Wilmer Cabrera recovered from Chivas USA debacle

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When Wilmer Cabrera agreed to coach Chivas USA in January 2014 he thought it was his big break in coaching soccer.

The 10-year old MLS franchise seemed moribund for several years. Cabrera was eager for a chance to turn around the Los Angeles club and show he could succeed in the league.

Less than two months after that the league pulled the carpet out from under Cabrera and his players when it announced it had bought the club with plans to shut it down until 2017.

Cabrera said he felt like he had been blindsided.

"As a coach you take lessons and classes for tactics and how to manage a locker room, but no one teaches you how to deal with a team that is going to disappear for good," Cabrera said Friday. "I never took that class."

Although the announcement came in late February, the season still had to go one.

Chivas USA had finished eighth or ninth in each of the previous four seasons. Cabrera guided the club to nine wins and a seventh-place finish. Both marks were the best in the club's final five seasons.

Wilmer Cabrera led Rio Grande Valley FC to a second-place finish this season. Wilmer Cabrera led Rio Grande Valley FC to a second-place finish this season. Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Wilmer Cabrera recovered from Chivas USA debacle 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

He said the experience showed him a lot about his character and his intelligence for how to manage a situation not normal for anybody. When the season ended he took a year off to relax and study the game.

"I missed (coaching) a lot," he said. "I put ideas in order. I was waiting for a project where I could go again and feel comfortable. The experience with Chivas was very tough."

Cabrera got another chance early this year when Dynamo VP/GM Matt Jordan asked him to coach Rio Grande Valley FC, the Dynamo's first-year USL affiliate. Cabrera was happy about the opportunity and succeeded in his only season – guiding the Toros to second place in the Western Conference.

Chivas USA's failure may ultimately be the Dynamo's gain.

Having Cabrera in the organization for almost an entire year played a big role in the Dynamo appointing him as their first-team head coach Friday.

"It was very important to understand who he is as a coach and what he represents, and what his beliefs, philosophies and core principles are," Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. "To be able to work so closely with somebody for this amount of time it was a real opportunity to show that those things aligned closely with what we are trying to do."