Fernando Clavijo, the head coach of the Colorado Rapids, has resigned with immediate effect from his position. Like the death of a sick loved one, the news comes as a shock but not exactly unexpected. Rumors had been flying for some time, especially after the recent meltdown at the Los Angeles Galaxy when Ruud Gullit and Alexei Lalas said goodbye. Gary Smith, who took charge of the team in last weekend's victory over Kansas City after Clavijo flew to his native Uruguay on a family emergency, will assume the reins as interim head coach for the remainder of the season. More details are in the Denver Post at the link below.
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_10254449
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7 comments:
Does this herald the return of John Spencer?
Spencer's name has been bandied about a lot. He is the obvious choice.
Does Gray Smith just have too little Head Coaching experience to have much of a chance to have his "Interim" tag removed at the end of the year? Or is it likely that someone like Spencer or John Murphy comes in before the end of the season?
I know I might be a bit of a sucker but after last week's win over KC I'm really excited and hopeful again!
I guess I just want to hope Smith can make an impact and we make a run it into the playoffs and it is all a moot point.
I doubt someone will come in before the end of the season, no. If Gary Smith does turn things around and take them through the playoffs, he will obviously be a hard man to remove from the position.
Were there to many "foreign" coaches in the MLS? Despite the rest of the world choosing to bring in international coaching experience to their respective domestic leagues, the MLS appears to be moving in a different direction, and either "going native" or choosing less experienced coaching staff. Why was Ruud Gullit replaced? Not enough experience, passion or the inability to get results vs expectation? If you can't play for one of the greatest players in our generation, who can you play for? Truth is Clavijo assembled a good and talented team (considering the financial restrictions the owners place on attracting high profile player investments from US, europe or south america). Surely the coach was not instructing the team to play badly and do everything but "shoot to score" in recent games especially at home against Toronto!! Colorado has lost a well respected coach and some invaluable soccer experience - it is now crucial that the players respond with solid "give your all" performances to rejuvenate the team and soccer culture here in Denver. It is much needed
Certainly not a shock and I know there as some happy fans in the season ticket holder sections. Still I am a bit bummed about how it all happened.
I am still a fan of Spencer, especially after watching him be such an integral part of the Rapids when he came to the league. With McManus in the fold I think the offense will get a boost. But I think we need to keep a lot of the current staff around for the player development and defense side of things.
I certainly like Gary and I think that he certainly could lead the team into a playoff run. I am not convinced that he will be the long term solution either way. I think he would literally have to get to MLS Cup and put up at least a good fight in the finals to even have a chance at the head job next year. He will need to thank Clavijo for the opportunity at the job at the very least. So the question is, does Gary continue on the same track this season that Clavijo set for the formations or does he drastically change things? If he does change things, does he go traditional or even more strange? The biggest question of all of course is how the players will respond and there is hope with the last game.
It was very sudden the way it all happened. However, like many things that build up for a long while, things may appear to be sudden but, in reality, have been building up slowly and then explode. Fernando is a very good man. I believe he was not helped by certain things behind the scenes and, when relationships break down, it is usually the coach who takes the sword. I honestly feel, however, that this could be the best move for the team and certainly for Fernando's peace of mind. It will be very intesting to see the response from the team on Saturday. Thanks for all of your comments as always.
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