HOUSTON (Sept. 17, 2024) – Houston Dynamo FC signed free agent midfielder Júnior Moreno through 2024 with a club option for 2025, the club announced today. The MLS veteran returns to the league after a short stint this year with Al-Hazem SC of the Saudi First Division League.
“Júnior is a versatile player with extensive MLS experience, illustrated by his ability to help lead multiple teams to the MLS Cup Playoffs,” said General Manager Pat Onstad. “He also has a previous relationship with head coach Ben Olsen after spending three successful seasons together at D.C. United, including two postseason runs. We look forward to welcoming Júnior into the squad in Houston as the team continues its push for the playoffs and looks to make the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2013.”
Moreno spent six seasons in MLS between D.C. United (2018-21) and FC Cincinnati (2022-23), totaling seven goals and 12 assists over 153 regular season appearances (142 starts). The Venezuelan international spent three seasons under current Dynamo head coach Ben Olsen while playing in the nation’s capital, helping D.C. make the playoffs twice. Moreno was traded to Cincinnati ahead of the 2022 season, playing a key role in postseason runs during both of his seasons with the blue-and-orange.
Moreno has extensive playoff experience, starting all eight matches (754 minutes) across four postseason runs, including a run to the 2023 Eastern Conference Final versus eventual champions Columbus Crew. The midfielder recorded a postseason assist in Cincinnati’s 3-0 victory over the New York Red Bulls in Game 1 of the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 series. Moreno also helped Cincinnati reach the semifinals of the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The midfielder has earned 40 caps at the international level with Venezuela, including appearing 17 times in FIFA World Cup qualifiers and eight times in the CONMEBOL Copa America (2019 and 2021). Moreno has tallied one goal and two assists for La Vinotinto so far.
Before arriving in MLS, Moreno competed in the top tier of Venezuelan soccer, making his professional debut for Asociación Civil Deportivo Lara in 2012 before moving to Zulia in 2015, where he scored three goals and recorded three assists in 64 appearances. Moreno helped lead Zulia FC to their first Copa Venezuela victory in club history in 2016 by beating Estudiantes de Caracas 2-0 on aggregate over two legs.
Moreno joins a Dynamo team that has competed above the MLS playoff line since the start of the 2024 season, while also advancing further in the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup than any team in the Western Conference. Houston is looking to replicate their strong campaign last year under head coach Ben Olsen, which saw the team lift the 2023 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and make a run to the Western Conference Final in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
