Héctor Miguel Herrera López (; born 19 April 1990) is a Mexican professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

Liga MX Liga MX, also known as Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Mexico and the highest level of the Mexican football league system. Formerly known as Liga Mayor (1943–1949) and also as Primera Divis ...

club

Toluca Toluca , officially Toluca de Lerdo , is the States of Mexico, state capital of the State of Mexico as well as the seat of the Municipality of Toluca. Toluca has a population of 910,608 as of the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the Grea ...

. Herrera made his professional debut for

Pachuca Pachuca (; ), formally known as Pachuca de Soto, is the capital and largest city of the east-central Mexico, Mexican States of Mexico, state of Hidalgo (state), Hidalgo, located in the south-central part of the state. Pachuca Municipality, Pach ...

. Three years later, he was transferred to Portuguese club

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

. During his six-year tenure with Porto, Herrera made over 200 appearances in all competitions, winning a Primeira Liga title and two Supertaça titles. He went on to play for

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

and Deportivo Toluca. On the international stage, Herrera made over 100 appearances for the national team. He represented

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

at the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, and at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

in London, where he became a gold medalist.

Club career

Pachuca

Herrera began playing football for C.F. Pachuca's youth sides. As a youth, he was nicknamed ''Zorrillo'' (skunk), as well as ''Zorro'' (fox). Herrera made his professional debut for Pachuca on 21 July 2010 in a 0–1 defeat to

Major Soccer League Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

side

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conf ...

in a 2010 North American SuperLiga match. Herrera made his

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

debut for Pachuca in a 1–4 home defeat to

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V., simply known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club based in Torreón, Coahuila. The club competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Founded in 1983 as Club Santos I ...

on 23 July 2011. Appearing 14 times for Pachuca in the 2011 Apertura, he was a shortlist candidate for best rookie of the tournament.

Porto

On 28 June 2013, it was announced that Herrera was transferred to Portuguese club

for €8 million. Herrera was an unused substitute in his first season's opening

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

match against Vitória de Guimarães on 10 August, ultimately winning 3–0. Eight days later, Herrera made his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

debut, coming on as a substitute for

Lucho González Luis Óscar "Lucho" González (; born 19 January 1981) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer, currently a Manager (association football), manager. A versatile midfielder who was able to play in different positions ...

in the 82nd minute in Porto's 3–1 victory over Vitória de Setúbal. On 6 October, Herrera played his first 90 minutes in Porto's 3–1 away win over Arouca. On 18 September, Herrera made his

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

debut against

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

in a 1–0

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

victory. On 22 October, Herrera set a new UEFA Champions League record for the fastest dismissal for two yellow cards when he was sent off in the sixth minute of the group stage match against

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (, ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, according to some Russian sources), the club plays in the Russian Pr ...

. Herrera scored his first league goal with Porto on 20 December in a 4–0 win against

Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association First Division, the fifth tier of ...

, scoring on a volley just eight minutes after coming on as a substitute. In his first season with Porto, Herrera played in 17 league matches, and in 33 across all competitions, scoring three goals in total, all of which were scored in the league. On 20 August 2014, Herrera scored his first goal in Champions League play in Porto's 1–0 win over

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

. On 25 November, he played an important role in Porto's 3–0 Champions League away win over Belarusian club BATE Borisov, scoring the first goal of the game and providing two assists, all in the second-half. Herrera was included in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''s year end list of " The 100 Best Footballers in the World". On 22 August 2015, Herrera scored his first goal of the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

in Porto's 1–1 draw against Marítimo at the Estádio dos Barreiros. In December, Herrera was given the Dragão de Ouro Award as the team's best player of the previous season, the first Mexican to win the honour. On 12 February 2016, Herrera, wearing the captain's arm-band, scored the equalizer in Porto's 2–1 win over archrivals Benfica. Herrera was called up for the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

against

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

on 22 May 2016, playing in the 120 minutes of the match and failing to convert his penalty shot in the subsequent 3–2 shoot-out defeat. On 15 April 2018, Porto defeated Benfica 1–0 at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

