HOUSTON – With nine games left in the 2019 Major League Soccer season, the Houston Dynamo wanted to shake things up to finish the year and opted to part ways with head coach Wilmer Cabrera.
The news trickled out onto social media Tuesday evening with the club confirming the rumors to be true.
Why now? With only nine games left on the season.
“I think we as a club have been in a challenging moment in the last couple of months. The last few weeks, in particular, have been very challenging for us. We hoped that the team would work its way out of it,” Jordan said.
“And really coming off this last road trip in communication as a club with our ownership group and the board. We felt it was collectively the correct time to make this decision to give the team a fresh perspective.”
The road trip Jordan referenced were a pair of games against New York City FC, and Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union. In both instances, the Orange either had the lead or were tied, before giving up a late goal.
But the problems were apparent before the team left on the road trip. And before MLS took a break during the Gold Cup.
Since May 18, Houston is 3-11-1. That record includes four straight losses and three consecutive home losses.
The decision was made by all parties involved in the front office, Jordan confirmed in the press conference, including majority owner Gabriel Brenner, who was “very engaged in the process.”
When asked if the Dynamo had been able to get points on the road, would that have changed the mindset regarding Cabrera’s future with the club, Jordan didn’t want to get into specifics.
He added that the club began having discussions about Cabrera’s future with the Dynamo towards the beginning of the week, with the decision being made Tuesday.
Fans no doubt, have been bearing some of the brunts of the team’s downfall from Houston’s hot start to the season. A start that was the Orange’s best in the club’s history.
In its first 11 games, Houston posted a 6-2-2 record. The blazing start was in part aided by Houston playing eight of its first 11 games at home.
But things quickly turned sour when the team started playing more road games, and even more so when Honduran internationals Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto took part in the Gold Cup.
As the downward spiral began, Dynamo fans wanted a change.
“Obviously, we understand that the fans have been disappointed about the results since the end of May and beginning of June. I think ultimately, we have to take the decisions that, after discussions internally with our ownership, we feel it’s in the best interest of the club,” Jordan said.
“We take everything into consideration, and we know the fans haven’t been happy, but ultimately it’s a decision that we feel was the right one at this time.”
Wilmer Cabrera’s time with the Dynamo is done, and now the club hopes this change can be a jumpstart for the team.
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.