Colorado Rapids Soccer Club announced Friday that Paul Bravo, Vice President of Soccer Operations & Technical Director, is leaving the club.
“Paul has been a valuable member of the Colorado Rapids organization since the day he arrived as a player, as an assistant coach and as the club’s Technical Director,” said Colorado Rapids President Tim Hinchey. “He and our technical staff reestablished a winning tradition. Paul leaves us with our respect and appreciation for his dedication and commitment to the club as well as the entire soccer community in Colorado. On behalf of the club, I wish Paul the best of luck in his future endeavors.”
Since rejoining the club as Technical Director in 2009, Bravo has been responsible for all soccer activities at the club, including oversight of the technical and coaching staff, development of the Colorado Rapids Academy, managing the club’s partnerships with adidas Alliance teams, as well as overseeing first team acquisitions and all domestic and international scouting.
In 2010, he helped lead the club to its first ever MLS Cup with a squad that included a number of key signings under his tenure. Bravo was also instrumental in landing head coaches Oscar Pareja and Pablo Mastroeni in Commerce City in 2012 and 2014, respectively.
One of five members of the Rapids’ Gallery of Honor, Bravo was a three-time MLS All-Star and scored a total of 39 goals and added 22 assists in 135 regular season games with the Rapids. He led a Colorado side that reached its first MLS Cup Championship game in 1997, as well as the club’s first-ever appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament in 1998. Last year, Bravo was inducted into the Colorado Soccer Hall of Fame.
At the international level, Bravo made four appearances for the U.S. National Team from 1994-99, scoring one goal and registering an assist. He made his USMNT debut on December 11, 1994 against Honduras and scored a goal in the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the 3rd place match at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup in Mexico.
Upon the conclusion of his playing career, he would join the Rapids coaching staff as Assistant Coach for two years before becoming the Assistant Coach at UCLA for the 2004-05 seasons, helping the Bruins to two Pac-10 Championships. He then joined the LA Galaxy as an Assistant Coach from 2006-2008, while also becoming the club’s Technical Director from 2007-09.
Featured Image Credit: Colorado Rapids