HOUSTON – Not too long ago, Mauro Manotas had a choice to make: Play it safe and sign for Junior, his childhood favorite club, or venture out of the nest to MLS. Still a teenager, sticking with Junior and staying in Colombia would have been an easy decision.
His father had a different idea. When the 19-year-old Manotas approached him in January with an offer from the Houston Dynamo, the elder Manotas gave his son some sound advice.
“Of course, after speaking with my family, particularly my dad, and seeing the opportunity to come here and maybe doing things well and going somewhere at one point in my career or another, that had a big impact on me,” Manotas said through a translator. “It was a more attractive opportunity for me in my career than staying in Colombia.”
After a long courtship, father knew best, and Manotas was wearing the Houston Dynamo orange on Monday. He chose the Dynamo over three other MLS clubs and interest from Colombia and Europe.
The young forward comes to what is becoming a crowded forward corps in Houston, with Giles Barnes and Will Bruin combining for 11 goals in 14 games and Erick “Cubo” Torres on the way.
READ: Mauro Manotas takes a chance as he embarks to U.S., Houston Dynamo
Moving up the depth chart will be a tough task for the young forward, and it represents a gamble by the Dynamo. Instead of investing money in experience, Houston have gone with a youth movement up top. Argentine Leonel Miranda is just 22 years old, and Torres is as well. Add in the 19-year-old Manotas, and it’s clear the club is looking long-term, a youth-development strategy that had mixed results under the previous regime.
The Dynamo believes Manotas is cut from the right type of cloth, however, and they hope he’ll follow in the footsteps of young Colombians such as Fabián Castillo and Fredy Montero, attackers who made their mark in MLS.
“He’s got a lot of very good qualities: He has size, he has pace and he has a very good soccer IQ and he’s good with his feet,” said general manager Matt Jordan. “What I like about [Colombia] is there’re a lot of characteristics similar to MLS. It’s a very physical league, it’s a very high-tempo league and it’s a very aggressive league. I think that’s why you’ve seen over the years that Colombian players have traditionally adapted quickly to MLS.”
Montero used MLS as a springboard to Europe, and Castillo has become one of the most exciting players in MLS with FC Dallas.
“We talk; we’re from neighboring cities, and we help each other out. The Colombian culture is very family-centric, and we help each other out a lot,” Manotas said of his relationship with Montero. He’s also spoken with former FC Dallas defender Hernan Pertuz. “They all say the same thing: The facilities are top-notch, and there’s a very good setup here in the States. That had a lot of weight for me and something that’s very important as I try and take the next step in my career.”
At 19, the next step is as much about adapting to being independent away from the field as it is being productive on it. Manotas has been working on a Dynamo-supplied training plan since signing, and head coach Owen Coyle was happy with his fitness during his first training session on Monday.
Coyle said the club will monitor Manotas' readiness this week to determine whether he will be involved Friday against New York Red Bulls (9 pm ET, UniMás), but the June 17 game against the Austin Aztex in the US Open Cup could be his first realistic opportunity for playing time.
“We know he’s young, he has ability, and we certainly feel a real opportunity in the game,” Coyle said. “You can tell already he’s comfortable on the ball and knows where the goals are. We have to allow him to settle in and progress at the speed he has. I’ve been with young players – the speed they can progress at is rapid, so I’ve got no fears looking at him just now that he’s big part of our group going forward.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