, with Herrera scoring in the 90th minute from a shot outside the box. The win took Porto to the top of the table with 76 points, two ahead of Benfica with four matches remaining in the

. His goal was ultimately voted as the season's best. On 5 May, after a 0–0 draw between Benfica and

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, Porto won the league title with two games left to play. Herrera featured in the season's Team of the Year, one of five Porto players included. On 4 August 2018, Herrera began the 2018–19 season captaining Porto in their 3–1 win over

Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

to clinch the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

. On 22 September, Herrera made his 200th appearance for Porto in all competitions following a 2–0 victory over Vitória Setúbal. In March 2019, he captained Porto in their 4–3 aggregate victory over

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

in the Champions League round of 16, with Porto reaching the quarter-finals for the first time since the 2014–15 competition. On 30 March, Herrera, in captaining Porto to a 3–2 victory against Braga, made his 237th appearance in all competitions for the ''Dragões'', placing him fifth in the club's all-time list of appearances by a foreign player, four games behind Lucho González. Amid reports linking him to

, Porto president Pinto da Costa confirmed Herrera would leave the club on the expiration of his contract. On 18 May, Herrera scored in his final Primeira Liga game with Porto in the team's 2–1 victory over

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, scoring a scissor kick from a corner kick. He was again included in the season's Team of the Year.

Atlético Madrid

On 3 July 2019, Atlético Madrid announced via their website that they had reached an agreement with Herrera. He signed a three-year contract, and was officially presented at the Wanda Metropolitano with the number 16 shirt. After failing to appear for ''Los Rojiblancos'' in the first month of the season, he made his competitive debut on 18 September, coming on as a late substitute for

Thomas Partey Thomas Teye Partey (born 13 June 1993) is a Ghanaian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for club Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and the Ghana national football team, Ghana national team. Partey began his ...

and scoring the equalizer in the 90th minute to salvage a 2–2 draw against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the opening group game of the

. Three days later, Herrera made his debut in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

as a starter against

Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), the club was fou ...

, playing 60 minutes in a scoreless draw. He was a starter in both

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España, also known as the Spanish Super Cup, is a super cup tournament in Football in Spain, Spanish football. Founded in 1982 Supercopa de España, 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2 ...

matches against

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, finishing runner-up against the latter in the

. He made 30 appearances across all competitions in his debut season with Atlético, though his playing time was mostly hampered due to injuries. At the start of the 2020–21 season Herrera was on a positive run of form, featuring eight times in all competitions and starting in the team's last four games prior to the international break, before being ruled out of action in November. It was reported that he had suffered a grade two injury to his left thigh while on international duty with Mexico, and would be out of action for a month. On his return on 1 December, Herrera, with 47, surpassed

Javier Hernández Javier Hernández Balcázar (; born 1 June 1988), commonly known by the nickname Chicharito (, Mexican Spanish: ''little pea''), is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a striker for Liga MX club Guadalajara. He is known for his c ...

as the Mexican with most UEFA Champions League appearances, coming on as a substitute in a 1–1

draw against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. He again faced a spell on the sidelines, both due to injury and testing positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

in February. In December 2021, Herrera tested positive for COVID-19 a second time.

Houston Dynamo

On 2 March 2022, Major League Soccer club

announced that it had signed Herrera on a pre-contract agreement through the 2024 season with an option for 2025. He committed to the club as a Designated Player. On 3 November 2024, during a MLS Cup match, Herrera was sent off in the 65th minute for spitting towards a referee following a disagreement on a foul. He was handed a three-game suspension and was fined an undisclosed amount. On 6 November, Houston Dynamo opted not to pick up Herrera's contract option and released him.

Toluca

On 2 January 2025, Herrera made his return to

and joined

International career

Youth

In 2012, Herrera was chosen by coach

Luis Fernando Tena Luis Fernando Tena Garduño (born 20 January 1958) is a Mexican professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Guatemala national team. Coaching career After retiring as a player, Tena began his coaching career in ...

to participate in the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Mexico went on to win the tournament by defeating

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

in the final, thus qualifying to the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Herrera was a vital part in the Mexico squad that won the

2012 Toulon Tournament The 2012 Toulon Tournament was the 40th edition of the Toulon Tournament and took place from 23 May to 1 June. Colombia national under-20 football team, Colombia were 2011 Toulon Tournament, the defending champions, but they did not participate th ...

