Chris Klute filled his days changing oil and tires, wondering if his dreams of playing soccer were over.
Klute signed with Furman in 2008. He left 1 1/2 years later because he was more interested in playing than studying. But he had no place to play and not much of a plan. It was, he now admits, maybe not the best decision.
But things have a weird way of working out some times.
Klute is now the starting left back for the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer and has been mentioned as a possible call-up to the U.S. National team. Klute found the help he needed in the form of the Atlanta Silverbacks, an Acworth family and Clayton State. As Klute acknowledges, it’s been odd.
“It’s not really known for a player to stop playing and two years later make a journey of it,” he said.
How did Klute go from deciding between 30- or 40-weight oil to the verge of making his 11th consecutive start for the Rapids when they host San Jose on Saturday?
After he left Furman, Klute eventually moved in with Warren Creavalle, a Furman teammate whose family lives in Acworth.
Other than the occasional video game and the occasional match on TV, Klute had no contact with soccer for 1 1/2 years. He didn’t play in pickup games. He didn’t train.
“I knew it would be tough to get back into, get fit and be up to speed,” he said. “I wasn’t sure I would play MLS. I thought maybe I could play USL or NASL.”
But Klute watched Creavalle’s progress (he’s now with the Houston Dynamo) and knew he still loved soccer.
“We tried to encourage him and keep his spirits up and make him understand that it’s not hopeless … just keep working hard and you will get noticed,” said Yvette Creavalle, Warren’s mom, who added that Chris is like another son to her.
A door opened when the Silverbacks returned to the soccer scene in 2011. Klue heard they were having tryouts. He had a week to get ready, not nearly enough time after doing mostly nothing for the past year.
He showed up and “looked awful.”
But reserves coach Ricardo Montoya saw something in Klute. He could see that Klute had a way of gliding around the field. He liked that he could use either foot.
Recognizing the potential, the Silverbacks signed Klute to their reserves, the equivalent of an amateur team.
“He was wasting his time not playing soccer,” Montoya said.
But the reserves team plays only during the summer. To keep him in shape and not lose his focus again, Montoya helped Klute catch on at Clayton State.
Klute stayed for a semester but again, he was more interested in soccer than studying.
“I was kind of back to where I was (mentally) at Furman,” he said.
He decided to go all-in with soccer.
Klute returned to the Silverbacks where a change in coaches to Eric Wynalda last year opened a door for him with the first team. He made 12 appearances, including 11 starts, and was a part of five shutouts.
After the 2012 season, Montoya reached out to a friend, Oscar Pareja of Colorado, to recommend they give Klute a tryout.
Pareja asked Montoya if he would bet his house on Klute.
“I said I would put everything on Klute making it,” Montoya said.
Winner, winner.
The Rapids picked up the option on Klute.
His first appearance came at the end of 2012, when he started and played in the last regular-season game, a win over Houston. His first appearance in 2013 came as a substitute March 23 against Los Angeles.
Klute has started 10 games since, playing the full 90 minutes each time. Over those 10 games, the Rapids are 5-1-4, with seven goals allowed. In the four matches Klute didn’t start, the team was 0-3-1 with five goals allowed.
But Klute is more than just a defender. He ranks second on the team in assists, with three.
“I think he’s been fantastic this year,” said Marcelo Balboa, who made 128 appearances with the U.S. National team and is an analyst for Altitude TV, which carries the Rapids games. “He’s still learning. He’s got everything you are looking for in a left back.”
Balboa said he can see Klute one day playing for the U.S. national team if he take this hot start and turns it into a few consistent seasons.
Klute is just happy to be in the sport again.
“There’s still a lot of things I need to work on,” he said. “It would be nice (to get called up), but it would be better to get more games under my belt. When you get your chance, you want to make the best of it.”
Klute has learned that lesson.
