Luis Garrido has been the find of the Houston Dynamo season. But they’ll have to wait until 2015 to see him on the field again.
The midfield bulldog added on loan from Honduran side Olimpia in July was suspended for the Dynamo’s regular-season finale Friday at the Chicago Fire (7 p.m. CT; NBCSN, live stream at NBCSports.com), ending his 2014 run after 11 games. The Honduran international was also hit with a fine for endangering the safety of Lee Nguyen in last weekend’s 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution.
“I’m sad because I’m not going to be able to play,” Garrido told MLSsoccer.com through a translator. “I’m surprised, but I have to respect the ruling of the league.”
The transgression came in the 25th minute when Garrido challenged Nguyen for a loose ball. He stepped in front of the Revs’ MVP candidate and in the process elbowed Nguyen. Despite the Revolution midfielder hitting the ground, Garrido escaped a caution; he was later shown a yellow for a foul in the 52nd minute. Upon review it was apparently too much for the league’s Disciplinary Committee to look past.
“It happens; he caught him pretty good,” said Giles Barnes. “I don’t think it’s intentional. Luis is a whole-hearted player. He’s like a dog, like a lion; he sees the ball and wants to get it. I think it’s just he caught him at the wrong time. It’s unfortunate it happened because I think he’s been great since he’s been here.”
Now Garrido will watch from a distance as his teammates put the cap on a disappointing season that will end in the Windy City. Since his arrival, the club has gone 5-4-2 in 11 games and allowed only 13 goals in the process (five shutouts).
Houston will likely look to fill his shoes with Servando Carrasco, who stepped in twice while the Honduran was away on international duty two weeks ago. Other options could be his fellow countryman Alexander López, who has languished on the bench all season.
It’s a quick and rough end to a promising debut season for Garrido. Now he can look forward to a second year in Houston under a new regime, with the departure of head coach Dominic Kinnear, and with a clean slate.
“I’m sad that we didn’t qualify for the tournament, but I want to keep working for next year,” Garrido said. “I’ll keep working, and whatever the changes are they’ll be best for the team.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
