F*C* Dallas

Well those family and work obligations kept me away from the blog longer than I expected.  I was in Seattle two weekends ago and spent the last week in London with some of my engineers.  I'm back now and luckily after tonight there's a two week international break where we can get caught up on Leagues Cup, the transfer window, and a long-simmering apology I need to make on the Armas hiring.  I might even throw up some photos of the Wealdstone FC - AFC Fylde non-league match I saw in England.

So on to the league restart.  The Rapids are down in Dallas, aka DSG Park South come playoff time, to see our old friends Dallas don't call us the Burn.  This is going to be a battle of rust versus fatigue as Dallas didn't play between losing to FC Juarez (remember them) on July 31st and last weekend against DC.  Meanwhile the Rapids played their first Leagues Cup the day after that Dallas-Juarez game and played 6 others as well.  Kickoff in Texas is at 6:30 tonight.

Player Availability:

OUT: D Sam Vines (hamstring),  M Kevin Cabral (arm), M Kimani Stewart-Baynes (illness)

We saw Sammy come of in the Leagues Cup 3rd place game with the hamstring issue so not a surprise to see him unavailable.  Hopefully its a short term injury.

I think the lineup is fairly obvious today.  Really its just a matter of if Fernandez starts over one of the other wingers and if Ronan goes in for Larraz instead.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Navarro and Mihailovic.  We are a better team than Dallas, its really just a matter of how tired we are.  I think we have it in us to win this one.  

Our Toughest Opponent Ever?

Means Club America, which is trouble you've not known.

Two quick notes.  First I have some family and work plans that are going to make it difficult to keep up with blogging over the next couple of weeks, thus why you're getting this game preview a day early.  If we beat Club America don't be surprised to not see a game recap or preview for the semifinal but I'll do my best.

Second, as really their only move of the transfer window, the Rapids waived Aboubacar Keita today (they also traded an international slot to Atlanta last week).  Keita has been on loan to Bohemians in the Irish league but he was getting less and less playing time as their season went on and they terminated the loan (his last appearance was July 4th).  Its clear at this point that post-injuries Keita isn't a part of Colorado's plans and he may not even have anted to b here.  Moving on is probably best for both parties.

Now, on to the main subject.  On Saturday in LA the Rapids will meet Club America in the Leagues Cup quarterfinals.  America is arguably the best team on the continent and the biggest club we've ever played in a competitive match.  For comparison sake transfermrkt has America's club value at just under 100 million Euros.  A couple of million more than Inter Miami even with the GOAT and almost double LAFC.  Toluca is listed at 72 million Euros.  So this is really a step up for what Colorado has faced in the past.

That said, they needed a late goal and an awful PK call to beat St. Louis, a team the Rapids have handled twice this season.  Like every other team in this competition they're playing on short rest and in their case away from home.  They don't have to travel for this one, having played both their games in SoCal (as Liga MX champion they like Columbus got a bye through the group stage), but that doesn't make it home.  It will be a very pro-CA crowd in Dignity Health Sports Park however.

The Rapids biggest problem is going to be fitness.  This is now their 5th game in 16 days and we aren't a deep team. The backline other than Abubakar has played every minute of those games, as has Bassett.  At some point that amount of work is going to catch up to us.  I don't see a way around it this game though.  We have to start as many of our top players as we can if we're going to get past America.  This is not a spot to throw Anderson or Travis in the deep end, and a midfield of Ronan and Larraz behind Mihailovic won't work.

CA is going to out-possess  us in this game, guaranteed.  It will look like the Toluca game where we'll need to pick our moments to  press and hit on the counter, and the rest of the time we're going to need airtight defense.  Steffen looking like 2018 Steffen will help.

Kickoff on Saturday is at 8pm MT.  The winner gets the winner of LAFC/Seattle also on Saturday (we're on the road if we win).

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Mihailovic.  I know I've doubted the Rapids in two of the last three games and they proved me wrong, but this is a new level for them.  The lack of depth, which has meant lack of rest in this competition, is going to catch up to them eventually and I think it happens Saturday night.  There's no shame in losing to the best team in CONCACAF though.

Bell Unheard

The Rapids aren't making this easy, but they are making it fun.  For the second game of the last three we scored a last minute goal to change the outcome of the game.  Last night Toluca bossed the game from start to finish but struggled to get the ball in the back of the net. 22 shots, 6 on target, 1 went in.   Meanwhile the Rapids had 4 total shots, only 2 shots on target and finished both of them.  Toluca outpossessed the "home" side 63-37, out cornered them 5-3, and had over 200 more passes.  But the only number that matters is the one on the scoreboard.

