The Houston Dynamo have appointed former US U-17 national team and Chivas USA head coach Wilmer Cabrera as the first head coach of the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, the club’s new hybrid affiliate set to join USL in 2016, it was announced Wednesday.
Cabrera was introduced at a press conference in McAllen, Texas on Wednesday afternoon.
He was selected by the Dynamo technical staff, led by general manager Matt Jordan and head coach Owen Coyle. In addition to his duties as head coach of the Toros, the 48-year-old will serve as an extension of the Dynamo first-team technical staff during the preseason and following the conclusion of the USL season in October.
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“As an organization we are very pleased to welcome Wilmer Cabrera to the Houston Dynamo technical staff as our head coach of the RGVFC Toros,” Jordan said in a team statement. “He brings a wealth of experience at all levels of soccer in North America, which made him an ideal candidate. His experience, work ethic and proven track record of guiding some of the top young talent in the U.S. to the professional ranks will be a big asset for our club moving forward.”
The Colombia native served as head coach of the U-17 national team from October 2007 to January 2012. And following a two-year spell as assistant coach with the Colorado Rapids, he was head coach of Chivas USA in 2014, the club’s final season in MLS.
“I am honored and exited to join the Houston Dynamo organization,” Cabrera said. “The Toros are an important project – a USL team in partnership with the RGV organization. It will be a combination of development with the top young players coming from the Dynamo Academy and drafted players from the college level who want to become professionals.”
As a player, Cabrera made 48 appearances for the Colombia national team, including three starts at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and a role at four Copa America tournaments (1989, ’91, ’95 and ’97). His 20-year professional playing career began at age 17 with Sante Fe in Colombia and included spells in Argentina and Costa Rica before a final stop in the United States with the Long Island Rough Riders.
The Dynamo and RGVFC formed a hybrid affiliation in July. As part of the partnership, the Dynamo control the technical side of the club, including the selection and formation of the coaching staff as well as the construction of the roster. RGVFC, which operates the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, will manage business operations for the club, including the current construction of a 9,400-seat soccer stadium in Edinburg, Texas, 330 miles southwest of Houston, across the Mexican border from Reynosa.
