Updated

The Houston Dynamo announced Tuesday that the club has decided to exercise the option on Luiz Camargo, ensuring that the playmaker remains in orange for the 2012 season.

After a quiet midseason arrival to Robertson Stadium, Camargo came on strong down the stretch, starting ten games, including all four of Houston's playoff games, and contributing three assists.

"Last year he came in and played very well for us," Houston head coach Dominic Kinnear told MLSsoccer.com by phone on Tuesday. "He allowed Geoff [Cameron] to move to the back and helped us have a more balanced team. From what we saw, we think he's going to have a better year in 2012 than he did in 2011."

Camargo's return should see a renewed partnership with center-midfielder Adam Moffat for the new season. Both midseason acquisitions, the prospect of a full preseason to build chemistry side-by-side was a major factor in Houston's decision to bring Camargo back after the duo had impressed toward the end of the season.

"With a full preseason, those guys are only going to get better," Kinnear said. "We brought both those guys in midseason and with limited time, they formed a pretty good partnership.

"With those guys working together day to day, it's only going to make us better."