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Wilmer Cabrera named Chivas USA head coach

Head coach: Wilmer Cabrera .

Photo by John Dorton/ISIphotos.com

By FRANCO PANIZO

The search is over. The man responsible for turning Chivas USA around has been found.

Chivas USA announced on Thursday that they have appointed Wilmer Cabrera as their new head coach. Cabrera joins the struggling Goats after serving as an assistant coach under Oscar Pareja at the Colorado Rapids and has also previously managed the Under-18 and Under-17 U.S. Men’s National Teams.

“I’m really excited and motivated to be joining Chivas USA, as well as very grateful to the organization for the support they have given me,” said Cabrera in a statement.  “It’s a big opportunity join an MLS professional club and an institution that wants to be one of the top teams in the league; a team that is not only eager to participate but that also wants to be competitive in MLS. I’m proud to be part of Chivas USA and MLS and I hope that this year the team can show that mindset and motivation in each and every of the 34 games we are going to play during the regular season.”

Cabrera will now be tasked with reviving a Chivas USA side that has been disastrous both on and off the field in recent years. The Goats finished a forgettable 2013 in last place in the Western Conference with a 6-20-8 record and were accused in a lawsuit of being discriminatory towards their players and other employees. They also made a head coaching change a few months into the season, replacing Jose ‘El Chelis’ Sanchez with Jose Luis Real.

Chivas USA last made the playoffs in 2009.

The 46-year-old Cabrera, who earned 48 caps with Colombia during his playing career and played in two World Cups, has no previous head coaching experience at the club level. He did, however, spend five years as the U.S. U-17 manager and guided his teams to Round of 16 appearances at the 2009 and 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

In Colorado, Cabrera helped Pareja turn the Rapids into a playoff team in 2013. The young and injury-riddled club reached the postseason after missing out the previous year, but was eliminated by the Seattle Sounders in the first round.

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What do you think of Cabrera’s appointment? Is he the man that will finally help turn things around? Would you have preferred to see the Goats appoint someone else?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. This… this is a really smart hire.

    Of course, it seems unlikely that even a smart coaching hire will turn things around for them.

    Reply
  2. Chivas mess aside, Wilmer was great in CO keeping the reserves active and ready.. Should be just as if not more qualified as their previous coaches were..

    So now we are down to Colorado and Montreal (and Dallas until tomorrow) with manager vacancies.

    Reply
  3. It’s sad to see how this has all turned out. A second team in LA could’ve been handled so much better.

    No stupid name. Conduct all business in Spanish, but have no racist policies. Embrace all Spanish speakers, not just Mexicans. Proudly, politically pro-immigrant.

    It could’ve been the American version of Celtic,
    instead we end up with a dog turd wearing clown pants

    Burn it clean and start over

    Reply
    • I like that idea – conducting all business in Spanish, being politically pro-immigrant without the ridiculous policies. Could have been a powerful thing.

      Reply
  4. The search is over. The man responsible for turning Chivas USA around has been found.
    introducing Martín Vásquez

    The search is over. The man responsible for turning Chivas USA around has been found.
    introducing Robin Fraser (1 April 2011–9 Nov 12)

    The search is over. The man responsible for turning Chivas USA around has been found.
    introducing José Luis Sánchez Solá (12 Dec 2012–29 May 13)

    The search is over. The man responsible for turning Chivas USA around has been found.
    introducing Sacha van der Most (2013)

    The search is over. The man responsible for turning Chivas USA around has been found.
    introducing José Luis Real

    Repeat…Repeat

    Einstein once said thaat the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

    Reply
    • I’m not a Chivas hater by any means (not saying you are either, btw), but this is one of the funniest things I’ve seen on this site. Great use of repetition. No pun intended.

      Reply
    • Lol, they have had so many opportunities!

      To those who said they should move to another city; There is no way they could get away with the terrible management in anyother town. The only reason they attract any coaches or player is their location., and they rent that location from the Galaxy..

      A real 2nd LA team would be great..this is just an embarassment for the league

      Reply
    • You’re leaving out Bradley, who might have made something of the team if he hadn’t run smack into Houston in the playoffs every year. Also leaving out Preki, who took some stick but had them in the CCL. During this run they were arguably superior to LAG.

      The problem is they never recovered from firing Preki, they brought in a sequence of hispanic coaches who tried to rebuild the team, and it worked out not unlike TFC, coach comes in and has a destroyed roster and before it can be fixed he’s out the door.

      I think they beg the question of whether you base forced sales on ownership or attendance, and whether you factor in what the fans put up with. Chivas was once a well attended team in the playoffs outplaying LAG. LAG fired Gullit, hired Arena, he picked players well as always, and the pecking order reversed. Chivas fans got sick of the mis-management as their team circled the drain, and only then did the attendance become poor. LA can surely handle 2 well managed teams, it’s already done it. So do you take the team from LA to move it or do you force the owner to sell to new LA owners? I think a reasonable, non-discriminatory LA2 would be the same attraction it once was, and San Antonio is maybe the only MLS-level town left, and not at the level I think LA2 would be if handled right.

      Reply
      • I left out the coaches that preceded Martin Vasquez. like Preki and Bradley, and a few others who actually had good records. Remember Chivas actually won the Western Conference in 2007 under Preki with a team built the previous year by Bob Bradley

  5. I wonder what is going on with the racism lawsuit filed against Chivas USA? I mean this franchise is a complete slap in the face to the league and to this entire country. Vergara uses this franchise as a reserve team sending a few bench players from the REAL Chivas to this franchise.

    Reply
      • Another city could get this particular franchise and re-brand it so it will not alienate non-Mexicans and non-Chivas fans. It can then become all inclusive and represent what a real sports club is intended to be an accurate representative of its home. The coat of arms of Guadalajara and not Los Angeles? This team has not true identity and that does a disservice to the community of Los Angeles.

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