Rapids Class VI

VI Questions with Coach Clavijo: KC Heartbreak

Class VI, along with the C-Firm, made the marathon bus ride to Kansas City for the Rapids thrilling 3-2 loss to the Wizards. With loses like that, it makes you proud to be a Rapids supporter. Coach Fernando Clavijo has taken some time to answer VI questions for Class VI.

I. Over 30 Colorado Rapids supporters from Class VI and C-Firm made the marathon bus trip to KC to support the team. Did this have any affect on the team?

With fans behind you is always a plus but even more when you are in the road.

The group of supporters that made the trip to Kansas City was great and the players and coaches are well aware of that.

II. You started the exact same lineup from the 4-0 thrashing of the Galaxy. Give fans insight into the decisions of sticking with the young players, and keeping the veterans on the bench to start.

I always believe that the team who win games is a team that should keep playing, it was clear to me, that the first eleven that started against the Galaxy did many things right and was not reason to change it.

III. A team that can come back from two goals down to tie it up on the road shows tremendous heart. It's something that seemed absent for most of 2007. Can you tell us what the difference we're seeing between this team and last season's team?

I will disagree here, it is true the players showed an incredible heart in coming back from 2 goals down, many times last year, the team did the same or played for 80 + minutes with 10 players and still got a result.

I never had any doubts of the heart of my players.

IV. Can you give us some insight into how the Rapids roster stacks up at Left Midfield? Herculez Gomez came in for Colin Clark in the second half. Does this mean selection for the left flank falls between Herculez and Clark or are there other players we could see out there as the season progresses?

There is not many natural left side midfielder in our league and we are very lucky to have Colin Clark, he is our number one player I that position but you will see many other moving into that slot throughout the season, and the names you probably will see is Herculez Gomez and Cieran O’Brien; they are all different and can add something different to the game.

V. After fighting back and tying up the game, only to lose it near the final whistle, seems like it could be a difficult result for the players psyche. How do you keep the fight we're seeing in the team this season as we go into another road game against New England?

I believe that these guys are professional and the game we allowed to get away from us will make us stronger in the future.

VI. The team looked to win the game, and then Kansas scores with a few minutes left to wrap up the game. In hindsight, do you wish you had made a change, perhaps putting Kelly Gray into the game and riding out the clock for the road tie?

It is always easy after the fact to speculate about what could I have done different, but I trusted the guys in the field and that trust still there today, but we should learn from our mistakes and manage the game better.

As always Coach, thank you so much for your time and good luck to you and the boys in New England.

Posted by mark at April 8, 2008 03:08 PM