Joe Corona arrives with Dynamo after 'crazy time' in two MLS drafts
Joe Corona has had plenty of ups and downs throughout his soccer career - from being on clubs that were relegated and promoted in Mexico, to scoring a hat trick for the U.S. during Olympic qualifying, to winning the Gold Cup, to finishing fourth in the Gold Cup and to winning the Gold Cup again.
None of that, however, could have prepared him for the yo-yo effect of the last six weeks in Major League Soccer.
On Nov. 29, Corona was on the roster of the LA Galaxy. The next day, the Galaxy declined the option on his contract and left him unprotected for the MLS Expansion Draft.
Austin FC selected Corona in the Expansion Draft on Dec. 15 but did not reach a deal with him ahead of Stage Two of the MLS Re-Entry Draft. The Dynamo selected him with the No. 2 overall pick, and the clubs reached a deal that ties Corona to Houston through the 2022 season. The Dynamo also have an option for the 2023 season.
In an interview with Kick It Houston Monday morning, Corona, 30, said the process caught him off guard and took a lot of work between his agent and the MLS Players Association. He kept finding out details along the way and used the words ‘hard’ and ‘stressful’ to describe it.
“It was a crazy time with a lot of different rules I didn’t really know,” said Corona, who added that that entering the Re-Entry Draft came down to the last minute. “I am glad I am part of the Houston Dynamo now.”
Corona’s arrival in Houston is a bit of a reunion with coach Tab Ramos, who was working with U.S. Soccer’s youth teams while Corona was in camp with the USMNT. They crossed paths now and then, and Corona developed a high opinion of Ramos.
With one year as the Dynamo’s boss under his belt, Ramos is working with general manager Matt Jordan to build a roster that is suited to play a specific brand of soccer. Ramos wants to play with a 4-3-3 system that presses high and works proactively to attack.
Three pieces of Ramos’ ideal lineup are one No. 6 and two No. 8’s. The Dynamo view Corona as a player who can fill either role. This week, Corona said he is up for anything.
“The last six years I have been playing a lot of different positions in the middle,” he said. “I am very familiar with most of them. I try to adapt as fast as I can to whatever the coach wants me to do. I would consider by best version as an 8. I start in the middle with one next to me as a 6 but go into the attack as an 8 and create opportunities for the team.”
Corona’s first opportunity to play professionally came earlier than he expected. Corona played one season for San Diego State University on a partial scholarship. His sister, Miriam, suffered a stroke that was caused by a brain aneurysm.
The family was forced to direct its expenses to her care, which meant there was no more money to pay for Corona’s college education.
Corona went to an open tryout for Club Tijuana, which was in Mexico’s second division at the time. He was invited to join the reserve team in 2009. He spent four months there before being signed to the first team - his first of 10 years in Mexico.
Throughout his ascent up the leagues and the national team, he helped his family pay for Miriam’s medical expenses - mostly when he received bonuses, he said. Miriam completely recovered two years after the initial stroke, and today, she is in college studying kinesiology.
Today, he calls it a miracle.
That episode forced him to grow up quickly and set the stage for how he deals with adversity - even things as kooky as MLS’s offseason mechanisms.
“It helped a lot taking that responsibility trying to help out your family,” Corona said. “It drives you to work harder to try to get to whichever goal you have in mind and stay hungry throughout the way.”