[MLS] Not unexpectedly, Wilmer Cabrera, the former U.S. under-17 national team coach, has joined the the Colorado Rapids' staff as an assistant. Fellow Colombian Oscar Pareja, the new Rapids head coach, had worked with Cabrera briefly at the residency program in Bradenton, Fla., before returning to FC Dallas.

Joining Pareja and Cabrera, who represented Colombia at two World Cups (1990 and 1998), on the technical staff are Assistant Coach Paul Caffrey and Goalkeeper Coach David Kramer. Caffrey had served as Cabrera’s assistant with the U.S. U-17’s, while Kramer begins his fifth season on the Rapids staff, having joined the club in June 2008.
 
“Wilmer is a talented, experienced coach, and his presence will strengthen our whole club,” said Pareja. “With Wilmer, Paul Caffrey, David Kramer and the rest of the staff, we have all the pieces in place, and we’re eager to get the season started.”
 
Cabrera served more than four years as the head coach of the U.S. U-17s, who twice qualified to the Under-17 World Cup (2009 and 2011) and advanced to the round of 16 both times.