Both Rapids goals came against the run of play.  Shortly before halftime Bassett made a cross-field diagonal pass to a streaking Vines.  Sammy, after honestly a horrible first half, put a perfect one-touch on it to send it across the front of goal for sliding Navarro to finish.  Toluca were stunned that after all their work they were going to go into the break down a goal.  Rapids fans were a bit stunned too.

The second half was more of the same, Toluca hammering away and not being able to finish.  They did finally level the score on an absolute golazo.  A pretty non-threatening possession around the halfway line broke the offside trap down the right side.  Hard to tell who kept him onside but it could have been anyone on the backline other than Abubakar.  The eventual cross was ever so slightly behind Paulinho but he wasn't bothered.  He did a simple 360 spin, back heeling the ball past Steffen at the far post.  A jaw-dropping move to beat Zack.

After that it was really looking like PKs and with Navarro being subbed out and Bombito being sold I was wondering who our 5 kickers were going to be.  But the Rapids didn't hear no bell.  In the 91st minute cross from Ronan found an unmarked Mihailovic who headed it home for the lead.  VAR, however, had other ideas, correctly noting that Ronan was offside when he received the pass.  Back to the penalty discussion only for Mihailovic to change positions 2 minutes later.  Djordje was on the outside sending in a cross.  A Toluca defender redirected it towards the goal but it may not have gotten there if not for Yapi crashing in to finish it (keeper might have been able to save it).  Rapids win 2-1 and move into the quarterfinals after getting results against 3-straight Liga MX teams.

That next step is against Club America in LA on Saturday.  CA is a whole new level for this team and its going to take everything we have to face them.  But we'll worry about that later.  First lets just enjoy that the Rapids have made it to the quarterfinals when teams like Chivas, Cruz Azul, Pumas, Miami, Cincinnati, and the Galaxy are sitting at home.

Man of the Match: Zack Steffen.  2018 Steffen is back in the Leagues Cup.  Just a brick wall that has only been beaten by one Liga MX goal in open play and it took an all-time goal to do it.

Bombito Is Nice

First reported by Fabrizio Romano this morning and confirmed by a number of different sources Moise Bombito has been sold to Ligue 1 side Nice for 7 million Euros (about $7.7 million) with an additional $3M in add-ons and a sell-on clause.  The move won't be official until he passes his medical later this week but the deal is agreed upon and Bombito is travelling to France.  He has played his last game as a Rapid.

This is, by far, the biggest sale in Colorado history and that's before the add-ons and any additional income from a future sale.  There was never going to be a better time to strike than right now, with Moise coming off a great Copa run and showing to be one of the better defenders in MLS this season.  After just 40 first-team competitive appearances after being drafted last year he's off to a big 5 league and a team in European competition as they've qualified for the Europa League group stage this season.  A huge move for the young Canadian.

Well done to Smith for holding out for more after the $5.5M offer from Lyon.  And a great job by the Front Office in drafting him with the pick they got in the Mark-Anthony Kaye trade.  In fact, lets talk about MAK and what we managed to do.

We acquired MAK for $1m in GAM and he came with a 2022 draft pick.  We traded that pick for $125K in GAM and a lower pick that became Anthony Markanich.  He was traded to St. Louis for $150K in GAM and a draft pick we later traded for $75K in GAM.

So in the end to get MAK we spent $650K in GAM.  We then turned around and traded MAK to Toronto for $1M in GAM, Ralph Priso, and a draft pick that we used to select Bombito.  We traded Priso to Vancouver for $150K in GAM and a first and 3rd round pick next year.

So in the end, from that original $1M in GAM, we ended up with $1.5M in GAM, two picks next year, and a almost $8M sale of a player.  Oh, and all the playing time we got out of MAK, Bombito, Priso, and Markanich.  Just a ridiculous bit of business.

The downside to this, of course, is that we lose Bombito and have 24 hours before the window closes.  And there's been no rumors of any signings by Colorado.  So our CB depth the rest of the way is Maxso, Abubakar, Edwards, and Chacon.  That's...not great.  I'd like to see the Rapids make a move tomorrow so we're not standing pat (actually, getting worse with Bombito's loss) while everyone else in the West is getting better.

