Continuity and rhythm.
For a striker, those two things go hand in hand and more often than not equate to goals, something that Erick ‘Cubo’ Torres never experienced with the Houston Dynamo.
Of the 26 games the Dynamo have played this season, Torres – who was loaned to Liga MX side Cruz Azul last week – missed nine due to his participation in the 2016 Rio Olympics. He was available for the remaining games 17 and made 11 appearances, with four starts, and logged 401 minutes.
One assist is all he has to show for it.
So how did an up-and-coming Mexican international who scored 14 goals for Chivas USA two years ago fail to make an kind of impact in Houston?
Dynamo vice president and general manager Matt Jordan attributes some of it to Torres’ involvement with Mexico’s Olympic squad.
“I mean, there were times over a two month period where we’d see Erick for like three or four days. Those are the realities of it kind of being an Olympic year,” said Jordan after Wednesday’s practice. “That’s always challenging from a continuity standpoint and that ties into confidence as well at times. This fresh environment we think, and he believes we’re all going to benefit from.”
Interim Dynamo head coach Wade Barrett says it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why Torres was unable to fit in Houston.
“I think some of that is circumstance, some of it is probably on his shoulders as well,” said Barrett. “I feel like for this group right now it’s the right decision. And like I said, I hope for him it ends up being a spark for his career.”
Torres would gladly welcome that spark and acknowledged during his Cruz Azul introductory press conference that his tenure with Houston was not memorable.
“It’s no secret that perhaps it didn’t go so well with the Houston Dynamo,” said Torres in that press conference. “It’s not something that can be hidden.”
Torres, a Designated Player, is the second marquee player to be shipped off by the Dynamo after Giles Barnes was traded in July to the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Is this a changing of the guard for Houston?
“You could probably say that,” said Barrett. “We got Mauro [Manotas], he’s got a bright future. Will [Bruin] is coming back and he’s looking hungry so that’s kind of who we have in those positions moving forward.”
Torres’ time with the Dynamo is over for now, but if Cruz Azul don’t exercise it their loan-to-buy option, Torres could return to the Dynamo for the 2017 season.
