The Colorado Rapids made a move Thursday to address their changing technical staff with the hiring of longtime coach and scout John Metgod as a consultant.
The former Dutch international, whose impressive 20-year playing career included stints with Real Madrid and Tottenham, was most recently serving as the development director for English Championship club Derby County. He was also part of the Feyenoord technical staff during that team’s 2002 victory in the UEFA Cup and served as a scout and analyst for the Netherlands national team during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and the 2012 European Championship in Poland and Ukraine.
“There are few people who have as much soccer experience as John, whether as a player, coach or in spotting and developing talent,” Rapids president Tim Hinchey said in a release. “He has played and coached for some of the best clubs in the world, as well as his national team, and will be an invaluable resource for our club.”
Metgod joins a staff that recently saw the departure of assistant coach Wilmer Cabrera to take over as the Chivas USA head coach. Rapids head coach Oscar Pareja also reportedly stepped down over the weekend amid reports that FC Dallas are interested in tabbing him for their head coaching vacancy, although the Rapids haven’t commented on Pareja’s status.
Metgod will help Colorado’s scouting efforts at the MLS Player Combine, which begins Friday.
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According to the Rapids, while at Derby, Metgod helped develop several players now playing for the English youth national teams, as well as scouting and acquiring transfer targets. In his five years there, he was also worked with players on technical and tactical skills. From 2008-09, he was with Portsmouth FC of the English Premier League, serving as a first team coach and developing the club’s coaching plan and leading training sessions.
“He has an eye for talent that will assist our efforts at the Combine and SuperDraft, and can offer his perspective on our first team and Academy setup and structure,” Rapids technical director Paul Bravo said. “We’re eager to get started working with him.”