The cynic in me notices that the $7.7M we got for Bombito is pretty close to the $8M we spent on transfer fees on Mihailovic, Navarro, and the other pieces we acquired in the offseason.  Are we going to see this Bombito money reinvested in the team or will we find out it was pre-spent on those players?  Our track record on summer signings has been pretty bad, so I'm willing to give them until this offseason until I get too worried, but we need to see another round of investment then.

Toluca For The Second Year In A Row

Colorado has made it to the Round of 16 and waiting their is a friend from last year's group stage, Toluca.  Last year they came to the Dick and beat us 4-1.  The game was 1-0 at half and up until the 78th minute, but then we leaked 3 goals late (including a penalty) while Rubio scored a penalty for us in stoppage time.  The Rapids were never really in that game despite the low score most of the way.

Toluca finished 3rd in the table in this spring's Clausura and is off to a hot start in the Apertura, with 2 wins and 2 draws in the first 4 games.  Their a team at a higher level right now than Leon and Juarez.  Kickoff tomorrow is at 8pm (not 7:30) and once again we're the road team in our own stadium.  This is also not part of the season ticket package so you'll need to buy a ticket.

Colorado will be without Cabral of course and likely without Bombito.  He was held out of practice today with that same hamstring tweak that kept him out of the game on Friday night.  Otherwise everyone else is expected to be available.  This is the 4th game in 12 days and Vines, Rosenberry, Navarro, and Maxso have played all 270 minutes of the prior 3.  You have to figure a rest is coming up for some of them.  Maybe Anderson or Travis for one of the outside backs tomorrow night?  I doubt Maxso sits if Bombito isn't available.  Bassett has played all but 15 minutes, and Ronan and Lewis have gone 60+ minutes in all 3 games as well.  I wouldn't be shocked to see Larraz start and Ronan come off the bench against Toluca.

Prediction: 2-1 loss, goal by Abubakar.  I think this is where the Rapids run ends.  We won't be pushovers like last season but our lack of depth is going to bite us late when we're tired or have subbed in players who aren't up to Toluca's level.  They get the winning goal in the second half and despite a valiant effort we can't take it to penalties.

Two Down, Bring On Toluca!

Friday night the Rapids continued their Leagues Cup run with another win over a Liga MX team.  While the win was tight at the end (as I predicted) the Rapids controlled long stretches of the game.  Zach Steffen once again came up huge on multiple saves.  He's just build for Leagues Cup I guess.

The Juarez goals were off a rebound by Steffen, where Vines kept everyone onside, and a PK given up by Ronan.  Two players who have struggled on defense this year.  Along with the goal against Leon, which also came from a rebound after Steffen parried a one on one shot off the post its hard to blame goalkeeping for any of the goals conceded the last two games.

On offense getting three goals is a nice return.  The first was generated from high pressure put on by Navarro that resulted in a turnover on the end line.  Lewis finished the chance just after he had skied one to the point where I didn't knew who had taken the shot and turned to other C38 members and said "If you tell me that was Lewis I'd believe you",  Sorry JLew for not believing in you.  He also earned a penalty on a hand ball for the second, finished by Mihailovic.  Then it was Mihailovic's turn to set up (eventually) Harris from a corner kick that pinballed around in the box a bit before he finished it.  Three good goals from 3 different sources (open play, penalty, corner).

With the win Colorado moves to the Round of 16 and faces Toluca in another game as the away team at home.  This one is Tuesday night at the Dick at 8pm.  These tickets are not part of the season ticket plan so we might see a less Rapids-biased crowd.

If you're wondering how the rest of the competition lays out, if we beat Toluca we would face the winner of Club America-St. Louis.  We would go on the road for that one (to San Diego if Club America wins).  Then if we're still alive in the semi-finals we would get the winner of the Seattle/LAFC/SJ/Pumas quadrant.  The only way we would host would be against Pumas.  In the final the remaining team would be between 5 MLS clubs and 3 Liga MX clubs on that side of the bracket.  We would host a Liga MX club but be on the road against a MLS club should we play in the championship.

First up though, focus on Toluca.  They took us to the woodshed in group play at the Dick last year.

Man of the Match: Jonathan Lewis.  Score a goal, draw a PK for the second.  Steffen had a great game but I give the edge to JLew.

