In an intriguing MLS offeseason saga, Joe Corona was selected in two different drafts — first in the Expansion Draft by Austin FC, and then by the Houston Dynamo in the Re-Entry draft. His rights went to the Dynamo when he was selected in the Re-Entry draft and he subsequently signed with the team, bringing a unique situation to a simple ending. That said, Corona admitted he, like many, wasn't exactly sure about the mechanics of the process.
"It was also a learning process for me, to be honest," Corona said on the Soccer Matters podcast. "I didn’t really know exactly how the rules work with the Expansion Draft, Re-Entry draft phase one, and then phase two so it’s kind of hard to explain. ... I didn’t get to an agreement with Austin, and then I got picked up by Houston so it was pretty much it."
There are familiar faces in Houston for Corona, including Darwin Quintero, who he played with at Club America in 2018 and his former US men's national team assistant and under-20 head coach Tab Ramos. Talking to them helped Corona decide to make the move to Houston. Above all, though, Corona said the team "made the effort" of trying to sign him.
"We had a very good conversation leading into signing with the team," Corona said of his conversation with Ramos. "My goal, obviously, is to make playoffs and fight for a championship so I think I need to bring in all that experience that I have from playing so many years and of course, I’m happy to do that and we talked about leadership and coming into the team and just bringing a positive note to the team, to be always on the right foot."
Check out the rest of Corona's interview with Glenn Davis on Soccer Matters.
