Houston Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera and minority owner Oscar De La Hoya were named to Sports Illustrated's "30 Most Influential Hispanics in Sports" list released today. The unranked list honors the 30 most influential non-athlete Hispanics shaping the American sports culture and industry in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.
Cabrera, 50, is in his first season as head coach for the Dynamo and has led the team to a 12-10-10 record (46 points) and is on the brink of returning the team to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2013. Cabrera and general manager/vice president Matt Jordan have assembled a diverse roster of talent with 14 players of Hispanic descent, which has scored a team-record 54 goals with two games left to play.
After an 20-year playing career across the Americas, the Cartegena, Colombia native began his coaching career at the youth levels in New York in 2005. He joined U.S. Soccer shortly thereafter and was named head coach of the U-17 men's national team in 2007, becoming the first Latin American coach in the national team system.
Cabrera joined fellow Colombian Oscar Pareja's staff at the Colorado Rapids in 2012 before taking the head coach position with Chivas USA for their final season in 2014. He then worked several advisory roles for Major League Soccer and was part of the CONCACAF and FIFA Technical Study Groups in 2015, observing youth and senior national team tournaments. He joined the Dynamo organization in 2016 as the first head coach of the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, leading the USL affiliate to the playoffs in their inaugural season.
Oscar De La Hoya, 44, is the owner of Golden Boy Promotions, which holds a minority ownership stake in the Dynamo along with majority owner Gabriel Brener, the only Mexican American majority owner in MLS. De La Hoya won 10 world titles across six classes during his boxing career, and with the formation of Golden Boy Promotions became the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. A native of Los Angeles, De La Hoya is of Mexican descent.
Sports Illustrated's 30 Most Influential Hispanics in Sports
Linda G. Alvarado (Co-owner, Colorado Rockies)
Al Avila (Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations/General Manager, Detroit Tigers)
Hugo Balta (Senior Director of Hispanic Initiatives, ESPN)
Luis Gerardo Bucci (Sportscaster, CNN Deportes)
Wilmer Cabrera (Head Coach, Houston Dynamo)
Andres Cantor (Sports Commentator, NBC Deportes/Telemundo)
Oscar De La Hoya (Founder, Golden Boy Promotions)
Fernando Fiore (Sportscaster)
Esther Garcia (Vice President, Heineken’s Tecate and TecateLight)
Mònica Gonález (Announcer, Founder of Gonzo Soccer)
Tony Gonzalez (NFL studio analyst, FOX NFL Kickoff)
Dan Le Batard (Sportswriter/Television Host, Miami Herald/ESPN)
Valeria MarÃn (Host/Reporter, FOX Deportes/NFLeros)
Gerardo "Tata" Martino (Head Coach, Atlanta United FC)
Jessica Mendoza (MLB Analyst, ESPN)
Arte Moreno (Owner, Los Angeles Angels)
Marisabel Muñoz (Vice President of Communications, MLS)
Sandy Nunez (Coordinating Producer, ESPN)
Fernando Palomo (International Football Analyst, ESPN)
Rick Renteria (Manager, Chicago White Sox)
Marly Rivera (MLB Writer/TV Host, ESPN)
Ron Rivera (Head Coach, Carolina Panthers)
Alex Rodriguez (MLB Analyst, FOX)
Angel Rodriguez (Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times)
Juan Carlos Rodriguez (President, Univision Deportes)
Tony Romo (NFL Analyst, CBS)
Armando Salguero (Sportswriter, Miami Herald)
Shea Serrano (Writer/Author, The Ringer)
Mariano Trujillo (Analyst, FOX Deportes)
Luis Omar Tapia (Reporter, Univision Deportes/FOX Sports)
