Maynor Figueroa

At 41 years old, Maynor Figueroa has this physical status:

Maynor Alexis Figueroa Róchez (born 2 May 1983) is a Honduran professional footballer who plays as a center back or left back for the Houston Dynamo in MLS.

He currently plays for the Honduras national football team, where he also acts as captain.

He spent the majority of his time with Wigan Athletic, where he made 179 Premier League appearances and won the 2013 FA Cup.

Since 2003, Figueroa has made more than 100 international appearances, including three CONCACAF Gold Cups and two FIFA World Cups. The 2012 Olympics remained one of the most popular sports in the country.

Personal life

Sandra Norales, a handball player who represents Honduras in the sport, is married to Figueroa. They have two sons and one daughter together, as well as one granddaughter. Keyrol, one of their sons, plays as a forward for Liverpool Academy.

Figueroa is of Garifuna origins. Boniek Garcia, a Honduran and Dynamo teammate, is a close friend. Figueroa's U.S. green card designates him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes in 2020.

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Club career

Figueroa, a native of Jutiapa, Atlántida, began his career with Victoria before heading to Olimpia in 2003. He later became the club captain. Figueroa received bids from Major League Soccer clubs, one of which was revealed to be the New England Revolution, but Olimpia's chief, Osman Madrid, turned down all of the offers. Before being drawn to international clubs apart from those in MLS, Figueroa had already drawn attention, including Club Toluca of Mexico, which had made offers during 2007. During an interview, Madrid also stated that the terms used by other teams had not been neither agreeable nor financially beneficial to Olimpia or Figueroa.

Figueroa, a Honduran newspaper, announced on December 20, 2007, as a result of the player's interest, Wigan Athletic's Premier League club Wigan Athletic's, will travel to England. Figueroa joined Wigan on loan for the remainder of the 2007–08 season in January 2008. Following a successful loan term, Figueroa reinstated Wigan on loan for a further six months in July 2008.

Wigan announced on December 23, 2008, that Figueroa had signed a three-and-a-year deal to join permanently. On January 11, 2009, he scored his first goal for Wigan. He scored a close header to bring a late winner against Tottenham Hotspur. Figueroa scored a goal against Stoke City from his own half on December 12, 2009, putting Wigan in the lead. Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Srensen got off his line at a free kick and smashed the ball quickly enough to propel it over Sánsen and into the net. Despite the fact that the game was ended 22-02, Figueroa made the news the following day, with Alan Hansen calling it a contender for Goal of the Season. Moreover, Figueroa's target was chosen as Match of the Day's Goal of the Season for 2009–10. He had made 81 appearances and scored twice in all Wigan competitions by the end of the 2009–10 campaign.

Wigan and Figueroa's 2010-11 campaign was difficult. In a 4–0 loss to Manchester United at the DW Stadium on February 26, 2011, he made his 100th Premier League appearance, playing the full 90 minutes at left-back. On March 19, 2011, he scored a goal against fellow relegation-defunct team Birmingham City, which resulted in a 2–1 victory for Wigan. Wigan was determined to win and have results go their way on the last day of the season in order to ensure Premier League safety. Figueroa scored in the 80th minute, allowing Hugo Rodallega to win the game 1–0 at Stoke City and confirm Wigan's safety in the Premier League.

Figueroa scored from 35 yards out during Wigan's first League Cup game of the 2012-13 season as Wigan defeated Nottingham Forest 4–1 at the City Ground. After beating Manchester City 1–0 in the final, Wigan achieved success in the FA Cup. Figueroa had participated in every round of the FA Cup but was forced to miss the FA Cup final for the first time, but they did not have as much success in the Premier League and were relegated at the end of the season.

Hull City, a newly promoted Premier League team, announced the signing of Figueroa on a free transfer on June 17. In a 2–0 loss at Chelsea on the first day of the 2013–14 season, he made his debut on the first day of the 2013–14 season. After playing in every game until the final, Figueroa reached the FA Cup Final for the second straight season. Although he missed the 2013 FA Cup Final due to injury, he was a good substitute for the 2014 FA Cup Final, despite manager Steve Bruce's amendment to 5-3-2 with the manager's son Alex Bruce starting the program ahead of Figueroa. After extra time, Hull lost the final 3–2 to Arsenal. Figueroa returned to Wigan Athletic on a month-loan and went on to play in the 0–0 draw against Millwall the same day. Wigan's loan agreement was extended until December 30, 2014, after five games for the club since being on loan. On December 22, 2014, he and Tom Ince of Nottingham Forest were recalled to Hull. Figueroa was one of six players cut by Hull boss Steve Bruce on May 28, 2015.

