The Colorado Rapids are set to hire FC Dallas assistant and Academy Director Oscar Pareja has the team's new head coach, the Denver Post reported on Tuesday evening.
Pareja has beaten out a group of candidates that included Denis Hamlett, Tom Soehn and Richie Williams. The Rapids are expected to make the announcement this week.
Pareja was a long-time player for the Dallas Burn before eventually settling in as an assistant coach. He also worked with the U.S. Under-17 national team as an assistant.
What do you think of Colorado's decision to hire Pareja? Think they picked the right coach? See the Rapids making the playoffs in 2012?
Share your thoughts below.
I wouldn’t doubt Chavez and Bernardez are not going to blow anyone away but they’re still certainly a major upgrade over the players they’re replacing: Bobby Burling and that Baca guy. Considerig the fact they have those additions, a fairly high draft pick, and the majority of a team that made it to the playoffs in 2010, I think they’re going to give Colorado a real run for their money.
Vancouver is going to be a bit unpredicatble, but they could potentially have a very good backline for an MLS team if Montreal do indeed take Mattocks (Lee-Demerit-Wenger-Rochat). Throw in Hassli and Camilo (if he stays) up top and chiumiento creating in the midfield, and they could definitely surprise quite a few people next year.
Yep. Honduras’ best (i.e. Pavon and Costly) didn’t make much impact in MLS and I doubt SJ’s new signings will either.
SJ’s new Hondurans are just OK to me. Not blown away and I think it takes a surprising level of talent to compete in MLS.
While I grant that Rennie is an interesting MLS coaching prospect — has seemingly done well in the minors — players win games and signing Nguyen is not going to push things forward much. Nguyen is like an Adu-lite disappointment who’s never lived up the hype, and who seems ill-suited to physical MLS. The only things I’ll give Nguyen credit for is the anti-EJ humility to take a massive paycut ($60K rumored?) here, after having rebooted his career in Vietnam. At least he’s willing to try and earn his way back, and won’t cost the experimenting team much to do so.
Anyone know what the approximate salaries are for MLS coaches? Richie Williams is U-18 coach. I figure he makes from 125k-160k. Wonder how much more Colorado would pay?
meant to reply to the one above you TIV, but ya Portland will likely be better too. If you swapped KC over to the west and maybe Phili and then just blew up the remaining eastern teams the MLS would be quite the competitive league.
Vancouver are going to become legit under Martin Rennie. Even SJ have upgraded too, so I dont think Colorado is an automatic 4/5 spot by any means.
don’t forget the Revos!
Until you have Academy pipelines from U10 to senior it’s primarily cherrypicking off the local clubs, in this case the quietly strong Dallas league that produced, for instance, Clint Dempsey. It’s not like it’s some Ajax player factory.
Most successful? Not compared to NYRB or Chicago. Not even close. Who’ve they produced?
The Klinsi comment is oddly interesting because, though he has been more stylistically interesting than productively effective at the senior level — different football but fewer goals and wins — his most interesting long term effect may be the influx of European and German youth I think I am seeing on his age group teams. Something Zimmermann pointed at but drew debatable lessons from (it’s an interesting question if a random German kid in their lower leagues is really any better than an elite US collegian or MLS roster fodder — Zimmermann’s argument — but I think he misses the point that at the youth level often enough you just want as deep a talent pool as possible, more the merrier, to see what sticks later on……Freddy Adu having been a can’t miss who somehow has anyway).
Finished 5th last year, more wins than losses, positive goal difference, and they were Team Turmoil. KC beat the stuffing out of them, but the comment wasn’t they’ll win their conference it was they’ll finish solidly midtable on autopilot. Worth noting that Chivas, Vancouver, and SJ are all kind of goofy organizations. I’d only see Portland as a threat.
I’d say ditch Casey and with the right replacement alongside Cummings you could go places. Assuming Cummings is motivated and the turmoil’s in the past.
They dont need a massive renovation… but I would hesitate to say they can finish 4-5th in the west on “autopilot”…
Not sure the best pick, but at least this leaves u-18 head Williams as a potential replacement for Hans backe once the NYRB circus decides to change course and go with someone competent and professional on the bench!
Colorado doesn’t need a massive renovation by any means. This club would still finish 4-5th in the West on autopilot next year, so this is good news, overall.
Pareja was the director of the FC Dallas academy, arguably the most successful in the U.S. That’s one key component to his bio that’s good for the Rapids long term. We don’t have a lot of faith in our FO, overall, so we’re hoping for Pareja to have control of building the academy system as well as the first squad. Our mini-Jurgen Klinsmann, if you will.
He’s coaching the Rapids, not the ‘Quakes.
Really?
Bad news for FC Dallas, good news for the Rapids.
Hope he changes the ugliest style of play in MLS.
I like it as well. I was VERY hard on the Rapids FO about letting Smith go, but Pareja looks to be a smart selection. Only results will tell though.
Good luck Pareja, just wish it was with a better team.
I am not sure I would want Oscar at any west confrence team. He is going to make Colorado a good team that will be hard to beat.
I like this hiring.. welcome to Colorado Pareja!
this sucks for FCD. we will really miss him. he has a fantastic eye for talent and is a great locker room guy. going to Colorado makes it worse but at least it’s not Houston.
Wilmer Cabrera will be his assistant
I like this hire too bad i dont like Colorado