Boniek García enters free agency

 

Houston Dynamo FC midfielder Oscar Boniek García will enter free agency, García and the Club announced today as his contract is set to expire at the conclusion of the league year. 

 

García arrived in Houston midway through the 2012 MLS season after winning eight league titles with Club Deportivo Olimpia in his native Honduras. The versatile midfielder would command the field across 10 seasons for the Dynamo, first as a dangerous and dynamic winger and then as a box-to-box midfielder who controlled play with his passing and technical ability. García even deputized admirably as a center back late in his Dynamo tenure. 

 

García finishes with 18,508 minutes and 266 appearances for the Dynamo in all competitions, ranking fourth in each of those categories. García tallied 41 assists for the Dynamo in all competitions, the second-highest mark in club history. The two-time FIFA World Cup veteran is only the fourth player to represent the Dynamo in more than 200 games.  

 

“It is difficult, very sad that after 10 years with you, I’m saying goodbye to what has been my second home. The Houston Dynamo is an institution of which I am very proud, in which I have grown and enjoyed to the fullest during each year, month, week, day, hour, minute and second that I have belonged to it,” García said in a message posted to his social media. “Special thanks to the fans, to each of you, for accepting me, supporting me, motivating me, living with me every moment. For you, I tried to get up every time I fell, and when I did, I always tried to stand up and be even stronger.” 

 

The MLS veteran signed with the Dynamo as the second Designated Player in club history on June 7, 2012. García led the Dynamo to a 9-4-6 record in the regular season after making his debut and won the 2012 Eastern Conference championship. Six years later García started in three matches to lead the team to its first ever Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship.  

 

“Few players identify with the Dynamo like Oscar Boniek García. He is without a doubt one of the greatest and most beloved players to don that orange jersey,” Dynamo General Manager Pat Onstad said. “When we look at everything he has accomplished on and off the field here in Houston, we are eternally grateful to Boniek. He made his ambitions clear and we look forward to welcoming him back to PNC Stadium in the future to celebrate his career.”   

 

Internationally, García represented the Dynamo in three editions of the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. His first appearance for the Dynamo on the international stage was against his previous club, Olimpia, which finished in a 1-1 draw on Aug. 30, 2012. The trip to Honduras famously sparked a beloved nickname for García that would follow him in his time with the Dynamo, “El Presidente.” Many Olimpia supporters, members of the Honduran military and other staff working at the airport greeted him as “Presidente” as he navigated his first trip to Honduras following the full transfer to the Dynamo that summer, and the nickname followed him back to Texas.   

 

Individually, García was recognized as the Dynamo Newcomer of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year in 2012. MLS also recognized his contributions in his first season by naming García the Latin Player of the Year in 2012. García was also named to the MLS Team of the Week throughout the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2021 seasons. 

 

García’s impact extends beyond his contributions on the field with more than a decade of philanthropic work in his native Honduras. Most recently, the Honduran international donated more than $10,000 in shoes, clothes and soccer equipment in 2020 following a challenging year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2018, García returned to his childhood neighborhood, Bella Vista, outside of Tegucigalpa with a truckload of Dynamo and Houston Dash gear that was distributed to children and members of Honduras’ amputee soccer team. 

 

The former Dynamo midfielder was also a staple in the Houston community prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. García’s smile was a familiar sight at Houston Sports Park for Dynamo Academy training sessions or at various soccer fields throughout the city as he supported his children’s participation in the sport. García was also heavily involved with the Dynamo GOALS program that featured in-person player appearances and other social events in Houston like Latin Restaurant Weeks.