Hector Herrera

At 34 years old, Hector Herrera has this physical status:

Héctor Miguel Herrera López, born 19 April 1990, is a Mexican professional footballer who competes for Atlético Madrid and the Mexican national team as a midfielder. Herrera started his playing career with Pachuca in 2010 and spent three years at the club before joining FC Porto.

In his first season with the club, he had troubled for playing time before finally establishing his place in the starting lineup.

Herrera has been club captain since the 2015–16 season.

Herrera played in over 240 appearances in his six years with Porto, winning a Primeira Liga title and two Supertaça cups.

Herrera, a full international, competed in every year's football tournament and was a member of Mexico's winning team at the 2015 Gold Cup, as well as representing his country at the 2013 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, 2013 and 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the Copa América Centenario.

In 2014, he was included in The Guardian's list of the world's top footballers.

Personal life

Herrera obtained an EU passport in June 2019 after being in Portugal for six years.

Source

Club career

Herrera began playing football for the United States on C.F. The youth of Pachuca are represented in this book. He was referred to as Zorrillo (skunk) as a youth, as well as Zorro (fox).

In a 2010 North American SuperLiga match, Herrera made his professional debut for Pachuca, defeating Chivas USA in a 0–1 loss. Herrera made his Pachuca debut in a 1–4 home loss to Santos Laguna on July 23, 2011. In the 2011 Apertura, he appeared 14 times for Pachuca. He was a shortlisted candidate for the best rookie of the tournament.

Herrera was transferred to Portuguese club Porto for €8 million on June 28, 2013.

Herrera starred as an unwanted replacement in his first Super Cup match against Vitória de Guimares on August 10, winning 3–0. Herrera made his Primeira Liga debut in Porto's 3–1 win over Vitória de Setbal in the 82nd minute, assisting Lucho González. Herrera played his first 90 minutes in Porto's 3–1 away victory over Arouca on October 6th. Herrera made his UEFA Champions League debut against Austria Wien on September 18th, a 1–0 group stage victory. Herrera was dismissed in the sixth minute of a group stage match against Zenit Saint Petersburg on October 22nd, breaking a new UEFA Champions League record for two yellow cards. Herrera scored his first league goal with Porto on December 20th, defeating Olhanense 4–0, and scoring on a volley just eight minutes after being introduced as a replacement. Herrera's first season with Porto culminated in 17 league appearances and 33 in all competitions, scoring three goals in total, all of which were scored in the league.

Herrera scored his first goal in Champions League play in Porto's 1–0 victory over Lille on August 20. He was instrumental in Porto's 3–0 Champions League away victory over Belarusian club BATE Borisov, scoring the first goal of the game and giving two assists, both in the second half. Herrera was listed in The Guardian's list of "The 100 Greatest Footballers in the World" at the end of the year.

Herrera scored his first goal of the season in Porto's 1–1 draw with Martimo on August 22nd. Herrera was named in December as the team's best player of the previous season, making him the first Mexican to win the award. Herrera, wearing the captain's armband, scored the equalizer in Porto's 2–1 victory over Benfica on December 12, 2016. Herrera was called up for the final of the Taça de Portugal against Braga on May 22nd, 2016, serving in the 120 minutes of the game but failing to convert his penalty shot in the subsequent 3–2 shoot-out loss.

Porto beat Benfica 1–0 at the Estádio da Luz on April 15, 2018, with Herrera scoring in the 90th minute from a shot outside the box. Porto defeated Benfica by 76 points, two ahead of Benfica in the season's second round, with four matches remaining. His goal was ultimately voted as the season's best. Porto took the league title with two games remaining on May 5 after a 0–0 draw between Benfica and Sporting CP. Herrera was one of five Porto players included in this year's Team of the Year.

Herrera started the 2018-19 season in Porto's 3–1 win over Aves on August 4th to clinch the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. Following a 2–0 win over Vitória Settbal, Herrera made his 200th appearance for Porto in all competitions on September 22nd. In March 2019, he captained Porto in a 4–3 aggregate victory over Roma in the Champions League round of 16, with Porto progressing to the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2014-15 competition began. Herrera, captaining Porto to a 3–2 victory over Braga on March 30, made his 237th appearance in all competitions for the Drages, ranking him fifth in the team's all-time list of appearances by a foreign player, four games behind Lucho González.

Herrera will leave the team on the termination of his deal, according to reports linking him to Atlético Madrid. Herrera scored in his final Primeira Liga game with Porto over 21-0, scoring a scissor kick from a corner kick on 18 May. He was also selected in the season's Team of the Year.

