Daniel Demetrio Hernández (born July 23, 1976 in

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Career

Youth and college

Hernández was a student at

John Tyler High School Tyler High School, formerly known as John Tyler High School, is a public, co-educational secondary school in Tyler, Texas. It is part of the Tyler Independent School District and serves 9th through 12th grade. In 2020, the Tyler I. S. D. school ...

and played youth soccer for the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. He played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

and college football as a placekicker at

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , prov ...

from 1994 to 1997, where he was a First Team All-American as an attacking midfielder.

Professional

Upon graduating from SMU, Hernández was drafted in the second round of the

1998 MLS College Draft The 1998 Major League Soccer College Draft was held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 31 and February 1, 1998. The College Draft was followed by the 1998 MLS Supplemental Draft. Format On Saturday, January 31, 1998, Major League Soccer held ...

by the

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

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 ...

. He saw little playing time in the Galaxy, appearing mostly a substitute, before being traded to the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

in exchange for Jorge Salcedo. Hernández hardly played for the Mutiny either, appearing in only four games, and was traded the next year to the MetroStars for the rights to Daniel Alvarez. With the MetroStars, Hernández finally came into his own, earning a starting position, first in central defense, and then becoming one of the league's most dangerous

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

s. He stayed with the MetroStars from 2000 to 2002, but was a part of a blockbuster trade in the middle of 2002, which sent him along with Brian Kamler and

Diego Serna Diego Alonso Serna Lopera (born October 2, 1973) is a Colombian football player who last played for Miami Dade FC. He is the all-time leading scorer for the now-defunct Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer. Career Early Career, Major League Socc ...

to the New England Revolution for Mamadou Diallo,

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

, and Ted Chronopoulos. Despite being a starter for the Revolution, Hernández expressed displeasure with his situation, requesting a trade to his home state

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. The Burn, however, were unwilling to make such a trade, and upon the emergence of an adequate replacement for him in

Shalrie Joseph Shalrie Jamal Joseph (born May 24, 1978) is a Grenadian former professional footballer who is currently a coach with the New England Revolution organization. Youth and College Joseph moved to Brooklyn, New York with his family as a teenager. He ...

, Hernández was transferred to Mexican club

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Necaxa, is a Mexican professional football club in Liga MX based in the city of Aguascalientes. It plays in the Estadio Victoria. History Foundation (Light and Power Comp ...

mid-season 2003. In six seasons in MLS, he totalled four goals and 15 assists in league play. To the surprise of many, Hernández – called Demetrio in Mexico – earned a starting position as a central defender on the club. According to Hernández, his profile in his hometown of Tyler has increased enormously since his arrival in the Primera División. However, in 2005, he came back to MLS, re-signing with New England. In 2007, he was waived by the Revolution. After brief stints back in Mexico with

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

and

Chiapas F.C. Chiapas Fútbol Club, commonly known as Jaguares de Chiapas, was a football club based in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico, that played in the Mexican football league system Liga MX. The team played their home matches at the Estadio Víctor Manuel Re ...

in 2007 and 2008, Hernández signed with

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 ...

in September 2009. With Dallas, Hernandez has been a key player playing as the team's primary defensive midfielder. Following the 2011 season, Hernández signed an extension with the club that saw him also become an assistant coach as part of a transition out of his playing career. Hernández announced his retirement from playing professional soccer on November 21, 2012.

Coaching

Upon retiring as a player, it was announced Hernández would have a full-time coaching role, also with FC Dallas. However, just a few weeks after being hired Hernández was fired from his coaching job with FC Dallas.

Honors

Los Angeles Galaxy

Supporters' Shield (1):

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

MetroStars

Eastern Conference Championship (1):

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

New England Revolution

Eastern Conference Championship (3):

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

FC Dallas

Western Conference Championship (1):

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Daniel 1976 births Living people American sportspeople of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas Soccer players from Texas American soccer players Association football defenders SMU Mustangs men's soccer players LA Galaxy draft picks LA Galaxy players Tampa Bay Mutiny players New York Red Bulls players New England Revolution players Chiapas F.C. footballers Club Necaxa footballers Club Puebla players FC Dallas players Major League Soccer players Liga MX players All-American men's college soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars American expatriate soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate footballers in Mexico Players of American football from Texas American football placekickers Footballers who switched code SMU Mustangs football players