Book Review: Emancipation for Goalposts

Amazon link

I found this book recently while digging through the history shelves at Boulder's Bookworm.  I'm always up for a good crossover between history and soccer so I grabbed it.  This seemed similar to Gunshots and Goalposts on football during the Troubles (which based on my search I've never reviewed here) which I enjoyed.

This is a solid book about football in Yugoslavia and then what football was like in the 6/7 countries that formed after the Yugoslavian civil war.  What this isn't, despite the subtitle, is an explanation of football's role in the civil war.  As far as I can tell that's because it didn't really play one.

The book starts with a couple of chapters detailing the history of football in the region before Yugoslavia was founded after WW1, and then the ~70 years before the country broke up.  This includes both the National team's results and also the major successes of its club teams.  Red Star, Hajduk Split, Partizan, and Dinamo Zagreb are heavily covered as you would expect.  Their successes in Europe, culminating with Red Star's European Cup championship on the cusp of the civil war is also featured, as is Yugoslavia's expulsion from Euro 1992 because of the war (they were replaced by Denmark, who would go on to win the tournament).

The book then turns to a history of the civil war and the founding of the breakaway states.  Football is barely mentioned in this chapter, with a couple of names associated with the running of clubs or ultras popping up and an occasional aside to how soldiers would identify themselves as supporters of one of the big teams.

After that its a couple of chapters covering the new leagues and new National teams that were formed in the wake of the dissolution.  One note is that in 1990 Croatia played its first international match of its modern history in Zagreb against a travelling U.S. team who had played in Poland a week earlier.  The starting lineup that night included Steve Trittschuh, Robin Fraser, Peter Vermes, and Marcelo Balboa.  Croatia won 2-1 with Troy Dayak scoring for the Yanks.  'Celo picked up a yellow card.  Since Croatia wasn't yet recognized by FIFA this is considered an 'unofficial' match and doesn't appear in the record books of results from that year.

The book finishes by following the large immigrant population from the Balkans, especially Croatia, in Australia and the impact on football there.  Then it turns towards the work being done in the former Yugoslav republics to repair fences with football and talks about how the newest republic, Kosovo, had lead to some  internationals to question if they want file a switch to play for them.

Overall I give this 3 of 5 stars.  I found the history of football interesting and as somebody who lived through the time period of the Yugoslavian civil war but wasn't old enough to really focus on it (I was in high school/college, my general reaction was "that seems bad, ok, back to thermodynamics") the overview of what happened filled in some gaps.  Unfortunately it didn't live up to the sub-title like I was hoping it would.  As you can tell the book is a little scattered.  The last two chapters felt like they were tacked on to reach a full book length and it would have been just as good without them.

If you want to know more about football in that part of the world I'd recommend it.  Otherwise there are better football books to read (like Gunshots & Goalposts above).

Rapids Waste Best Offensive Performance Since April

Colorado game out of the gate and took an early lead, gave it back, took a two goal lead, and then folded like a cheap suit to surrender 3 goals for the second time in a week and lose 2 points they desperately needed.

On the plus side both Whittaker and Farkhi started, and our DPs combined for two goals bracketing a goal from our first round draft pick.  Whittaker also took the corner that led to Phillip's goal but since there was a save between the kick and the goal he doesn't get an official assist.  Still, two goals and starting the attack on the third is a great outing.  Farkhi, on the other hand, was a bit quieter.  He had a couple of good looks and the best xG on the team out of the players who didn't score, but he was never really threatening.

The troubling thing was the lack of pressure and intensity late in the game when the subs came in.  Seattle scored two of their goals after the 75th minute and they were given plenty of time and space to do it.  Darren Yapi and Josh Atencio particularly stood out as not engaging defensively as you would hope.  Stealing this from fellow Rapids fan Ben on Burgundy Sky.

Yapi came on in the 64th, Atencio and Minoungou in the 72nd.  Surprising no one, parking the bus did not work.

To be slightly fair to the team, all three of the Sounders goals were great shots, the last two being absolute bangers.  The three of them had a combined x^ of 0.17.  In comparison Phillp's goal had an xG of 0.54.  The problem was that we gave them the room to get those shots off.  Wells has to figure out why this team is so mentally weak when things start to go sidways.

Losing these two points is a real blow to our playoff chances.  Of the 9 games we had left Seattle was the worst team on PPG, they were beat up, on a 11 game winless streak, and we were at home.  If we couldn't get 3 points from this game where are we going to get the 8-9 points we need in the last 8 games to hit the Bodmer Line?  Trips to Dallas and San Jose seem unlikely, and even our trips to the Galaxy next week and Portland are not reliable given our road form.  We've got Minnesota at home, which seems winnable and maybe Chicago, but Vancouver and San Jose, even at the Dick, feel like a long shot.  Not to mention 6 of those 8 games are happening during 3-game weeks.

Man of the Match: Morgan Whittaker.  2 goals, unofficial assist, yeah, that's what we need from our most expensive player ever.

Can A 7th Placed Team Have A Must-Win At This Point?

Seattle's Seafair Pirates, a pack of rogues 

Avast there!  Your local crew has an appropriate nautical opponent for International Talk Like A Pirate Day tomorrow   So drink up me hearties!  Yo ho!

Ok, I can't keep that up for a full preview.  But yes, the Sounders are in town tomorrow night to face a Rapids side that's staggering a bit after the midweek USOC loss.  Seattle is beat up themselves and in a death spiral, they've gone 12 games without a win.  This is the easiest game left on our schedule (home against the weakest team left) and its a must win.  Colorado needs 9 points in the last 9 games to get to the playoff average and if we can't get 3 here I question where we're going to get them.  This is about as much a must-win as we can have.  Kickoff is at 7:30.