Atlético Madrid announced on July 3, 2019 that they had reached an agreement with Herrera. He had been working at the Wanda Metropolitano for three years and had been wearing the number 16 shirt. After failing to appear for Los Rojiblancos in the first month of the season, he made his competitive debut on September 18th, bringing a late substitute for Thomas Partey and scoring the equalizer in the 90th minute to salvage a 2–2 draw against Juventus in the first group game of the UEFA Champions League. Herrera made his La Liga debut against Celta de Vigo on Sunday, playing 60 minutes in a scoreless draw. He was a starter in both Supercopa de Espana matches against Barcelona and Real Madrid, finishing runner-up against the latter in the final. In his debut season with Atlético, he played in all sports, but his playing time was mainly limited due to injuries.

Herrera was on a good run of form in the last four games prior to being ruled out of action in November. He had sustained a grade two injury to his left thigh while on international service with Mexico, and will be out of action for a month. Herrera, 47, overtook Javier Hernández as the Mexican with the most UEFA Champions League appearances, starting as a replacement in a 1-1 group stage draw against Bayern Munich on December 1st. He had a spell on the sidelines this year, both due to injury and a positive for COVID-19 in February.

Herrera's test revealed positive for COVID-19 for the second time in December 2021.

Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer team, announced on March 2nd that it had signed Herrera on a pre-contract contract until the 2024 season, with a option for 2025. He joined the club as a Designated Player.

International career

Herrera was selected by coach Luis Fernando Tena in 2012 to compete in the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which took place in the United States. Mexico advanced to the final of the 2012 Olympic Games in London by defeating Honduras.

Herrera was a vital part of the Mexico squad that swept the Toulon Tournament in 2012 and was named the Meilleur Joueur (Best Player) award for the tournament's most outstanding player.

Herrera made the final cut for those who watched the 2012 Summer Olympics. After beating Brazil 2–1 in the final, Mexico took the gold medal.

Herrera was called up by coach José Manuel de la Torre to play for Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers against Guyana on October 12 and El Salvador on October 16th. He made his senior national team debut against El Salvador, a 2–0 victory for Mexico.

Herrera was summoned to compete in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup on June 7, 2013. In a 0–2 loss to host-Nation Brazil, he appeared in just one match, before being brought on as a replacement for Gerardo Flores in the 58th minute.

Herrera was included in the final 23-man roster for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by Miguel Herrera on May 8. He was a starter in all three of Mexico's group stage tournaments, as well as playing in the 1–2 round-of-16 loss to the Netherlands. Herrera scored his first goal with Mexico in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago on September 4, 2015, tying the match 3–3. He scored his second goal in a 2–2 draw against Argentina four days later.

Herrera was included in the CONCACAF Gold Cup roster for 2015. Despite a drop in form following Porto's stellar season, he appeared in all games except the final against Jamaica, where Mexico defeated 3-1. Ricardo Ferretti, the interim president of CONCACAF, had him called up to participate in the upcoming CONCACAF Cup, a play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup against the United States. During overtime, Mexico defeated the match 3–2.

Herrera was not on the roster for the Copa América Centenario by Juan Carlos Osorio on May 17, 2016. Herrera scored his third goal in Mexico's first group stage match against Uruguay on June 5th.

On June 8, 2017, he was on the roster for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Since Mexico lost the third place play-off against Portugal with a score of 2–1, he would continue to play in all five games. Herrera was crowned as the tournament's assistant leader with three assists.

Herrera captained the national team in a scoreless draw to Wales in preparation for the World Cup on May 28th. Herrera was selected in the tournament's final 23-man squad on June 4th. Herrera's appearance in the first group stage match against Germany, in which Mexico defeated Germany 1–0, was lauded in particular. In all three group stage matches and the round-of-16 match against Brazil, where Mexico lost 2–0. He will start as a starter.

Herrera issued a statement on Twitter in May 2019 that he would not be a member of the CONCACAF Gold Cup national squad, citing health issues as well as wanting to decide his "professional future" as his deal with Porto was ending. El Tri's 3–0 victory came under Gerardo Martino's reign as a player with Mexico in the friendly match against the United States on September 6th, and he returned to Mexico with the US on September 6th. Herrera captained Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League matches against Bermuda and Panama in a 5–1 victory over the former, who scored off a free kick layoff in the CONCACAF Nations League fixtures against Bermuda and Panama.

Herrera advanced to the Concaf Nations League Finals in June 2021, defeating the United States 23-03. He was selected in the tournament's Best XI. He appeared as captain in the first two group stage matches due to Héctor Moreno's inability. He was named with the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament after losing the final to the United States 0–1.

In a friendly match against Ecuador on June 5th, 2022, he played his 100th match for Mexico.

Source