The Houston Dynamo announced today the club has signed midfielder David Rocha and defender Agustín Íñiguez, also known as Agus. Both players will be added to the Dynamo roster pending receipt of their P-1 Visa and international transfer certificate. Rocha and Íñiguez have been acquired as discovery signings. Per club and league policy, terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
“During the offseason we’ve focused on continuing to add quality players to our roster,” Dynamo VP/general manager Matt Jordan said. “We feel by adding two players with the experience, pedigree and character that David and Agus possess strengthens our group in preparation for the upcoming season.”
“We are delighted to bring both players to the club,” Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle said. “They have fantastic ability and experience from a very good league and will certainly add to the quality of our team.
Rocha, 30, joins the Dynamo from Gimnástic de Tarragona in Spain’s Second Division, known as Segunda A. Rocha was captain of Gimnástic for the last two seasons and scored 16 goals in 99 appearances since 2013. The Spaniard helped Gimnástic gain promotion to Segunda A after the 2014-15 season, scoring the winning goal in the decisive promotion playoff victory over SD Huesca. Born in Cáceres, Rocha played for the CP Caceraño academy and made his professional debut in 2002. A central midfielder, Rocha also played for Villarreal B, Cartagena and Albacete Balompié before moving to Gimnástic.
“David is a very intelligent midfielder who possesses the ability to dictate the rhythm of the game in possession while being very effective at launching the attack with his passing ability,” Jordan said.
Agus arrives in Houston from Albacete, also in Spain’s Second Division. The left-sided central defender was born in Bonete and rose through the Albacete academy before transferring to Real Madrid at age 20 in 2005 and playing for Real Madrid B. Agus has captained several clubs during his career and his playing resume includes stops with Celta Vigo, Cordoba, Alcorón, Orduspor (Turkey) and Mallorca. Agus played for Spain at the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup in the Netherlands.
“Agus is a naturally left-footed center back whose physical presence and positional sense will be a good complement to our current defensive group,” Jordan said.
The Dynamo currently have 27 players under contract for 2016: Jalil Anibaba, Giles Barnes, DaMarcus Beasley, Bradley Bourgeois, Calle Brown, Will Bruin, Ricardo Clark, Tyler Deric, Boniek García, David Horst, Taylor Hunter, Sebastien Ibeagha, Agustín Íñiguez, Rob Lovejoy, Christian Lucatero, Alex Lima, Cristian Maidana, Mauro Manotas, Rasheed Olabiyi, David Rocha, Memo Rodriguez, Raúl Rodríguez, Zach Steinberger, Erick Torres, Andrew Wenger, Sheanon Williams and Joe Willis.
DAVID ROCHA
Full name: David Mateos Rocha
Pronunciation: David ROW-cha
Position: Midfielder
Date of Birth: February 2, 1985
Birthplace: Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 170
Citizenship: Spain
Previous club: Gimnástic de Tarragona
Twitter: @Daviersuker
How acquired: Signed on Jan. 27, 2016
AGUS
Full name: Agustín Garcia Íñiguez
Nickname: Agus
Pronunciation: AH-goose
Position: Defender
Date of Birth: May 3, 1985
Birthplace: Bonete, Albacete, Spain
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 170
Citizenship: Spain
Previous club: Albacete Balompié
How acquired: Signed on Jan. 27, 2016
