Former ENYYSA ODP coach and former Colombian international defender Wilmer Cabrera was named head coach of the U.S. Under-17 National Team Thursday. He became the first Hispanic to be named coach of a U.S. Soccer national team.
The 40-year-old Cabrera, who has also coached at BW Gottschee, will oversee U.S. Soccer’s U-17 Residency Program from Bradenton, Fla., where 40 of the country’s elite players reside year-round and train in a professional environment to help them develop and climb the ladder in the men’s national program.
"Wilmer is going to be a great addition to all of our player development initiatives,” U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said in a statement. “He has played at the highest level of the sport and will bring a unique perspective to our programs. He has been very involved in our youth national teams across the past year, and has done the work at the grassroots since relocating to the United States that make him an ideal candidate.”
Cabrera, who earned his USSF A coaching license in 2005, has been a member of the U.S. U-18 men’s national staff since January, serving as an assistant coach under Bob Jenkins. He has participated in a number of camps, including trips to Mexico, Portugal and Japan earlier this year.
"I know the system, and I know our youth programs very well,” Cabrera said in a statement. “And this is a beautiful challenge for me and a great responsibility. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the developmental environment that is growing in the United States for youth players.”
For years, many officials in the American soccer community have lamented the fact that players of Hispanic background and origin have been overlooked or not been given enough of an opportunity on the national stage.
Cabrera’s appointment opens the door for Hispanic players to be identified and perform at the international level and develop their talents even more at a young age.
Cabrera succeeds John Hackworth, who became an assistant coach under U.S. national coach Bob Bradley after three years as head coach of the U-17 team. That announcement was made Wednesday by U.S. Soccer.
There have been only a handful of Hispanic coaches in U.S. Soccer, mostly at the regional level. That includes Roberto Lopez in Region II (Midwest), Juan Carlos Michia in Region III (South), Rene Miramontes in Region IV (West) and Carlos Juarez on the women’s side in Region IV.
Cabrera is a personable, can speak Spanish and English fluently and is quite knowledgeable about the game.
"He is a quality coach and person," one said source familiar with the appointment. "He’s very smart. I’m sure he’s going to do a good job."
At Gottschee, Cabrera coached Gabriel Ferrara, who plays for Sampdoria (Italy) and is a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team that reached the quarterfinals at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada this past summer.
Cabrera is a veteran of two World Cups, being named to the roster in 1990 and playing in three matches in France in 1998. He earned 48 caps during nine years with the national team, missing out on the 1994 World Cup in the United States because of an injury. He also represented Colombia at two U-20 World Cups (1985 in the Soviet Union and 1987 in Chile), starting all three games for the team in the 1987 tournament after being selected to the 1985 roster at age 17).
Cabrera has coached at the U-17-18 level at Gottschee (Cosmopolitan Junior Soccer League) in Ridgewood, N.Y., one of 64 clubs chosen as an inaugural member of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, since 2005.
Cabrera began his professional career at Santa Fe de Bogotá in Colombia in 1985 at age 17. He played professionally for 18 years in Colombia, Argentina and Costa Rica, highlighted by eight years with Colombia’s América de Cali. He was also a founding member of Chico Futbol Club in the mid-1990s, serving as the team’s first coach and helping guide the side to promotion to the first division after only two years.
In 2003, Cabrera moved to the United States and played for two years with the United Soccer League’s Long Island Rough Riders before retiring as in 2005.
He also worked in an administrative role at MLS, contributing to the growth of the sport through his position as Manager of Fan Development. In that role, he served as the spokesperson for MLS Futbolito and Verano MLS, programs aimed at grassroots development of soccer in the U.S.
The U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team is the only team in the world to have qualified for every World Cup at that age level, earning one fourth-place and two fifth-place finishes in five World Cup cycles since the launch of the U-17 residency program in 1999.
Since the establishment of U-17 residency almost nine years ago, the program has seen remarkable success in connecting players through U.S. Soccer’s National Team program and on to the full team. Of the 60 players capped by national team coach Bob Bradley in 2007, 12 have been a part of the Under-17 Residency Program, a strong reflection of the programs development. Five players from the U-17 residency program (Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu, Bobby Convey and Eddie Johnson) participated in the 2006 World Cup.
Rongen’s contract extended through U-20 World Cup in 2009
Gulati also announced that U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team coach Thomas Rongen’s contract has been extended through the 2009 Under-20 World Cup cycle.
Rongen who led the Under-20 team in their exciting quarterfinal run in 2007 World Cup in Canada. He was also at the helm in the 2003 tournament where the U.S. finished in fifth place.
“I am excited to be continuing with the Under-20 team,” Rongen said in a statement. “I want to thank the federation for the opportunity to build on the success we have had in the past few years, and I look forward to moving on with the promising young players who will be working toward the 2009 U-20 World Cup.”
Rongen will begin the two-year cycle by leading an Under-18 team in the Limoges Tournament in France later this month. The 2009 U-20 World Cup will be held in Egypt.
REACTION FROM ENYYSA OFFICIALS
Eastern New York Youth Soccer Association officials applauded the Cabrera appointment.
"It’s great that he got it," said Jack Cohen, who is head of the ODP program. "He was one of the guys. "They really groomed him for this position -- regional and national coach. They knew what they had and they didn’t want to lose him."
Several other officials echoed Cohen’s assessment of the former Colombian international defender.
"It is a testament to the ENYYSA ODP program that one of our coaches was selected to such a prestigious position by U.S. Soccer," said Lonny Unger, co-chair of the ENYYSA ODP program and president of FC Westchester, a U.S. Soccer Development Academy program. "By creating the U.S. Soccer Development Program and now making this appointment, U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati is making some smart decisions that I know will move this country’s soccer program to the next level."
Long-time ENYYSA treasurer Michael Finnegan saw Cabrera in action at the Region I level.
"I am very happy for him and I have nothing but the best to say about him," Finnegan said. "The boys that he works with at the camps really like him and the other coaches have the highest respect for him."
Cohen decided to bring the 40-year-old Cabrera into the program when he spotted the 40-year-old with former ENYYSA ODP technical director Alfonso Mondelo during a training session at the N.Y. Hota/Bavarian fields in Franklin Square, L.I. four years ago.
"I said to Alfonso: ’We can use him?’ " Cohen said. "He said, ’Sure." And I said, ’Let’s get him into the program ASAP.’ "
A week or two later ENYYSA found a spot for Cabrera.
Cohen said he was most impressed with the way Cabrera deals with players.
"He’s a true gentleman," he said. "He never raises his voice to the kids, whatever is happening. . . . When he talks, it’s like a whisper. Everybody listens. "It’s a matter of respect and his understanding of the game. It’s just a pleasure to be around a guy like that."
Even after Cabrera left ENYYSA ODP to join the MLS Verano program, which works with Hispanic youth programs Cohen kept Cabrera on as a consultant.
When Cabrera realized he couldn’t put the proper time into the ODP program, he told Cohen he couldn’t take any compensation. "He said, ’Jack. I can’t do it. I can’t take the money and not be here,’ " Cohen said.
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