Juarez In The Knockouts

So this is what moving on looks like.  The Rapids are back in action again tomorrow night. this time being the "away" team for FC Juarez.  Kickoff is at the more normal 7:30 and it's going to be much cooler than expected for an August game.  A nice change.

As far as I know only Kevin Cabral is unavailable tomorrow but it is the third game in 8 days so we may see some rotation.  First I expect Djordje Mihailovic is probably able to start.  But we might see somebody like Rosenberry or Maxso rested.  We're in a position that if we keep winning we get another short rest game, but if we don't we get 3 weeks off.  So at some point rest is going to have to happen so when do you make that switch?

Juarez will play more of a possession game and the Rapids will need to use their press and counter strategy against them.  What we saw for the last 20-30 minutes on Monday night is what we want to see.  Juarez beat Dallas 2-0 and tied St. Louis 1-1, winning the shootout, to win their group.  Two teams that we've beaten by a combined 9-2 three times this season.  Juarez is also, obviously, on the road for their 3rd game but has an extra day of rest over us.

The winner of tomorrow's game will face the winner of the Houston - Toluca match.  Houston will host if they win, Colorado would host Toluca.  The Leagues Cup would decide where a Toluca-Juarez game would be played.

Prediction: 2-1 win, goals by Mihailovic and Bassett.  I think the Rapids might be a better team than Juarez right now and they have the home advantage.  I think that gives them enough to overcome the fatigue, but it will be close.  I wouldn't be shocked to see another shootout.

The Streak Is Over

After almost 8 years ad 10 chances the Rapids have finally advanced in a competition against MLs or international competition.  Just like the last time it happened it came down to a PK shootout with a U.S. Nats keeper in goal for Colorado coming up big.  Before that it looked like Colorado was on the ropes before a last second goal from Navarro.  What's that?  That's right, I Didn't Hear No Bell!

The first half was fairly even on the stat sheet but the couple of good looks went Leon's way.  Luckily Steffen was up to the challenge including stoning Leon on a one-on-one they should have scored on.  In the second half the field tilted Colorado's way, especially once Mihailovic was subbed in.  The problem was despite their good looks the Rapids couldn't get one over the goal line.

That ended up costing the home-but-road side in the 77th minute.  Leon got behind the defense and while Steffen was able to get enough of a block on the one-on-one to force the shot into the post, the follow-up was an easy tap in.  There was a long delay as VAR got involved on the goal because the pass to the initial shooter was a very close offside call, and just off that pass Maxso had taken an arm in the face as the pass was made, which could have been considered a foul in the build-up.  In the end the goal stood, much to the objection of the Rapids players and fans.

Looking back at the goal I can't find a fault in allowing it but I think a different ref or with different technology it might not have stood.  I've been told that Leagues Cup is using the semi-automated offside technology like we saw in the Euros so if that came up as onside I can't argue it.  If this were MLS though I don't think there was a shot clear enough to overturn the original offside call.  As far as the tussle with Maxso right before he got an arm to the face he got his elbow up in the face of the Leon player.  Was their a foul there?  Likely, but you could make a case there was a foul the other way too and a no-call was appropriate.  Again a different ref maybe waves it off for the foul.

Colorado didn't go away though.  They had 2 or 3 good looks after the goal but it felt like it wasn't going to come.  But this is the 2024 'I didn't hear no bell' Rapids.  With less than a minute left Bassett lofted a cross into the box that Rosenberry volleyed to the exact right position for Navarro to head home.  His first goal after signing his new contract.  It was the last real touch of the game taking us directly to penalties 

In penalties Steffen came up big, stopping two of Leon's last three penalties after Mihailovic (as predicted), Bassett, Navarro, and Bombito scored theirs.  Maxso's had his saved so we needed the second save to win.   

With the results in other games the Rapids will host FC Juarez on Friday in the round of 32.  The Rapids will once again be the road team.  Home/road is determined by league results last year, so Colorado is the next-to-last placed team on the table (only Toronto 9is worse).  So we're always going to be the road team even when playing at the Dick.  That's why you saw Leon graphics on the scoreboards after the goal and such.  Kickoff on Friday will be at 7:30.  If we beat Juarez we'll play the winner of Houston and Toluca (who beat us at the Dick last year).  We'd go to Houston and host Toluca.

Man of the Match: Zack Steffen.  Easy.  Maybe his best game as a Rapid.

