Rapids Class VI

CVI Questions with Coach Clavijo: On Top where we belong!

Coach Fernando Clavijo has the Rapids in a tie for first place in the Western Conference. We've asked him some questions about the impressive victory over DC United Sunday afternoon.

I. You changed the shape of the team for this game and it worked like a charm. Tell us what the reasoning was for the change in tactics?

DC United is a very good team with a lot of good players, my biggest concern was not to allow DC to dictate the phase of the game, the changes were done to put pressure from the beginning and not allow DC to slow the game down.

II. Jose Burciaga, Jr., and Terry Cook started all the previous games, but neither were on the field at kick off. Why did you choose to go with Jacob Peterson instead of Cook, and Jordan Harvey instead of Burciaga?

We are very please to have such a talented roster right now, and give us choices that not many other teams have.

Jose Burciaga is an excellent football player but I felt that adding Harvey will help us defensively on the right side with Quaranta and going forward.

Peterson is a different player than Terry Cooke, we were looking for someone to take people on, and force defenders to defend, Peterson speed help us not only in the midfield but also breaking forward in quick counters.

III. Terry Cook wore the Captain's armband for the first five games of the season, doing so even when Pablo Mastoreni had returned to the line up. This game, Cooke was on the bench, and Mastoreni wore the armband. What part will Terry Cooke play in regards to the role to Captain?


The role of the Captain on the team changes everyday, but it is a clear example of what you expect from the rest of the players.

Leadership on and of the field is a must. Terry Cooke and Pablo showed me they deserved that recognition on the first 6 games.

IV. The team controlled the the entire flow of play with the exception of a fifteen minute stretch in the second when DC United tried fighting their way back into the game, which our defense stifled efficiently. This has been a contrast to the last two games. How did you get the team back on track and focused for a full 90 minutes to the man?

Last game in Chicago, I felt we did enough to have a better result, but manage to have a let down for 10 minutes that cost us the game.

I believe the changes we did help us to concentrate better, and I am not talking only on defenders but the team in general.

V. Nico Colaluca was a player that when drafted in 2007 was labeled a player that could help the Rapids immediately, and yet he has only 62 minutes played in his career. Where does Nico fit in the grand scheme of the Rapids?

When Nicolas Colaluca was drafted we felt we had a kid with a very good future ahead of him, and that has not change.

Players develop at deferent speed and assimilate things at different rate, Nico has not developed as quick we thought he would, but still in our plans to keep working with him..

VI. You've gotten us back into a share of first in the West. Congrats Coach. The season has seen some ups and downs, which is expected early in the season. As coach, how do you build on this win and keep the players focused and motivated playing a winless Houston team, and avoiding another let down like the San Jose loss?

For some reason in the MLS it is to believe that it is Ok to win one weekend and lose the next one, everyone is going to lose some game.

Unfortunately is not something I am happy with, we need to have a killing mentality and put teams away early and often. That takes time and we are working on every day.

Thank you so much Coach and good luck in Houston! Keep up the good work.

Posted by mark at May 8, 2008 02:03 PM