|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
New England Revolution 10 Questions: Johnny Torres | Coachspeak: Fernando Clavijo
Posted: Friday March 10, 2000 03:26 PM
By Jeff Green, CNNSI.com The third-worst team in Major League Soccer last year lost its two top scorers in the offseason -- not exactly the way the New England Revolution would have preferred to begin rebuilding.
The Revs missed out on the playoffs last year for the third time in four seasons, finishing three points behind the Miami Fusion under the guidance of the league's first full-time player/coach, mercurial Italian goalkeeping legend Walter Zenga. Any hopes for a playoff berth seemed distant by the time Zenga was fired with two games to go. Revolution officials said he had forced the team's hand by issuing an ultimatum on his contract status. Hired to replace Zenga in November was first-time MLS coach Fernando Clavijo, whose name had seemed to come up every time there was a coaching vacancy. Clavijo played as a defender for the U.S. national team under coach Bora Milutinovic at World Cup '94 and last year served as an assistant to Milutinovic with the MetroStars.
Despite failing again to field a playoff-caliber team, the Revolution managed to place fourth among 12 teams in attendance in 1999, drawing 16,735 a game to Foxboro Stadium. That was ahead of the league average (14,282). The only year the Revs made the playoffs, 1997, they led the league with 21,423. While the Revolution looked to improve in the offseason with the help of several players who -- to varying degrees -- were cast off from other MLS clubs, the team's 1999 MVP, Joe-Max Moore, was causing a stir at English Premier League club Everton, scoring in five straight games. Despite having former MLS personnel guru Sunil Gulati in charge of soccer operations, the Revolution was still without Moore's "marquee allocation" replacement as the season drew near. The Kraft family -- operators of the Revolution and the San Jose Earthquakes, along with the NFL's Patriots- hired Gulati last year after he was fired as MLS deputy commissioner. Troubles up frontTo make things worse, the team's second-leading scorer, Giovanni Savarese, was sold by MLS to Italian Serie A organization Perugia just days before February's SuperDraft. As a result, the Revolution traded away the No. 10 pick to obtain Colorado forward Wolde Harris, who scored 26 goals in three seasons with the Rapids. Clavijo's first player move after being appointed in November was to claim Ecuadorian forward Eduardo "El Tanque" Hurtado off waivers. Cutting Hurtado had been the MetroStars' first move after hiring their new coach, Ecuadorian Octavio Zambrano.
Hurtado ranked second in the league in scoring in 1996 with 21 goals and seven assists, but with the woeful MetroStars last year he had just seven goals in 28 games. This year, El Tanque came into camp out of shape after taking time off following an impressive turn on loan in Ecuador. "Hurtado is not on top of his game right now. He's an unbelievable goalscorer when he's on top of his game," Clavijo said. "He's a 210-pound machine, so we need to give him time to get in shape. I think he will." Losing Savarese was an unexpected blow. He and Moore had accounted for roughly 70 percent of the goals scored by the Revolution last year. "It changed the outlook completely, because I wanted to get Hurtado and Savarese together. I think that's still a factor for Eduardo," Clavijo said. The Revolution bolstered its attack March 7 with the signing of Costa Rican William Sunsing. The 22-year-old was a substitute for Costa Rica at the Gold Cup in February. Clavijo praised his speed, skills and work rate. The left-footer could see time either on the flank, at central midfield or at forward. Unresolved concernsThe Revolution defense, ranked ninth in the league last year, was Clavijo's primary concern as the 2000 season drew near. To fill Moore's marquee spot on the team, the Revolution was looking for a young central defender who would enable Clavijo to employ a three-man backline. "I think we lack speed a little bit through the middle," said Clavijo. "It's something that we need to improve right now. "We always want to play with three in the back; it gives you more freedom," he said. "We haven't played with three in the back because we don't have the quality of the players that we need to do that." Clavijo said he envisions a 3-4-1-2 formation that will allow the team to best utilize three assets: attacking midfielder Maurcio Ramos and his experienced defensive midfielders, Leonel Alvarez and former U.S. national team captain John Harkes. A longtime member of the Colombian national team, Alvarez was acquired in the trade that sent Ecuadorian forward Ariel Graziani to Dallas last year. Harkes has had to accept a reduced role this year, and Clavijo said that he has posed no problems since joining camp after a contract disagreement. "I knew from the beginning, with all the problems that he was having with the contract, that he was a big piece of this team, and he can only get better," Clavijo said. "I like to play with two controlling midfielders. Then Mauricio's free in front of them. "[Ramos] is the kind of player you have to give him some freedom to move around. With that kind of environment, having Harkesy and Alvarez, we're going to be able to do that." Ramos was acquired in January from Tampa Bay in exchange for a player allocation. He had taken a less prominent role on the left side of the Mutiny midfield last year with Carlos Valderrama's return. Clavijo, by contrast, will entrust Ramos with running the Revolution offense. The Uruguayan-born coach said he also expects several of his picks in the draft to contribute this year. "We're very pleased with the younger players that we have coming in. I don't only think they can play at this level. I think they're going to be a key factor to contribute to this team's success in the year 2000," he said. "One of the biggest assets we're going to have is going to be Fabio Zuniga." Zuniga, a 20-year-old Colombian, was taken in the third round by Clavijo, who said he discovered the slippery forward in New Jersey, where he tallied 47 goals last year for Raritan Valley. Clavijo had high praise for midfielder Rusty Pierce, a second round pick from UNC-Greensboro who had played primarily a defensive role, while also showing the ability to carry the ball forward. Adding depth in the central defense is Dan Calichman, while World Cup veteran Mike Burns is recovering from injury and will face a challenge for playing time at right back from some of the younger players. Ted Chronopoulos returns at either left back or left midfield, with 23-year-old Brian Dunseth and South African veteran Ivan McKinley also likely to see time on defense. Johnny Torres, 23, has played primarily as a wide midfielder in preseason, while Clavijo said Imad Baba was playing improved soccer at the same position. Left scraping for playing time on the attack could be Jamar Beasley, at one time the youngest player ever signed by the league. This year, however, he's been upstaged by his younger brother, 17-year-old DaMarcus of the Chicago Fire. Clavijo himself also has something to prove. "You always think, for whatever reason, that you deserved a chance before," said Clavijo. "At one point, I was told I was too young to coach, and I thought I was too old to play. "Now, I look at it a different way," he said. "I've got the chance; whatever happened in the past happened. There's nothing I can do about it. I'm going to take my chance right now and make the best out of it."
People, Places and Things
New Additions
Key Departures Get The Highlighter
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