Figueroa, a former Hull City defender, joined the Colorado Rapids in August 2015. In a 1–0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on August 14, he made his Rapids and MLS debut. In a 2–1 victory over Sporting Kansas City on September 29, Figueroa scored his first goal for the Colorado Bronson. For Colorado, Figueroa will play in ten games. He was unable to save the Rapids season as they failed to qualify for the playoffs and finished the year in last place in the Western Conference.

Figueroa was sold to FC Dallas in exchange for General Allocation Funds on January 26, 2016. In a 2–0 victory over the Philadelphia Union on 6 March, he made his FC Dallas debut on March 6th. Figueroa scored his first goal for Dallas against Real Estel in the CONCACAF Champions League on August 4, shooting a shot into the top right corner in the 84th minute to give Dallas a 2–1 victory. Dallas will begin in the quarter-finals, semi-final, and final to help Dallas win the 2016 U.S. Open Cup. Figueroa made 28 MLS appearances to help Dallas win the Supporters' Shield. He will start both legs of Dallas' conference semi-finals against the Seattle Sounders, but the team will finish 4–2 on aggregate.

In a 1–0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on April 22, Figueroa scored his first MLS goal for Dallas. Following a good result in a 1–1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps on June 17, he was named to the MLS Team of the Week. In a 3–3 draw with the Houston Dynamo in a Texas Derby match, he scored his second league goal with Dallas on August 23, blasting a ball into the top of the net for his second league goal. Figueroa's former team defeated Dallas by 2–0 on August 27, leading to a 2–0 victory over Colorado. Dallas will finish in 7th place in the Western Conference and miss out on the playoffs in 2017 after a late season slump saw them win 2 of their final 14 games, just one year after doing a US Open Cup and Supporters Shield double.

Figueroa's role in 2018 was reduced, with the additions of Anton Nedyalkov and Marquinhos Pedroso, a youth, competing for the left back position. As he split time as a left back and center back, he would make 20 appearances. In a 2–0 victory over Minnesota United, Figueroa's loan goal of the season came on August 18. In 2018, he will help Dallas return to the playoffs. Figueroa's employment choice had halted on Friday, November 26th.

Figueroa signed the Houston Dynamo, FC Dallas' top rivals, on January 30, 2019. In the CONCACAF Champions League, Figueroa made his Dynamo debut on February 19th, defeating CD Guastatoya 1–0. As the Dynamo advanced to the quarterfinals, he made four appearances in the CCL. In a 1–1 draw with Real Salt Lake, he made his first league appearance for the Dynamo on March 2nd. Figueroa's first season in Houston was a success in league play, with 25 appearances and 3 assists. Houston finished 10th in the Western Conference, losing out on the playoffs. Figueroa signed a new deal on December 20th, retaining Houston.

Figueroa and the Dynamo started the 2020 season on February 29th with a 1–1 draw against the LA Galaxy, with Figueroa playing the entire match. He scored his first goal for the Dynamo on 19 September to help Houston beat Minnesota United 2–2 draw. Figueroa scored in the 89th minute to give the Dynamo a 1-1 draw with Nashville SC on September 26th. Figueroa played in 20 of Houston's 23 matches and scored two goals in a short season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Dynamo had a rough season as a team, finishing last in the Western Conference and missing the playoffs for the second time.

Following the 2020 season, Figueroa's deal with Houston came to an end. On February 10, 2021, he rejoined Houston. During the 2021 season, he was a backup centerback with 13 appearances and 2 assists. Houston finished last in the West for the second straight season and missed out on the playoffs for the second straight season.

Figueroa's employment choice was rejected by Houston in the 2021 season.

International career

Figueroa made his Honduras debut in 2003 and has since scored goals against Belize, Cuba, Jamaica, the United States, and Australia. He was a member of the Honduras squad in 2005, 2011, 2011 (did not appear) and the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cups. He was also selected in the 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Due to Emilio Izaguirre's presence at the World Cup, Figueroa was in last place as a center back. For the 2014 World Cup, he was named in Honduras' squad. Figueroa played for Honduras from 1999 to 2003 and 2003, scoring in three games for the U-20s and failing to score in eight outings with the U-23 team. For the 2012 Summer Olympics, he was a member of the United States Overage Team. He has won over 160 caps for Honduras, the most for Honduras, with six goals since his debut in 2003. He is currently the national team captain.

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