Remembering the late Fernando Clavijo

By San Jose Earthquakes

February 15^th, 2019

On Friday, Feb. 8, the Earthquakes lost former defender & U.S. National Soccer Hall of Famer Fernando Clavijo. Clavijo played for the Golden Bay Earthquakes of the Major Indoor Soccer League during 1983 & 1984.

“Fernando’s story was an interesting one because he came from the indoor soccer world," former teammate and Quakes Hall of Famer Member Chris Dangerfield said. "What Fernando brought to the team was that he wasn’t the biggest athlete, but he was very, very quick and tenacious. He was the type of player you would put on your best striker and try and take him out of the game."

Clavijo's career would continue to blossom following his time with the Earthquakes, winning three indoor championships with the San Diego Sockers and the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup with the United States National Team. In five years, the defender made 61 caps for his country, three of which came in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

"He had an interesting career because he had a lot of success with the National Team when they won the Gold Cup in 1991 and got into the National Team playing indoor soccer," Dangerfield said.

After a memorable career on the pitch, Clavijo began making an impact on the technical side. The U.S. international coached the St. Louis Storm and Seattle SeaDogs in the Continental Indoor Soccer League before taking the helm with the New England Revolution in 1999. After a head coaching stint with the Colorado Rapids, Clavijo served as FC Dallas' technical director from 2012-2019, building one of the most successful franchises in the United States.

"You look toward the end of his playing career and he took some jobs where you asked ‘Why’s he taking that job?’, but that was all about learning the game," Dangerfield said. "He was the driving force in Dallas to not only have a successful MLS franchise, but also built a stadium and identified and sold players to make a profit. He also developed and started an academy that is second to none in Major League Soccer."

Fernando Clavijo will be missed. The San Jose Earthquakes send our deepest condolences to his family, friends and everyone he impacted with U.S. soccer.

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