who made 61 appearances for the Red, White and Blue -- followed his MLS coaching run with a stint holding the reins for the Haitian national side. Clavijo was faced with the difficult challenge of rounding up suitable talent to compete in World Cup qualifying, but he advanced past the first round of Caribbean qualifying before falling just short against Jamaica in the second round. As the Haitian national team coach, Clavijo worked with current Rapids striker Jean-Phillippe Peguero and Alexandre Boucicaut of the Chicago Fire.
Clavijo also served as an assistant coach for Nigeria at the 1998 World Cup in France under one-time U.S. national team boss Bora Milutinovic, helping the African nation to advance to the round-of-16 after impressive defeats of Spain and Bulgaria in the group stage. The 48-year-old began his full-time coaching career 10 years ago when he was at the helm for the Seattle Seadogs of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL).
A defender during his playing days, Clavijo had a major impact on the U.S. team in the early '90s. He was a member of the U.S. side that defeated Colombia to advance to the round of 16, where they fell 1-0 to eventual champion Brazil.
Clavijo also had successful stints in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) with the St. Louis Storm, San Diego Sockers and Los Angeles Lazers. Twelve times he was named to the MISL All-Star team and three times he took home MISL Defender of the Year award.
Jonathan Nierman is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
