Robin Fraser had no idea that Sunday’s success over Seattle Sounders was his 50th as a head coach in Major League Soccer.
His acknowledgment of this milestone was swift postgame, before he shone the spotlight elsewhere, such is the sign of the man.
“The biggest thing that that means to me, honestly, is that I look back at the time I’ve spent here, and how much I’ve enjoyed it,” he began.
“And I’ve enjoyed it because of the players, the coaches that I work with, the staff here, and it’s such an incredible place to come to work every day.”
Ever the team player, Fraser made this personal accomplishment less about him and more about all of those around him.
Though let’s not forget what it took for Fraser to reach even 16 wins as a head coach. You see, his first head coaching role was with the now defunct Chivas USA. During his difficult two seasons (2011-12), the team managed just 15 wins out of 68 games played.
It took him six attempts to taste victory for the first time, courtesy of a come-from-behind 2-1 win at Buck Shaw Stadium against San Jose Earthquakes on April 23, 2011. His final win in charge of Chivas was at Portland Timbers on July 28, 2012. The team went winless from that point until the end of the season, a run of 14 games.
Few head coaches in those final years of Chivas USA (they departed MLS at the end of 2014) had much success, but Robin Fraser wanted a second chance. He waited patiently, with time spent as assistant coach at New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC.
Soft-spoken and quietly confident, Fraser has an inner drive and self-belief. He knew the struggle at Chivas USA should not be the end of the tale, so when the opportunity to return to Colorado arose, he ran with it.
His record with Chivas USA was 15-32-21. His record with the Rapids after Sunday’s win stands at 35-20-17, making an overall tally of 50-52-38. He lost 32 of 68 games in charge of Chivas USA. The Rapids, under Fraser, have lost 20 of 72. You do the math.
Fraser modestly poured praise on those around him, but as head coaches take the heat when the team performs poorly, then it’s only fair they are showered with plaudits when their team does well.
With the victory on Sunday, Fraser joins Ron Newman on 50 career wins. Newman was in charge of Kansas City Wizards for the first four seasons of their existence and his first win was against the Colorado Rapids in 1996.
Fifty career wins, in isolation, could easily be dismissed, especially when compared with the 244 claimed by Bruce Arena, who sits on top of the coaching tree.
But this is a head coach for whom it could all have halted at 15. This is a head coach who was made to wait seven years to show his true colors and has transferred his inner drive and self-belief to a group of players who, though talented, lacked that special sauce.
And so it is with little surprise that we note Fraser’s half century of success. The greatest surprise is that he was made to wait so long for the opportunity to get there.
