The San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo have a long, intertwined history that makes each matchup between the two teams a loaded one. The franchise, technical and player ties between the Quakes and the Dynamo date back more than a decade.
Notably, the Quakes franchise moved to Houston in 2005, head coach Dominic Kinnear coached the Dynamo for nine seasons before returning to the Quakes in 2015 and forward Chris Wondolowski played three and a half seasons with the Dynamo between 2005 and 2009.
This Friday, the Houston side will return to Avaya Stadium for the second time this season for the third and final match between the two teams.
The matchup means different things for many people. For
Victor Bernardez
, it means that he will get to see his friend and teammate from the Honduran National Team Boniek Garcia.
“He is like a brother to me,” Bernardez said. “Through the years our friendship has gotten stronger. Our wives are good friends as well. He is like my brother but he knows that when we are on the pitch, it’s like we don’t know each other.”
Bernardez and Garcia have been staples with the Honduran National Team. Bernardez has made 78 appearances and scored four goals while Garcia has made 114 appearances and notched three goals for Los Catrachos.
Both Bernardez and Garcia attended the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, featuring in the three group stage games in Brazil 2014 to face Ecuador, France and Switzerland.
“We are teammates on the national team and were roommates for two years,” Bernardez added. “He knows that when we play against each other, we aren’t friends until after the game.”
In MLS, Bernardez and Garcia have faced each other five times since 2013 with their respective clubs in MLS Regular Season play. Of those games, the Quakes have a 2-2-1 record.
While the Hondurans put the game in front of their friendship while on the pitch, they make a point to meet up when given the chance.
“We have the custom to not see each other before the game, but we are going to break that streak this weekend,” Bernardez said. “The plan is to go out for dinner.”
Friday’s match will be an important match for the Quakes. Should San Jose get three points, they will have the chance to overtake the Portland Timbers in the Western Conference, provided the Oregon side falls or ties against Seattle.
“It is going to be a tough game,” Bernardez said. “Our motivation is to fight to move up and get a spot in the playoffs.”
Friday’s match will kick off at 8 p.m. and will be televised nationally on Unimás. Few tickets remain for the final Friday match in the 2016 MLS Regular Season and can be purchased
here
.
