Away from the Bayou City and among the mountains, the Houston Dynamo begin the second stage of their preseason in Tucson, Arizona as they participate in the Desert Dimond Cup.
The Dynamo hit the ground running and had a practice session at the Kino Sports Complex on Monday after flying in from Houston. Surrounded by the desert scenery, the team did light work to get any lingering effects of the flight out of their system.
“It is pretty. I think it is a blessing God gives us to be able to appreciate nature and the beauty of Arizona,” defender Adolfo Machado said.
The focus, however, is not on the terrain around them but on the turf beneath their feet as they prepare for four final preseason games before the regular season opens on March 4 (TICKETS).
“The mountains do not affect us; the field is in good shape. This is good field to practice on and the stadium is nice. We are going to be ready,” head coach Wilmer Cabrera said.
On Wednesday, the Dynamo will face the New England Revolution (6 p.m. CT, WATCH LIVE), which will be the first time many for many of the new players to face a MLS team while wearing the orange jersey. For Machado, the hard work he has done and the faith his teammates and the coaching staff have invested in him make him feel confident and ready for the next step.
“My teammates and the coaching staff have given me a lot of trust and feedback to prepare, I am ready for the next challenge,” Machado said.
Cabrera stressed that this game is important for his own team’s development and his focus is on seeing how the players come together as team.
“We are not worried about the New England Revolution, we are focusing on being organized and focusing on our work. We are trying to build a good team, trying to put all the pieces together so that the players can be more comfortable amongst themselves and they can get to know the job they are supposed to do amongst themselves,” Cabrera said. “In other words, we have to do a lot of work over and over, and a lot of effort, and a lot of communication.”
