL injury.
Clark has never really looked the same, unable to attack defenders with the same speed and aggressive nature. So the position toggled last year between Clark and Danny Cruz. Cruz looked something like a Brian Mullan starter kit, still raw but equipped with equal measures of bite and desire. He did lack a little of Mullan’s technical ability (although Cruz is still just 22 years old, so there seemed to be time to polish up weaker areas).
Either way, the Dynamo moved Cruz to D.C. United in the offseason, so he was no longer an option.
This year it had been Calen Carr lately along the right, although the former Chicago Fire attacker always looks more like a forward than a midfielder. (Plus, he’s injured now.)
So, yes, Boniek Garcia at right midfielder for me.
Second) Can this make Brad Davis even more effective? He tends to drift inside a lot, so this could open space in there if teams must pay more attention to a right-sided threat.
Third) Does Boniek Garcia know of the legend and misadventure of Luis Angel Landin? And might fan reaction to the Dynamo’s second spin on the Designated Player wheel be affected in any way by said legend and misadventure?