It was a surprise earlier this week when Kronke Sports and Entertainment [KSE] announced that they reached a “mutually amicable agreement that will see [head coach Fernando] Clavijo leave the club due to personal reasons.”

After missing the MLS playoffs last year, most fans expected Clavijo to be shown the door. However the KSE front office gave him the dreaded vote of confidence in their state of the club press conference late last year.  At this time, managing director Jeff Plush said:

Fernando will be back for 2008. He has one more year left in his contract. We know that it is a controversial decision and that some people don’t agree with it at all. The reality is that this organization can win with this coaching staff and this current team.

Unfortunately, the Rapids were in a malaise most of the season.  They were unable to string together consecutive wins through 18 games and was clear that frustration was mounting both for the coach and players, on the field and in the locker room.

Supporters of the Rapids were equally frustrated with Clavijo’s tactical decisions – he rarely started the same line-up week-to-week and often players would be benched for unknown reasons, leading many to wonder why a player was in ‘Clavjio’s doghouse’.

The tension bubbled over when last week, Clavijo abruptly returned to Uruguay for “personal reasons”.   He was 40-49-25 as the Rapids head coach.

Rapids short-term assistant Gary Smith guided the Rapids to a peppy 2-1 win over regional Eastern Conference rival, the Kansas City Wizards.  Englishman Smith will wear the interim tag for the remainder of the season.  He is the second coach in the Rapids history born in England.

With the win over the Wizards, the Rapids [7-10-3; 24 pts] moved into 4th place in the MLS Western Conference, only one point out of playoff qualification.  KSE must have reasoned that with 11 games remaining in the season, the removal of Clavjio could salvage their season.  Salvage would mean that the Rapids qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs.

Certainly the team played with a higher level of enthusiasm against Kansas City with Smith at the helm.  He has only been Clavjio’s assistant for a few months after John Murphy moved from the touchline and into the front office.  Murphy has to be considered a candidate for the permanent position.  However, Smith will have the advantage with an 11 game trial period.

That period formally begins this week as the Rapids travel to play DC United on Saturday at 5:30 PM MT at RFK Stadium in Washington DC.  Smith has his work cut out for him as the Rapids are a miserable 2-8-4 at RFK.  The next two road games are no picnic either at MLS Western Conference rivals Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas in the next two weeks.

DC United [9-9-1; 28 pts] is just ahead of the Rapids in the wildcard playoff position.  United entered the 2008 season shouldered with mighty expectations.  Both due to their Supporter’s Shield honor in 2007 and the acquisition of several high profile players.

They beat rival New England Revolution to qualify for the finals of the US Open Cup.  This may be their only chance for silverware this season.

The Rapids have a good shot to earn a draw at RFK.  With the mid-week Open Cup, United are likely to be off their game and will not perceive the Rapids as a threatening team, rather as the third team in MLS this season who has fired their coach mid-year.