Throughout the existence of this project, I haven't had the opportunity to meet many of the players who have signed their cards. I'd guess that somewhere around 90% were acquired via mail, trades, or the rare purchase. It's great getting to correspond with these guys via mail, especially receiving letters back from them, but actually getting to meet them is even better, especially when you know you're talking to one of the game's greats in a sport that is almost criminally under-recognized.
Back on March 18, 2017 was one of those moments. After having met a number of former Sidekicks at their alumni events, Fernando Clavijo was the first non-Sidekick I had met since the 2001-02 All-Star Game. I was warned ahead of time that Fernando will talk and sign and do almost anything for the fans for hours if you let him. The four of us who were waiting after the game certainly didn't leave disappointed, as Fernando regaled us with stories of playing along other greats like Steve Zungul, Juli Veee, Branko Segota, and Preki, while signing every card we had with us.
A defender and midfielder, Clavijo wasn't one to put up boatloads of points (120-139-259 in 466 career indoor games) but was a solid, speedy, tenacious defender both indoors and outdoors. When you talk about players doing big things that don't appear on stat sheets, Clavijo fit that to a T. In addition to his MISL play, he spent time in the NASL and after becoming a U.S. citizen in 1987, joined the U.S. Men's National Team and U.S. National Futsal Team. He played in the 1994 World Cup, helped lead the USMNT to the 1991 CONCACAF Gold Cup, and a second place finish at the 1992 FIFA Futsal World Championships.
When you look at the greats of any game, once in a while you find that one guy who played with seemingly all of them and helped push them to that greatness. Clavijo's teammates and coaches in the MISL included Indoor Hall of Famer members Kevin Crow, Slobo Ilijevski, Victor Nogueira, Brian Quinn, Zoltan Toth, the aforementioned group of Zungul, Vee, Preki, and Segota, plus Ron Newman and Don Popovic. He also spent a year playing alongside future all-time indoor scoring leader Hector Marinaro as he made the transition from defender to forward in Los Angeles,
In 2005, he was inducted into the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame followed by the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame in 2014. He joins Preki, Dale Mitchell, and Branko Segota as the only players in both the Indoor Hall, and either the U.S. or Canadian Hall.
His coaching and front office work were Hall of Fame caliber as well. He was a player-coach in his final MISL season, won the Coach of the Year and a Championship in the CISL, assisted with the 1998 Nigerian Men's National Team, took the New England Revolution to a 2000 playoff berth and 2001 U.S. Open Cup Final appearance, coached the Haitian Men's National Team, and spent four seasons coaching the Colorado Rapids with a pair of playoff appearances. With FC Dallas, he held the role of Technical Director for seven seasons, helping to assemble a team that won the 2016 U.S. Open Cup, one other regular season first place finish, and three other playoff appearances.
Fernando was in good spirits that day. He had beaten multiple myeloma months before, still battling a few health issues, but seemed to be positive and was looking forward to some trips to scout potential players. He even appeared to be doing well at the NASL 50th Anniversary event in October 2018, not long after he announced a leave of absence his FC Dallas position to focus on his health after a return of the cancer. So to say it was surprising to hear he died earlier this week is an understatement.
Fernando Clavijo was 63 years old. He leaves behind a wife, two sons, two grandchildren, and legions of soccer fans who were grateful for the chances to meet him and see him play.