Player Availability:

OUT: GK Zach Steffen (shoulder), M Ted Ku-DiPietro (shoulder), F Mamadou Billo Diop (knee)

QUESTIONABLE: M Youssef Maziz (leg), 

SUSPENDED: D Kosi Thompson (yellowcard accumulation)

No surprises there, but good to see Maziz upgraded at least.  Also of note not this week but next, both Farkhi and Frederick have been called up by their national teams (Israel and T&T)  so they won't be available in LA.

Its time to see what the new guys can do.  Yapi is not working as the striker and there's no next week for Farkhi, so throw him out there and see how long he can go.  Same with Whittaker.  The rest is fairly obvious.

Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Aaronson.  That score seems to be our home MO, why predict anything else?

Colorado Crumble

A pitiful effort saw the Rapids run out of their own building last night with barely a whimper.  For all the talk of being a new era with Demoff taking more interest and Wells coming in we saw the same old Rapids problems as we've seen for almost 10 years.  A team that can only work when things are going their way and all their starters are available. , Any kind of mental pressure like missing leaders or giving up the first goal and the team crumbles.

In this case it was third-string keeper Adam Beaudry, pushed into service by Nico Hansen's suspension (something we all forgot about until the lineup came out) who tried to pull a full Joe Nasco after misplaying a backpass, failed, and gave up an easy goal.  As we all know the Rapids don't come back after giving up the opener (its been 2 years!) and sure enough they didn't this time.  For the third time this season a bad backpass sequence cost Colorado against St. Louis and in the end the newcomers beat us by a combined 5-0 over the three games with those mistakes.

Even a 1-0 loss off a bad individual error would have been disappointing but acceptable, sometimes the bounces don't go your way but instead the team gave up.  Two more goals when St. Louis sliced or defense open because they just wanted it more.  The easy blame on this game is to point at Beaudry and say if he had done better by not giving up that goal things might have been different.  Its the general take on the loss last time we were this close, the 1999 final.  But much like Ian Feuer that night the goalkeeper wasn't really the problem.

We could have build a brick wall across goal and it wouldn't have mattered because in the biggest game in 5, if not 10, years there was no chance this team was going to score a goal.  The only shot on goal we had all night was right before Beaudry's gaffe, and it was an weak ground shot from Minoungou right at the keeper.  We played 62 minutes from behind and didn't put a single shot on net.

Its not hard to conclude that the Front Office sold our best chance at a trophy in 10 years for $12M.  I don't know that having Rafa last night wins the game, but I'm sure having Rafa and Mihailovic would.  Instead they got $20M, the amount they invested in Aaronson and Whittaker, and the two of them combined for 5 chances created and 3 shots with none on target.  Since the sale Rafa is averaging a goal every 58 minutes of game action.  The Rapids as a team are averaging one every 180 minutes.

Both Yapi and Farkhi looked ineffective as the loan striker which really makes you question where the goals are going come from the rest of the season.  In the first 8 league games this season the Rapids scored multiple goals 6 times, including 4 goals twice and one 6 goal effort.  In the 17 leagues games since they've scored multiple goals once, and the second goal was against 9 men.  My first thought was that they had to shift to focusing on defense, as they gave up 14 goals in those 8 games, but in the last 8 games (including last night) we've given up 10 so that doesn't seem to be the reason.  I think its likely that after 8 games there was enough tape on the Rapids for the league to figure out Wells' system and he won't, or can't, change it.  Thus the reason for backpasses that keep killing us.

More on this tomorrow but Seattle on Saturday is about as much of a must-win as a 7th place team can get with 9 games to play.  A lack of 3 points this weekend and you have to really question or chances to make the playoffs, much less do anything once we get there.

Man of the Match: Nobody.  You have to want to play to earn the award.

First Home Semi-Final In 10 Years

Not since the Western Conference Final (the MLS Cup semifinal) against Seattle in 2016 have the Rapids hosted a shot at a spot in a final.  While they reached the semis of the Leagues Cup (and eventually claimed the CCC spot in a shootout) that was in LA.  Tomorrow they get another shot at a final in front of their own fans.  The thing standing in their way?  St. Louis City, a team that's already beat them twice this year.  The good news is that Rafa Navarro is cup-tied after playing for us so he can't hurt his old team.  The biggest home game since Thanksgiving 2021 kicks off at 7:30 tomorrow night.

We don't have an availability list for the Open Cup but everyone seemed to come out of this weekend's game healthy so the only real question mark is Maziz's injury.  Given our struggles we need every weapon we can get so hopefully he's able to go.  Both Farkhi and Whittaker are eligible too, but Sadiq is still waiting on his visa.  As far as discipline goes it appears that the competition does not track accumulated yellow cards so Hansen would not be at risk of a suspension in the final should we win if he gets a yellow tomorrow, but I can't confirm that.

Its all hands on deck tomorrow because, to be blunt, this is our only chance at hardware.  We're not going to win MLS Cup this season.  So Farkhi and Whittaker have to start, even if they only have 60 minutes in their legs.  If Maziz can go, you risk him.  If he can't then you're probably looking at Frederick instead.  Everyone else is the clear best option.  I know a lot of these gays played 90 on Saturday but they have to go deep for another intense 90 (or possibly 120) for this one.

Prediction: 1-0 win, goal by Aaronson.  This will be a tense match all the way through and St. Louis will probably have the majority of the play.  My heart is driving me on this prediction more than my head, which would lean towards it being decided in PK's or a loss.  StL is the hottest team in MLS right now and even without Rafa I wonder if we can stop them.  If we were in St. Louis I'd give us a small chance but at home with what we've shown at the Dick since the World Cup break?  That's just enough to put us over the top (I hope!).