Football
Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondent 5y

Houston's Cabrera 5th MLS boss fired this season

The Houston Dynamo fired manager Wilmer Cabrera on Tuesday, naming assistant coach Davy Arnaud as manager on an interim basis for the rest of the season.

The Dynamo started off the 2019 campaign in scintillating fashion, bursting out of the gate with a 6-1-1 record. But results, especially after its contingent of international players returned from playing for their respective countries, disintegrated. Now Cabrera, who just a year ago led the Dynamo to the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, finds himself out of a job. He is the fifth MLS manager to lose his job this season joining FC Cincinnati's Alan Koch, Colorado's Anthony Hudson, New England's Brad Friedel and Real Salt Lake's Mike Petke.

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"We'd like to thank Wilmer for all of his hard work and dedication over the course of the last two and a half seasons with the Houston Dynamo, including last year's U.S. Open Cup title. We wish him all the best moving forward," said Dynamo Senior vice president and GM Matt Jordan. "At this time, we as a club believe the team will benefit from a fresh perspective as we enter the final third of our season and make a push to qualify for the playoffs."

Cabrera had a 32-39-22 record in MLS regular-season play with the Dynamo after taking charge prior to the 2017 season. He was a assistant for the Colorado Rapids from 2012-13 before taking over for Chivas USA, coaching the Goats for the 2014 campaign before the team was dissolved. He spent five years as manager of the U.S. U-17 national team from 2012-17, as well as one season with the Dynamo's USL affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, in 2016.

Arnaud was in his third season as a Dynamo assistant, having previously served as an assistant with D.C. United. He steps into the managerial role with just nine games left in the regular season. Houston currently sits in ninth place in the Western Conference standings, six points behind in-state rivals FC Dallas for the seventh and final playoff spot.

As a player, Arnaud spent the entirety of his career in MLS, playing for Sporting Kansas City, the Montreal Impact and D.C. United. He was part of the Kansas City side that won the 2004 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. During his career he made 368 league and playoff appearances, scoring 54 goals and adding 47 assists.

At international level, Arnaud made seven appearances for the U.S., scoring one goal.

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