When the Houston Dynamo and Olimpia take the field Tuesday night, one Dynamo player will have mixed emotions.
Boniek Garcia, the electric midfielder who joined the Dynamo in June, spent the early portion of his career with Olimpia. Garcia helped the Honduran club to 2010-11 Apertura and Clausura titles, and was part of the squad that reached the quarterfinals of the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League tournament.
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“I’m happy to be playing against my former team,” Garcia told reporters after Monday’s training session. “And if I don’t get the opportunity to play, I’ll be happy to support [the Dynamo] from the outside. Overall, I think both teams will play a good game.”
Although head coach Dominic Kinnear did not say if Garcia would play in Tuesday’s match, he did hint that there will be changes from the squad that took the field for Saturday’s playoff clinching win over Philadelphia.
“It’s difficult to ask these guys to continue doing it, especially with the international matches the players have had when they went away,” Kinnear said. “We know the importance of the game, but you have to make sure you keep the squad fresh and, for me, the health of the squad is always the most important thing.”
Kinnear’s task becomes even more difficult with the schedule that lies ahead for the Dynamo. Following Tuesday night’s Champions Leauge match, the Dynamo will hit the road to Colorado for the regular season finale against the Colorado Rapids. Depending on the results, they could then play a one-game wild-card match four days later.
“When you look at the players we had not starting the game last Saturday, they are some good players,” Kinnear said. “We do know Saturday’s game [against Colorado] is important, but you can’t look too far ahead. You want to make sure you put out the freshest team that you can and that is what we are going to try and do.”
