The 2008

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo FC (formerly officially, but still commonly, called the Houston Dynamo) is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The Dynamo compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Establi ...

season was the third season of the existence for the Houston franchise. The Houston Dynamo were the defending

back-to-back Back to Back or back-to-back may refer to: Music Songs * "Back to Back" (Drake song), 2015 * "Back to Back" (Jeanne Pruett song), 1979 *"Back to Back", a song by Pretty Maids from the 1984 album ''Red Hot and Heavy'' *"Back to Back", a song by ...

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conference ...

Champions A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the Victory, victor in a challenge, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and w ...

, and sought to become the first club in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

history to win three straight MLS Cups. It was the team's third season with head coach

Dominic Kinnear Dominic Kinnear (born July 26, 1967) is an American soccer coach and former player. On January 18, 2022, he was named an assistant coach by FC Cincinnati, his first coaching role since serving as the interim head coach of the LA Galaxy. As a p ...

, majority owner Philip Anschultz, president

Oliver Luck Oliver Francis Luck (born April 5, 1960) is an American business executive and former football quarterback. He is currently the executive director of the ASUN–WAC Football Conference (tentative name), a new NCAA Division I FCS conference starti ...

, and chief operating officer Chris Canetti. In the MLS regular season, the Dynamo finished first in the Western Conference to qualify for the playoffs for the third consecutive season. In the

MLS Cup Playoffs The MLS Cup Playoffs is the annual postseason elimination tournament of Major League Soccer. The final match of the tournament is the MLS Cup, the league's championship game. Under the current format adopted for the 2019 season, 14 teams qualif ...

, Houston lost to the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

4–1 on aggregate in the Conference Semifinals. They were eliminated by the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup. During the 2008 CONCACAF Champions' Cup, Houston defeated

C.S.D. Municipal Club Social y Deportivo Municipal, also known as Municipal or ''Los Rojos'' (the Reds), is a Guatemalan football club based in Guatemala City. They compete in the Liga Nacional, the top tier of Guatemalan football, and play their home matches ...

3–1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals before falling in the semifinals 3–0 to

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

. During the 2008 North American SuperLiga, the Dynamo reached the final, where they lost 6–5 on

penalties Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

. The Dynamo also played in the group stage of the 2008–09 CONCACAF Champions League during the season, finishing second in their group to advance.

Major events

Team news

* Houston's City Council on January 30, 2008 approved the purchase of over of land near

State Highway 288 The following highways are numbered 288: Japan Japan National Route 288 Sweden * between Uppsala, Gimo and Östhammar United States * Arizona State Route 288 * Georgia State Route 288 * Kentucky Route 288 * Maryland Route 288 * Minnes ...

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

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 Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

champion

Oscar De La Hoya Oscar De La Hoya ( , ; born on February 4, 1973) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. His accolades include winning 11 world titles in six weight classes, including the lineal championshi ...

(each with 25% ownership).

Final roster

''Appearances and goals are totals for MLS regular season only.''

Player movement

In

''Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.''

Out

''Per Major League Soccer and club policies terms of the deals do not get disclosed.''

Coaching staff

:''Source''

Pre-season

Friendlies

Pan-Pacific Championship

Texas Pro Soccer Festival

Competitions

Major League Soccer

Standings

= Western Conference

= Overall

Results summary

Results by round

Match results

MLS Cup Playoffs

U.S. Open Cup

CONCACAF Champions' Cup

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

North American SuperLiga

CONCACAF Champions League

Group stage

Championship Round

After finishing 2nd in group B, the Dynamo qualified for the Championship Round. The fixtures for the Championship Round are included in the Dynamo's 2009 season.

