Houston Dynamo FC: Joe Corona stars in the central midfield

The frequent headliner for Houston Dynamo FC this season will be midfielder Joe Corona. He’s the one they swiped from expansion side Austin FC.

Right-foot favoring midfielder Joe Corona will hog headlines in Houston Dynamo FC matches this season. Houston grabbed him from Austin FC after that team stalled signing him. He was to play a key role in Austin’s maiden MLS season and many scouts knew it. But with no contract, Corona fell into the MLS Re-entry Draft.

Corona won’t be the player scoring a lot of the goals this season. He might not even get a lot of the first-assist credits. Yet he’s a playmaker and chance-creator just the same. Supporters won’t have to try to memorize his number to make sure they notice him. It will be obvious.

He’s effective right in the middle in the 4-3-3 formation Houston will favor. He also likes the 4-2-3-1 that he played for the LA Galaxy.

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He also has plenty of experience playing styles of the 4-4-2 on right or left.

Rest assured, he gets paid as a defensive midfielder and is expected in every game to focus on dribbling, passing, and tackling. He’ll advance the Houston brand, especially in providing midfield disruption to attacking opponents. Then he’ll provide what some scouting reports grade as shot-creating actions.

Those actions will include maintaining his pass-completion rating, approaching mid-80% over his career.

But these high-level tactics, including concentration and defensive-minded play, don’t mean Corona ignores offensive opportunities.

In a hard-fought win by the Galaxy over Portland on Sept. 3 last year, Corona grabbed an attempted clearance outside the box and fired it into the top left of the net. In the 71st minute, that was the winning goal in the 3-2 game.

Performances like this highlight Corona’s entire career. Those team stops include service in Liga MX and the U.S. Men’s National Team, both the youth and senior levels.

He began his career in 2010 with Club Tijuana. With 34 starts and six goals that season from him, the team earned a promotion to Primera Division.

With success slipping from Houston’s grasp in recent seasons, the Dynamo organization wants a promotion to post-season MLS play. They’ve carefully crafted adjustments in staff and roster with that goal in mind. Joe Corona is key to striving to them getting there.

Now that the Dynamo snatched him, they quickly got his contract signed through 2022.

So Joe Corona will have a home on the Dynamo pitch for the next several seasons. Look for him in the central midfield. You won’t have to search very long.