, and was awarded the ''Meilleur Joueur'' (Best Player), the most outstanding player of the tournament. Herrera made the final cut for those participating in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Mexico won the gold medal after defeating

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

2–1 in the final.

Senior

In 2012, Herrera was called up by coach

José Manuel de la Torre José Manuel de la Torre Menchaca (born 13 November 1965), popularly nicknamed ''Chepo'', is a Mexican former professional footballer and a manager. As a player, de la Torre played as an attacking midfielder. Playing career "Chepo" came up t ...

to play for

in the World Cup qualifiers against

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

on 12 October and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

on 16 October. He made his senior national team debut against El Salvador, a 2–0 win for Mexico. On 7 June 2013, Herrera was called up to participate in the

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tourn ...

. He made only one appearance, in a 0–2 loss to host-nation

, coming on as a substitute for Gerardo Flores in the 58th minute of the match. On 8 May 2014, Herrera was included in the final 23-man roster participating in the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for list of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil fr ...

Miguel Herrera Miguel Ernesto Herrera Aguirre (born 18 March 1968), popularly referred to by his nickname "Piojo" (Spanish for "louse"), is a Mexican professional football manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Costa Rica national te ...

. He was a starter in all three of Mexico's

matches, as well as playing in the 1–2 round-of-16 loss to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. On 4 September 2015, Herrera netted his first goal with Mexico in a friendly against

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

, scoring off of a corner kick pass from outside of the box, tying the match 3–3. Four days later, he scored his second goal in a 2–2 draw against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Herrera was included in the roster for the

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 13th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 23rd CONCACAF regional championship overall in the organization's fifty-four years of existence. It was held in the United States, with two matches bei ...

. Despite a dip in form following a superb season with Porto, he appeared in all games except the

against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

as Mexico won 3–1. He was called up by interim manager

Ricardo Ferretti Ricardo Ferretti de Oliveira (born 22 February 1954), also known as Tuca, is a Brazilian-Mexican professional football manager and former player who currently works for ESPN Deportes and ESPN Mexico as an analyst. As a player, Ferretti was ...

to participate in the subsequent

CONCACAF Cup The CONCACAF Cup (officially the CONCACAF Cup presented by Scotiabank for sponsorship reasons) was an international soccer play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup winner Unit ...

– a play-off match to determine CONCACAF's entry into the

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the tenth and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's Association football, football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, ...

– against the United States. Mexico won the match 3–2 during overtime. On 17 May 2016, Herrera was listed on the roster for the

Copa América Centenario The Copa América Centenario (, , ; literally ''Centennial America Cup'') was an international men's soccer tournament that was hosted by the United States in 2016. The competition was a celebration of the centennial of CONMEBOL and the Copa Am� ...

Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez (; born 8 June 1961) is a Colombian football manager and former footballer. Osorio began his playing career with Deportivo Pereira in 1982, and went on to play for Brazilian club Internacional in 1984 before re ...

. On 5 June, in Mexico's first group stage match against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, Herrera scored the third goal in the 3–1 victory. On 8 June 2017, he was listed on the roster for the

. He would go on to appear in all five matches as Mexico lost the

third place play-off Many sports playoffs and knockout tournaments include a third place playoff, third place match, bronze medal game, or consolation game to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. This game is typically com ...

against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

with a score of 2–1. With three assists, Herrera finished as the assist leader of the tournament. On 28 May 2018, Herrera captained the national team in a scoreless draw to

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in preparation for the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. On 4 June, Herrera was included in the final 23-man squad for the tournament. In the first

match against Germany, which Mexico won 1–0, Herrera's performance was praised in particular. He would appear as a starter in all three group stage matches and the round-of-16 match against Brazil, where Mexico lost 2–0. In May 2019, Herrera issued a statement via Twitter confirming that he would not form part of the national squad participating at the

CONCACAF Gold Cup The CONCACAF Gold Cup () is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its top continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament is held every two ...