Player statistics

Appearances, goals, and assists

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Disciplinary record

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" , + ! rowspan="2" , ! rowspan="2" , ! rowspan="2" , ! rowspan="2" , Player ! colspan="2" , Total ! colspan="2" ,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

! colspan="2" ,

Playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

! colspan="2" , U.S. Open Cup ! colspan="2" , Champions Cup ! colspan="2" , SuperLiga ! colspan="3" , Champions League , - !style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", !!style="width:30px;", , - , 1, , GK, , , , align=left, , , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 2, , DF, , , , align=left, , , 9, , 3, , 6, , 2, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1 , - , 3, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 4, , DF, , , , align=left, , , 3, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 5, , FW, , , , align=left, , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 6, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 7, , FW, , , , align=left, , , 3, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 8, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 4, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 9, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 5, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 10, , FW, , , , align=left, , , 2, , 1, , 1, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 10, , FW, , , , align=left, Left during the season, , 2, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 11, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 3, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 13, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 9, , 0, , 6, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 14, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 8, , 1, , 6, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 1, , 0 , - , 16, , DF, , , , align=left, , , 2, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 17, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 18, , GK, , , , align=left, , , 3, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 19, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 20, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 6, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 2, , 0 , - , 21, , FW, , , , align=left, , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 22, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 6, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0 , - , 23, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 24, , DF, , , , align=left, , , 5, , 0, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 25, , FW, , , , align=left, , , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 26, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 3, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 1, , 0, , 1, , 0 , - , 27, , MF, , , , align=left, , , 2, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 30, , GK, , , , align=left, , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 32, , DF, , , , align=left, , , 8, , 0, , 6, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 , - , 99, , FW, , , , align=left, , , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0

Clean sheets

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" , + !Rank!!Nat.!!Player!!

!! U.S. Open Cup!! Champions Cup!! SuperLiga!! Champions League!!Total , - , 1, , , ,

Pat Onstad Patrick Stewart Onstad (born January 13, 1968) is a Canadian former professional soccer goalkeeper who serves as the General Manager of the Houston Dynamo. During his career, Onstad played with a variety of clubs in Canada and the United State ...

, , 7, , 0, , 0, , 2, , 2, , 2 !13 , - , 2, , , ,

Tony Caig Antony Caig (born 11 April 1974) is an English football coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the Head of Academy Goalkeeping for Premier League Club Newcastle United. Playing career Caig made his name playing ...

, , 3, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0, , 0 !3 , - ! colspan="3" , Total!!10!!0!!0!!2!!2!!2!!16

Honors and awards

MLS Player of the Week

{, class="wikitable" , + !Week!!Player!!Ref. , - , align="center" , 11, ,

Brian Ching Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years. Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th ...

, , , - , align="center" , 28, ,

, ,

MLS Goal of the Week

{, class="wikitable" , + !Week!!Player!!Opponent!!Date , - , align=center, 2, , Geoff Cameron, ,

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

, , April 6

Annual

{, class="wikitable" , + !Honor!!Player!!Ref. , - ,

MLS All-Star The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual Association football, soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a tr ...

Dwayne De Rosario Dwayne Anthony De Rosario OOnt (born May 15, 1978) is a Canadian former professional soccer player, who played as a forward or as an attacking midfielder. De Rosario last played for the Mississauga MetroStars of the Major Arena Soccer League. ...

Dynamo team awards

{, class="wikitable" , + !MVP!!Defensive Player of the Year!!Humanitarian of the Year!!Young Player of the Year!!Newcomer of the Year!!Ref. , - ,

, ,

Bobby Boswell Robert Allen "Bobby" Boswell (born March 15, 1983) is an American retired soccer player. He played his entire professional career in Major League Soccer, mostly with the Houston Dynamo and D.C. United. He retired in 2017 with over 360 appearances ...

, ,

Stuart Holden Stuart Alistair Holden (born August 1, 1985) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder, and is currently a lead TV game analyst for Fox Sports. Holden is part of the ownership group for Spanish La Liga soccer ...

, ,

, , Geoff Cameron, ,

Kits

Supplier:

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

/ Sponsor:

Amigo Energy Founded in 2003, Amigo Energy is an electric utility seller in Texas. Amigo Energy is a subsidiary of Just Energy Group Inc., a publicly traded company (TSX:JE) with 1.8 million active customers across North America. History Amigo Energy was foun ...

{, border="0" style="margin:1em auto;" , ,

References

External links

2008 Schedule
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008 Houston Dynamo Season Houston Dynamo FC seasons

Hou