The Balboa Cup

Image from Burgundy Wave

If you don't count his one-time five-minute cameo appearance for the Metrostars at the end of his career 'Celo only played for two still existing professional teams, Club Leon in 1994 and 1995, and the Rapids from 1996 through 2001.  Tomorrow both his clubs face off in the Leagues Cup.with a spot in the knockout rounds on the line.  Winner (in regulation or PKs) moves on, loser is out.  Kickoff is at 7pm (not 7:30!).

Despite what certain people are posting this is not the inaugural Balboa Cup.  In the qualifying round of the 1998 CONCACAF Champions Cup Colorado, as MLS Cup runners-up, and Leon, as Inverno winner, were matched up in a home-and-home.  The young Rapids surprised Leon in Denver winning 1-0 before going down to Mexico and getting blitzed 4-2.  BTW the winning goal in that first game was scored in the 83rd minute by none other than Marcelo Balboa.  Paul Bravo and Steve Trittschuh had the goals in the loss.

There is one other connection between these teams.  Former goalkeeper William Yarbrough came to the Rapids from Leon.

Coming back to tomorrow's game the good news is that Djordje Mihailovic and Kimani Stewart-Baynes are both available after returning from national team duties.  Of course the bad news is that they're both back earlier than they had hoped, with Djordje and the U.S. being eliminated from Olympic competition in a 4-0 loss to Morocco on Friday.  Adam Beaudry played in tonight's CONCACAF U-20 final against Mexico and will not be available.  The Yanks conceded goals with the final kick of regulation, to tie the game 1-1, and the final kick of extra time, to lose 2-1.  Nothing Beaudry could have done on either goal.

Don't be surprised to see Colorado wearing the New Day kits tomorrow as technically they are the road team in this match.  I'm not going to get into the reasoning behind this and in the end it has very little impact.  The kits are the only noticeable change.

Leon likes to build out of the back with short passing so Colorado will need to hit them quickly on the counter.  If we can institute our mid block and get them on their heels we'll have a chance but the deeper we sit the more they'll like it.

I expect to see the same lineup as we saw in Portland.  Despite Mihailovic being back I don't see him starting.  He played 250 minutes over 4 games in 9 days, and then took a long trans-Atlantic flight home.  He doesn't have 90 minutes in him and as our best PK taker you want him on the field at the end of the game if you think its going to penalties.  He'll be available off the bench if we need a 2nd-half spark.

Prediction: 1-1 draw, loss in PKs.  Goal by Bassett.  I just feel like Mexican teams find a way and after our performance in Portland I'm not sure we're up to the pressure of a knockout competition yet.

Deja Vu, Deja Vu

Remember that game when the Rapids went up to Portland and got burned in transition over and over, leading to giving up 4 goals and looking completely outmatched?  No, not the season opener, last night.

Yeah, I don't know what it is about Portland, either the team or the stadium but they have our number.  Just like the game back in February Portland drove the ball down our throats and we had no answer.  We had two great chances in the first 5 minutes that Crepeau stood on his head to keep out (one for Fernandez and one from Navarro) and then we didn't have another shot on goal until Armas threw in the towel and subbed the kids in late in the game.  At that point we were down 4-0 and looking ahead to Leon on Monday.

I'm not going to go through and break down this game too much, largely because neither the game nor the competition deserve it.  But to give you an example, on the first goal it was 5 Timbers attackers against 8 Rapids defenders (including Steffen).  Despite that mismatch the only pressure put on the ball was a weak effort from Bombito on the entry pass and Steffen let the shot get between his legs.  And it got worse from there (the lack of effort on the 4th goal was disheartening).  Nobody had a good game, but Rosenberry, Vines, and Steffen had particularly bad ones.

The silver lining is that with a loss goal differential doesn't come into play.  The winner (be it regulation or PKs) on Monday night advances, the loser goes (or stays) home.  Honestly, I don't have high hopes but stranger things have happened.  Should we fail to advance it will continue an almost 8 year streak of not advancing in knockout competitions against MLS or international opposition.  That covers the MLS Playoffs (0 for 3), the Open Cup (0 for 3), the Champions League (0 for 2), the Leagues Cup (0 for 1), and the MLS Is Back tournament (0 for 1).  The last 10 chances dating back to being eliminated by Seattle in the 2016 conference finals.

Man of the Match: Adam Beaudry, for getting the U-20s into the U-20 World Cup and the CONCACAF U-20 final, and for not being part of this mess.