Daniel Demetrio Hernández (born July 23, 1976, in

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

) is an American former

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player.

Career

Youth and college

Hernández was a student at John Tyler High School and played youth soccer for the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. He played college soccer and college football as a placekicker at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

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 by the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

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

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

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 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. ...

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 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 a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. The Burn, however, were unwilling to make such a trade, and upon the emergence of an adequate replacement for him in Shalrie Joseph, Hernández was transferred to Mexican club

Necaxa Impulsora del Deportivo Necaxa S.A. de C.V. (); often simply known as Club Necaxa, is a Mexican professional Association football, football club based in Aguascalientes (city), Aguascalientes. It competes in Liga MX, the top division of Mexican ...

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, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

and Chiapas F.C. 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 in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

MetroStars

Eastern Conference Championship (1):

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

New England Revolution

Eastern Conference Championship (3):

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

FC Dallas

Western Conference Championship (1):

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Daniel 1976 births Living people American sportspeople of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Tyler, Texas Soccer players from Texas American men's soccer players Men's 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 Jaguares F.C. footballers Club Necaxa footballers Club Puebla players FC Dallas players Major League Soccer players Liga MX players All-American college men's soccer players Major League Soccer All-Stars American expatriate men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Players of American football from Texas American football placekickers Footballers who switched code SMU Mustangs football players