2008 Houston Dynamo season

Updated on Jan 30, 2024

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Chairman Philip Anschutz Major League Soccer 1st, West 2nd, Overall U.S. Open Cup Third Round		Manager Dominic Kinnear MLS Cup Playoffs CONCACAF Champions' Cup Semifinals

The 2008 Houston Dynamo season was the third season of the Houston club franchise. The Houston Dynamo were the defending back-to-back MLS Cup Champions, and sought to become the first club in Major League Soccer history to win three straight MLS Cups.

The Dynamo were expected to have an even busier year than in 2007. In addition to defending their MLS Cup in MLS regular-season play, they participated in the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, the final 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, the inaugural 2008-09 CONCACAF Champions League and the 2008 North American SuperLiga, were invited to play in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship and the Texas Pro Soccer Festival 2008.

Team news

Houston's City Council on January 30, 2008 approved the purchase of over 80 acres (320,000 m²) of land near State Highway 288 and Almeda-Genoa Rd. for the development of an amateur sports complex—the first of its kind in the history of the city. The new complex will provide 18 fields for local soccer organizations and will also afford the area the opportunity to host amateur tournaments of state, regional and national stature. Once completely developed, the complex is expected to attract well over 500,000 visitors per year.

On February 26, 2008 Houston Dynamo President Oliver Luck revealed the planned negotiations to the media stating that the Houston Dynamo would be managed in majority by original owners Anschutz Entertainment Group (who will hold 50% of ownership) along with newfound partners Gabriel Brener, head of Brener International Group, and multiple World and Olympic boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya (each with 25% ownership each).

Club appearances

The inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship debuted on February 20, 2008 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Houston qualified to participate in the tournament via their win as MLS Cup Champions. The Houston Dynamo won their first match against Sydney FC, before finishing second place after their 6-1 loss to Gamba Osaka in the final match.

The first Texas Pro Soccer Festival presented by Touch-Tel featured four Major League Soccer teams, including the two-time MLS champion Houston Dynamo, during an electrifying week of double-header exhibition games, events and daily practices. The Houston Dynamo were declared winners of the tournament after a tiebreaker in goal difference was needed between them and D.C. United.

The Houston Dynamo qualified to participate in the final version of the CONCACAF Champions' Cup via their win in the 2007 MLS Cup.

The Houston Dynamo finished the 2007 Major League Soccer season with the 3rd best overall regular season record. As a result, the Dynamo qualified to participate in the second annual SuperLiga.

First-team squad

As of August 8, 2008. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Statistics

Last updated on May 14, 2013.

MLS stats from H. Dynamo website

Other information

Source: Houston Dynamo

Overall

Last updated: April 15, 2008
Source: Competitions

Classification

1st in Western Conference

2nd in MLS table

Results summary

Last updated: 2009-06-29.
Source: Major League Soccer

Results by round

Last updated: 2008-11-07.
Source: Houston Dynamo
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: D = Draw; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Houston Dynamo advance 3-1 on aggregate.

Deportivo Saprissa advances 3-0 on aggregate.

References

2008 Houston Dynamo season Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

Stephen Brewer

Udomporn Polsak

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