HOUSTON — With the World Cup break and two non-league matches approaching, the Houston Dynamo hope to use that time to regain some of their form and explore available options.
With roster space available, the Dynamo lined up a two week trial for Ghanian midfielder Anthony Obodai. The team is also tight lipped about an additional trialist possibly joining next week.
Obodai has spent a large portion of the past ten years in Holland. Dutch Web site Voetbal International notes that Obodai has made 88 appearances and scored five goals for RKC Waalwijk, which bounced between the Eredivisie and Holland’s second tier during Obodai’s time there. After the team’s promotion last year, Obodai made 20 appearances for Waalwijk in their latest stint in the Eredivisie, but only five of those appearances came in 2010.He also spent time with Dutch gianst Ajax.
“It’s a good chance for us to look at some guys and there is the possibility of other guys coming in,” head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “You want to see him in a competitive environment and that’s why we wanted to get him here as quick as we could so we could see him in two games instead of a couple of training sessions.”
Obodai hopes that he can impress the team during his trial and earn a contract with the team.
“My goal is to play very well for the team and I always want to win, so we want to win the two games that I play,” Obodai said. “I play primarily central midfield. Sometimes I played right or left midfield, but primarily central midfield. I am probably more comfortable as a defensive midfielder as well.”
Today’s relatively short practice was long enough for Obodai to enjoy Houston’s heat and humidity.
“Yeah, the heat is bad,” Obodai joked. “People say, 'What about Ghana?' But I lived in Holland for ten years, but it’s my job to work through it.”
It would be hard to evaluate Obodai based on one practice as the team did drills and some conditioning. Regardless, Coach Dominic Kinnear hopes that providing Obodai actual game experience will help the team make an informed decision when evaluating any trialist.
“He’ll be here for this game and the game against Aguila,” Kinnear said. “We are going to take a look at him.”
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.
