 Herrera in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Héctor Miguel Herrera López | ||
| Date of birth | 19 April 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Tijuana, Mexico | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Central Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Porto | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2011–2013 | Pachuca | 52 | (2) |
| 2013– | Porto | 5 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2012 | Mexico U23 | 16 | (2) |
| 2012– | Mexico | 9 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 November 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 14 July 2013 | |||
Héctor Miguel Herrera López (born 19 April 1990) is a Mexican footballer who currently plays as acentral midfielder for F.C. Porto of Portugal and for the Mexico national football team. He is known as a "classic box-to-box midfielder who is equally adept at halting advances from opposing players as he is creating opportunities by distributing the ball or shooting on goal."[1]
Club career
Pachuca
Born in Tijuana, Herrera began playing football for the youth sides of Pachuca. As a youth he was nicknamed el zorrillo, ("skunk" in English) he has also been called zorro ("fox" in English).[2]
Herrera made his Mexican Primera División debut for Pachuca in a 4–1 defeat to Santos Laguna on 23 July 2011.[3] He would make 14 appearances for Pachuca en route to winning the Golden Ball as the rookie of the 2011 Apertura tournament.[4]
Porto
2013–14 season
On 28 June 2013 it was announced Herrera was transferred to Portuguese club Porto for €8 million.[5]
Hector Herrera made his unofficial debut with Porto on 13 July 2013 in the final of the Valais Cup against French team Olympique de Marseille, coming on as a substitute in the 60th minute of the game for Fernando. Mexican team mate Diego Reyes also made his debut with Porto in the 3–0 win.[6]
He made his official league debut on 18 August, coming on for Lucho González in the 82nd minute in Porto's 3–1 victory over Vitória Setúbal. On 6 October, Herrera played his first ninety minutes in Porto's 3–1 away win over Arouca.
On 22 October 2013, in a Champions League match against Zenit Saint Petersburg, Herrera marked the occasion by going in the competition's record book with the fastest dismissal for a double booking.[7]
International career
Mexico U23
In 2012 Herrera was chosen by coach Luis Fernando Tena to participate in the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in the United States. Mexico went on to win the tournament by defeating Honduras in the final, thus qualifying to the 2012 Olympic Games held in London, England.
Héctor Herrera was a vital part in the Mexico squad that won the 2012 Toulon Tournament, and was awarded the Meilleur Joueur as the most outstanding player of the tournament.[8]
Herrera made the final cut for those participating in the 2012 Olympics. Mexico won the gold medal after defeating Brazil 2–1 in the final.[2]
Mexico national team
Herrera was called up by José Manuel de la Torre to play for Mexico in the World Cup qualifiers against Guyana on 12 October and El Salvador on 16 October. Hector Herrera made his senior national team debut against El Salvador, with the match ending in a 2–0 win for Mexico.
Herrera also participated with Mexico in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup held in Brazil.
