The Houston Dynamo have re-signed veteran defender DaMarcus Beasley, the club announced today.
Beasley is expected to rejoin the team in preseason training Saturday morning at Houston Sports Park. The Dynamo will scrimmage against Houston Baptist University, and the session will be open to media for the final 15 minutes. Players and coaches will be available for interviews following the scrimmage.
“We are extremely pleased to announce the return of DaMarcus to the Houston Dynamo,” said Dynamo Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “His quality as a player, leadership in the locker room, and winning mentality will be important for our group, particularly with as many new faces as we’ve brought into the team this year.”
Beasley, 34, is one of the most decorated players in American soccer history and is the only man to represent the United States at the FIFA World Cup four times. His 11 appearances at the World Cup are tied for second-most in U.S. history.
He has been capped 124 times for the U.S. Men’s National Team with 17 goals, and has displayed remarkable longevity at the international level, having represented his country in at least one match in 16 of the last 17 years. His 124 caps are the fifth-most in U.S. Soccer history; and he ranks eighth in assists, with 13, and is tied for ninth all-time in goals scored.
Beasley most recently participated in the January U.S. Men’s National Team training camp and earned his 124th cap against Jamaica on February 3.
“I feel that DaMarcus is the best left back in the country, and he not only has experience but also has a great level of talent,” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. "He can continue to bring that level to the team and to his teammates, and he’s motivated to do that. We’re really excited to have him back, and hopefully he starts to have an impact on the field and off of it right away.”
The Fort Wayne, Indiana native has played in and started 62 MLS regular-season games since joining the Dynamo as a Designated Player on July 23, 2014. Last season, he started 24 games for the club and scored one goal on the year, a right-footed effort following a quick counterattack at Vancouver on May 28.
Naturally left-footed, Beasley began his career as a winger whose lightning pace and seemingly endless energy allowed him stretch opposing defenses on the flank while still providing defensive cover for his own team. As his career progressed, he made the transition to left back, where he has been among the best at his position in Major League Soccer since rejoining the league with the Dynamo in 2014.
Beasley began his career in MLS with the Chicago Fire, but has played all over the world. He moved to Europe in 2004 with PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie and became the first American to play in the semifinal stages of the UEFA Champions League. He also helped PSV earn back-to-back Eredivisie titles, in 2004-05 and 205-06. He moved to the English Premier League with Manchester City on a loan from PSV during the 2006-07 season.
In 2007, Beasley signed with Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, becoming just the second American to play for the Glasgow giants’ first team. In three seasons with the club, he helped lead them to two SPL championships, along with the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.
Following a year in the German Bundesliga with Hannover 96, Beasley returned to North America, signing with Puebla in the Mexican Primera Division. Over three seasons with the club, he made 92 appearances and scored 12 goals before returning to MLS with Houston in 2014.
With the addition of Beasley, the Houston Dynamo now have 24 players on the first-team roster for 2017.
The Dynamo open the 2017 season, presented by 76, on Saturday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m. CST against the defending MLS Cup Champion Seattle Sounders FC at BBVA Compass Stadium. The full season schedule was announced on Thursday, January 12.
Tickets for all regular season games start at $25 and are on sale now at HoustonDynamo.com, by phone at 713-276-GOAL and at the BBVA Compass Stadium box office. Season tickets for the entire 2017 home campaign are also available online at HoustonDynamo.com/2017 or by phone at 713-276-GOAL.
