INTERNATIONAL SOCCER COACH, LECTURER AND AUTHOR BOBBY HOUGHTON NAMED COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH

"Houghton's unbridled love for the game, combined with his skillful ability to coach and lead his players, will prove to be one of the key ingredients as the Rapids move toward their inaugural season in April 1996," said team President Bob Sanderman, who also serves as president of Anschutz Properties.

"I am delighted to be able to return to North America and to make my home in the beautiful state of Colorado," said Houghton. "I am especially happy to play a role in this exciting new league. The outstanding organization of youth soccer in this state and the strong ownership of the Rapids bodes well for soccer's success. I plan to recruit the finest player talent available and showcase exciting, attack-oriented soccer. Our players will have the chance to use their full range of talents to win games at Mile High Stadium."

Houghton comes to the Rapids from his assignment as one of a few select coaches with the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA). Prior to his role with FIFA, he captured the Saudi Arabian Federation Cup with Al Ittihad in 1993. Al Ittihad was the latest of 16 Houghton-coached clubs to challenge for division championships or Cup titles in their respective leagues.

"By hiring Bob Houghton as the first head coach of the Colorado Rapids, we are serving notice that Major League Soccer has arrived in Colorado... with Bobby Houghton, the Rapids intend to compete for a championship in year one," said Rapids General Manager and Chief Operating Officer Richard Levine, who introduced Houghton. "Coach Houghton has been extremely successful in all his undertakings and has been recognized by his peers as "Coach of the Year" six times during his Division I career."

Houghton, who decided on a coaching career while he was a midfielder with England's Fulham Football Club, received his first coaching certificate at age 19. In 1972, he joined the Ipswich Town Football Club of the English First Division as an assistant coach, before accepting his first head coaching assignment at Malmo Football Club of the Swedish First Division in 1974. At the age of 25, Houghton's success and worldwide notoriety had begun.

In six seasons with Sweden's Malmo (1974-1979), Houghton led the First Division club to four national championships, and placed runner-up the other two seasons. Houghton, whose 1975 club advanced to the European Winners Cup quarterfinals, led his 1979 Malmo club to the European Cup championship before bowing to Nottingham Forest, 1-0. For his efforts, Houghton, a four-time Swedish coach of the year, was named Sweden's Sports Leader of the Year in 1979.

In 1980, Houghton had a one-season stopover in Greece, where he led First Division Ethnikos to a second-place finish, followed by 18 months at the English club Bristol City.

Houghton accepted yet a new challenge in 1982 when he became coach of the North American Soccer League's Toronto Blizzard. Houghton led a team that finished 7-25 the previous season to NASL Soccer Bowl appearances in 1983 and 1984. For his efforts, Houghton was voted the NASL Coach of the Year by the "Soccer Writers of America" in both years.

In the first of two coaching assignments in Saudi Arabia, Houghton led the Al Ittihad Club to a Federation Cup championship and the finals of the Kings Cup championship during the 1985 and 1986 seasons. Houghton returned to Sweden and Gothenburg OIS from 1987-1989, where his team captured the 1989 Winners Hallsvenskan Cup championship. Before Houghton returned to Al Ittihad in 1993, he returned to the Malmo Football Club in Sweden, leading it to the second round of the European Cup in 1992.

Houghton has devoted his entire life to studying and critiquing the game of soccer. He has published three books, "Football," "How to Play Soccer," and "Management and Leadership-A Personal Approach." During his 11 years in Sweden, Houghton worked for the national World Cup panel, hosted a weekly radio soccer program and wrote for Sweden's daily "Kvalls-Posten." Houghton, who earned a teaching certificate from London's St. Mary's College, was the director of an instructional series for the English Football Association. He also served as a consultant to the Canadian National Soccer Team. In the summer of 1995, the world governing body of soccer appointed Houghton one of FIFA's elite coaching instructors.

Houghton will conduct ongoing discussions with General Manager Richard A. Levine on the appointment of his assistant coaches, which are expected to be announced in the next few weeks.

The Rapids' coach and his wife of 22 years, Nerise, plan to reside in the Denver metropolitan area.

The Colorado Rapids are one of 10 first-year franchises in MLS, America's first Division I professional soccer league in more than a decade. The league, financed by such investors as Anschutz, Virginia billionaire John Kluge, and NFL owners Lamar Hunt (Kansas City Chiefs) and Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), has more than $75 million in funds. The league also has multi-million dollar agreements with corporate sponsors AT&T, Budweiser, Kellogg's, Nike, Reebok, adidas, Puma, Umbro, Mitre and more. In addition, the league has signed television agreements with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and Univision that call for more than 60 games to be televised nationally.