Rapids name Smith coach

Nov 11, 2008 - 9:27 PM COMMERCE CITY, Colorado (Ticker) - The Colorado Rapids unveiled their new coach Tuesday, naming Gary Smith as the sixth head coach in team history.

The announcement removed the interim tag for Smith, who moved up from his position as assistant coach when Fernando Clavijo resigned in late August.

After taking over, Smith posted a record of 5-4-2 which included an undefeated September and three road victories. By comparison, the Rapids had only one road win in nine matches before Smith replaced Clavijo.

"I am extremely grateful for the opportunities that the Rapids organization have extended to me over the past season and for the prospect of managing this club next season and beyond," Smith said. "I truly believe in the players that we have and our abilities to focus our efforts to reach what we all know this group is capable of achieving."

Also on Tuesday, the Rapids re-signed captain Pablo Mastroeni.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under Smith, the Rapids made a late push for a playoff spot, but the quest fell just short when Real Salt Lake pulled out a 1-0 last-minute victory at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the season's final game.

By winning that game, Salt Lake clinched the third and final guaranteed Western Conference playoff spot as Colorado finished in fourth place with a record of 11-14-5 and 38 points. The Rapids also finished fourth last year at 9-13-8 with 35 points.



"Over the course of this past year, we have asked Gary to take on many new and difficult challenges within our club," Rapids managing director Jeff Plush said. "His leadership and coaching, as well as the team's response to him on the pitch, were all the proof we needed as an organization to let us know that Gary was the right choice to lead our club moving forward."

Mastroeni, a midfielder, has played in 132 career games for the Rapids. The nine-time All-Star has helped the team reach the Western Conference Championship on three different occasions.

"I think that this is an exciting time for the Colorado Rapids organization," Mastroeni said. "After being here for seven years, I want to leave with some type of hardware and I think we have the right ingredients to get that done."