Before starting the 2019 season, the Houston Dynamo secured one of its key elements – striker Mauro Manotas, who extended his contract with the Houston club for three more years until 2021.
"Well, I am very happy, very pleased to continue writing this beautiful story with this beautiful club. To which I thank them [Houston Dynamo] very much for the opportunity to come here and show my talent internationally," said Manotas with a smile on his face.
The Colombian arrived at in Houston in 2015 at age 19 and has gradually become the Dynamo’s go-to striker – although it was not always easy.
"The truth is that when I arrived I knew it would be very difficult to play in the [Houston Dynamo] they had a lot of very good strikers. With work, with dedication, in each training I dedicated myself and thanks to all that and to God – today we are seeing the results," said the 23-year-old, adding that it was very difficult learning a new language, a new style of play, but it has been a positive process.
Manotas saw an opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities on the playing field with the departure of Erick 'Cubo' Torres last January, after Torres had broken the Dynamo's single-season MLS goalscoring record. It was Manotas who asked to wear the number nine jersey and take on the challenge of scoring.
"Obviously when Erick left I knew the great responsibility, I was the one who said 'I want to be there, I want to use number nine, I want to break the record he made' and thank God I can say that I want to break the record that I [myself] did, it's something that fills me with a lot of joy and motivation," said Manotas.
With the scoring burden on his shoulders, the forward scored 25 goals in 2018 – the most goals scored by a Houston Dynamo player in a single season. Despite the fact that Manotas was scoring goals and breaking records, he says that winning the Dynamo’s first U.S. Open Cup was what made him feel that he made a big difference for La Naranja.
"When we won the cup, I said ‘this was it, this was it’, I had already broken Erick's record and I was already the team's top scorer in the cup, I scored two goals in the final and won the cup,” said Manotas with emotion. “Incredible, it was something that really filled me with a lot of joy. I showed the club, I showed the fans that I'm here, that I can do the job they want."
With all the achievements made at his young age and Manotas is still not satisfied. He has many goals for 2019, wanting to win everything with the Dynamo.
“With the Dynamo [I want] to be the champion of the MLS, to be champion of the [Concacaf] Champions League, to be champion of the U.S. Open Cup. We want to win everything, we want everything, we want to be a competitive team, to be a seasoned team, fighting – up there in the first places and on a personal level I want to be the top scorer of the club and break my own record of goals in a season," said Manotas, who also mentioned his desire to be part of the Colombian National Team.
With his humble essence, his fighting spirit and drive to be better every day, the striker has conquered not only the goals on the field but also the hearts of the fans. Manotas assures that the fans are a huge part of the team and expects to see more at the stadium in 2019.
"Thankful for all the support, I want to say that I appreciate them very much, I really appreciate the club, the city. I feel at home here, I'm a Texan."
Head coach Wilmer Cabrera has seen the evolution of the young forward, having also coached his fellow Colombian during loan stints to RGV FC early in his time with the Dynamo. Cabrera said that Manotas has known how to be patient, a virtue that professional players need to be able to grow in soccer.
"We had the luck of finding a person like him, a professional, focused, educated, who wanted to learn and had the patience to grow, because it's not easy in this sport," said Cabrera. "This sport is one of the most difficult and in any sport, at a professional level, you must have a lot of patience and he had the patience, but when he had the chance, he took a risk, which makes the difference with the sport.”
The future looks promising for both the Houston Dynamo and forward Manotas, who came to a new country and a new club to make his mark.
