The Houston Dynamo have signed defender José Bizama on a full transfer from Huachipato FC in the Chilean Primera División using Targeted Allocation Money, the club announced today. The transfer will be finalized pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.
Bizama has played in more than 100 first-division games since making his professional debut in 2015, all with Huachipato. The versatile defender, who has the ability to play multiple positions along the back line, has seen action in 93 league matches with 88 starts and has scored five goals. He also represented Huachipato in the Copa Chile on 21 occasions, starting 15 and scoring twice, and has made two starts in the Copa Sudamericana.
“We are pleased to announce the addition of José Bizama to the Houston Dynamo. He joins our club in the prime of his career and is eager to contribute to the success of our team,” said Dynamo Senior Vice President and General Manager Matt Jordan. “With his quality as a player, strong mentality and ability to play a variety of positions, he will strengthen our already talented group of defenders as we enter the second half of our season.”
The 25-year-old has earned three caps with the Chilean National Team over the last 14 months. He made his debut for the two-time Copa América champions on May 31, 2018 in a friendly against Romania. Bizama also saw action in a 1-0 win over Serbia on June 4, 2018 and in a 2-2 draw with Poland on June 8, 2018.
“Jose is a player that brings international experience with the Chilean National Team and is a good, versatile player that can play as a right back, central back and defensive midfielder,” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera. “He will bring a lot of good qualities to the team and provide possibilities to play in different positions. He just turned 25, so we also looked at that as we think and plan for the future of the Houston Dynamo.”
With the addition of Bizama, the Dynamo now have 28 players on the active roster. The Chilean will be the eighth Dynamo player to occupy an international roster spot, joining FW Alberth Elis, DF Manor Figueroa, DF Alejandro Fuenmayor, FW Mauro Manotas, FW Ronaldo Peña, DF Aljaž “Kiki” Struna and MF Matías Vera.
PLAYER PROFILE – JOSÉ BIZAMA
FULL NAME: José Carlos Bizama Venegas
DATE OF BIRTH: June 25, 1994 (25 years old)
HEIGHT: 5-11
WEIGHT: 165
HOMETOWN: Curanilahue, Chile FIFA
NATIONALITY: Chile
TRANSACTION: The Houston Dynamo sign DF Jose Bizama from Huachipato FC in the Chilean Primera División using Targeted Allocation Money, pending receipt of his ITC and P-1 Visa.