, citing fitness concerns as well as wanting to decide his "professional future" as his contract with Porto was expiring. Under

Gerardo Martino Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino (born 20 November 1962) is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who last coached Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. Martino played mostly for Newell's Old Boys in his native Rosario. He ...

, he reappeared with Mexico in the friendly match against

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

on 6 September, and played all 90 minutes in ''El Tris 3–0 victory. The following month, Herrera captained Mexico in the

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

fixtures against

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

, scoring off of a free kick layoff in a 5–1 victory against the former. In June 2021, Herrera participated in the Concacaf Nations League Finals, reaching the

against the

, losing 2–3. He was included in the Best XI of the tournament. He participated in the subsequent CONCACAF Gold Cup, appearing as captain in the first two group stage matches due to

Héctor Moreno Héctor Alfredo Moreno Herrera (born 17 January 1988) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Liga MX club Monterrey. Moreno ascended the youth ranks of Club Universidad Nacional, making his senior debut in 2006 at ...

being unfit. Losing the

to the United States 0–1, he was awarded the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament. On 5 June 2022, Herrera played his 100th match for Mexico in a friendly game against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. In October 2022, Herrera was named in Mexico's preliminary 31-man

squad In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of Military organization, military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and United States, U.S. doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a fireteam, ...

for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, and in November, he was ultimately included in the final 26-man roster.

Style of play

Herrera is described as a

box-to-box midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, capable of halting opposing advances and able to distribute the ball or shoot the ball on target. He is also known for his pace and dynamism, as well as being capable of breaking up opposition attacks with his tough tackling and starting his team's own forays forward with his sharp distribution and tireless running. Herrera has cited

Juan Román Riquelme Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional Association football, footballer and current president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.Portuguese Citizenship The primary law governing nationality of Portugal is the Nationality Act, which Coming into force, came into force on 3 October 1981. Portugal is a member state of the European Union (EU) and all Portuguese nationals are Citizenship of the Eur ...

after residing in Portugal for six years.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Herrera goal.''

Honours

Porto *

: 2017–18 *

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Atlético Madrid *

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

runner-up:

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Houston Dynamo *

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Toluca *

: Clausura 2025 Mexico U23 *

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

* CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Championship:

Toulon Tournament The Maurice Revello Tournament (officially French: the ''Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello''), previously known as the Toulon Tournament, is a Association football, football tournament, which traditionally features invit ...

Mexico *

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

runner-up: 2019–20 Individual *

Best Player:

Gameweek 1 Best XI:

* FC Porto Player of the Year: 2014–15 *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBO ...

Assist Leader:

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Team of the Year: 2017–18, 2018–19 *SPJF Goal of the season: 2017–18 * CONCACAF Best XI:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

IFFHS The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for so ...

CONCACAF Best XI: 2020 * CONCACAF Nations League Finals Best XI:

Golden Ball:

Best XI:

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 another league. MLS initially ado ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

References

External links

* * * *
Héctor Herrera
at Goal.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Herrera, Hector 1990 births Living people People from Rosarito Footballers from Tijuana Mexican men's footballers Men's association football midfielders C.F. Pachuca players FC Porto players FC Porto B players Atlético Madrid footballers Liga MX players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players La Liga players Olympic footballers for Mexico Mexico men's international footballers Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 2022 FIFA World Cup players Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Mexico Olympic medalists in football CONCACAF Gold Cup–winning players Mexican expatriate men's footballers Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Spain Mexican expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Mexican expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Designated Players (MLS) FIFA Men's Century Club Major League Soccer players Naturalised citizens of Portugal Portuguese people of Mexican descent 21st-century Mexican sportsmen

Club career

Pachuca

Porto

Atlético Madrid

Houston Dynamo

Toluca

International career

Youth

Senior

Style of play

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

See also

References

External links