THE BASICS:
- Colorado Rapids
- Western Conference
- Home: Dick's Sporting Goods Park
HONORS:
- MLS CUP: 2010
COLORADORAPIDS.COM:
To be determined? After riding a promising group of young guns to a surprise playoff appearance in 2013, the Rapids regressed big time last year, struggling after the departure of Oscar Pareja and the late hiring of Pablo Mastroeni as his replacement. The Rapids still have some intriguing pieces — including a few they've added this offseason — but exactly who they are, and how they want to play remains to be seen.
Rivals
Colorado's biggest rival is, without a doubt, Real Salt Lake. The Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry hasn't always been the easiest for the Rapids, but they have made it interesting in recent years, ending RSL's six-year run in the series in 2013 before losing the trophy last year. Another possible rivalry candidate? New Western Conference addition Sporting Kansas City, fresh off a cracking game between the sides last year.
2014 Recap
After a tumultuous offseason that saw head coach Oscar Pareja leave for FC Dallas, then had Colorado wait until the week before their opener to hire his replacement in Pablo Mastroeni, it was probably too much to expect the Rapids to repeat their 2013 playoff run last year. But did anyone expect it to be that bad? After a decent start to the year, the Rapids fell off a cliff in the summer, getting bit — hard — by the injury bug and going winless in their last 14 games of the year to finish eighth in the West.
TRANSACTIONS IN:
- F Caleb Calvert (Dispersal Draft)
- D Michael Harrington (trade from Portland)
- F Geoffrey Castillion (trade from New England)
- D Bobby Burling (Waiver Draft)
- GK Zac MacMath (loan from Philadelphia)
- D Axel Sjöberg (SuperDraft)
- M Marcelo Sarvas (trade from LA Galaxy)
- M Sam Cronin (trade from San Jose)
- M Lucas Pittinari (loan from Belgrano)
- M Juan Ramirez (transfer from Argentinos Juniors)
- M Nick LaBrocca (re-signed)
- M Carlos Alvarez (re-signed)
TRANSACTIONS OUT:
- M Brian Mullan (retired)
- D Gale Agbossoumonde (option declined)
- M Davy Armstrong (option declined)
- F Edson Buddle (option declined)
- M Kamani Hill (option declined)
- D Thomas Piermayr (option declined)
- D Grant Van De Casteele (option declined)
- GK Joe Nasco (traded to New England)
- F Dimitry Imbongo (trade from NE, option declined)
- F Geoffrey Castillion (option declined)
- M Tony Cascio (Expansion Draft to Orlando City)
- F Danny Mwanga (Expansion Draft to Orlando City)
- D Marvell Wynne (Re-Entry Stage 2 Draft)
- D Chris Klute (traded to Columbus)
- M Jose Mari (mutual termination)
- D Zat Knight (mutual consent)
2015 Prospectus
With Mastroeni back for a full preseason ahead of his second year in charge, captain Drew Moor healthy again and another year of development under the belt for youngsters Dillon Powers, Shane O'Neill, Deshorn Brown, Marlon Hairston and Dillon Serna, 2015 should be much better for the Rapids. Still, even with the offseason additions of MLS vets Sam Cronin, Marcelo Sarvas and Michael Harrington, this won't be a team many pick to make the playoffs. Contending for the final spot in a crowded West would mark a decent year at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
CLUB SOURCE:
"I have no idea. I think they made some good signings with Sarvas and Cronin.Back line is still a big question. In the attack, again, identity, no idea. I don't know who they are."
CLUB SOURCE:
"I'm kind of wondering what they're doing with their goalkeeping situation. They needed to shore it up a bit, and they brought in MacMath, but he's kind of similar to Irwin."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
PROJECTED LINEUP: 4-5-1
Irwin; Burch, O'Neill, Moor, Harrington; Sarvas, Cronin; Ramirez, Powers, Torres; Brown
Complete roster [coloradorapids.com]
FANTASY SOCCER
SLEEPER PICKS:
If — and that's a big if — the defense is respectable, cost-conscious managers will have a hard time saying no to at least one Colorado backliner. The midfield holds some value as well, without being shackled to shutouts, but it's probably worth taking a wait-and-see fantasy approach with the rebuilding Rapids.
Armchair Analyst's Best Case Scenario
There's "tail spin" and then there's "death spiral." The latter is what happened to the Colorado Rapids starting in late July, and any best-case scenario has to factor that 14-game run of misery into account.
The good news is that there was very clearly playoff-level talent running the show before injuries hit. In a perfect world, those injuries are a thing of the past, Brown continues his growth as a double-digit scoring threat, the midfield finds the right formation and gels early, and everything goes right on the back line and in net.
So... that's a lot of caveats. And even if they all fall on the happy side of the ledger, this is still a team whose ceiling is "scrapping for the final playoff spot." The Western Conference is just too brutal, and the Rapids' deficiencies too great to ignore.
