After freshening up on my Colorado Rapids history, I have come to the realization that they are undoubtedly the worst side in MLS history. Despite being a founding member of the league, they have never won a trophy of any type. They did make it to two finals (1997 MLS Cup and 1999 US Open Cup), but they choked both times.
What has been their problem? Well, it sounds simple, but to win, you must score goals, and the Rapids hardly ever do so. Pablo Mastroeni has played in over 100 games for COL, but has only scored once. Paul Bravo and Chris Henderson were the only two real offensive threats this team has ever had. I don’t envy Gary Smith’s job one bit.
Recap: The Rapids season started hot, then cooled off for a long time. They eventually got it going again, but it was too late and they finished with a losing record, just outside of the postseason. Even more troubling, their poor play caused their attendance numbers to dip. It was a tough year, so COL gets a C for 2008.
Offense: Contrary to previous seasons, the Rapids had a good offensive year, scoring 44 goals to tie with the Fire for fifth in the league. Terry Cooke showed that he still serves one of the best crosses in the West (maybe better than Becks) and Conor Casey started delivering on his promise. Overall, they get a B for offense.
The Colorado Rapids recently removed the “interim” tag from manager Gary Smith’s title and made him their next official head coach.
Smith did a fine job managing Colorado down the stretch. During a period when the Rapids could have just packed it in and fallen to the bottom of the table, he rallied them to a 5-4-2 finish (they were 6-10-3 under former coach Fernando Clavijo) and got them one goal away from the MLS Playoffs. Even more impressive, he led Colorado, who is usually dominant at home but deplorable on the road, to three away victories during the month of September.
The Colorado Rapids are talking up their current playoff position pretty hard on their website. If you went there, you’d probably think they were in already. It is true that they would make it to the big dance if the regular season ended today, but I’m the type of superstitious fan who doesn’t want my team to think about the playoffs until they’ve qualified. Until then, just think about the next game.
But, I guess you could call the Rapids (and their fans) confident though, which is never a bad thing in pro sports.
Well, so long as you’re not overconfident, that is.
Forbes.com recently released a report that looked at the economic side of MLS and also put a value on each of the Major League Soccer franchises.
At a macro level, things are looking up for MLS. Seven of the league’s 14 teams play in soccer-specific stadiums, five of which have been built since 2002. Expansion franchises in Seattle and Philadelphia recently agreed to pay $30 million each to join the league, three times what Toronto FC paid to join MLS three years ago. Commissioner Don Garber says the next two expansion teams, to be announced in 2009, will cost $40 million. Some team owners are even floating a $50 million price tag.
Stop the presses, the Los Angeles Galaxy finally won a game! Yes, the MLS’s flagship team ended a three month winless streak to beat D.C. United this week. This is a a look at this weekends games in Major League Soccer and how the playoff run is shaping up.
LA Galaxy 5 D.C. United 2 Landon Donovan had three goals and an assist as the Los Angeles Galaxy snapped a 12-match winless streak dating back to June 14th with a 5-2 triumph over D.C. United.
Donovan is the league leader with 19 goals this season and his hat trick finally gave Bruce Arena his first win as the Galaxy’s coach.
Fresh on the heels of the news that former U.S. coach Bruce Arena has been handed the keys to the LA Galaxy came the announcement that Fernando Clavijo has resigned as Colorado Rapids head coach.
“A lot of things happened through the year that I was not happy with in many ways,” Clavijo told the Denver Post. “But I think because of family now I’ve decided it’s the right time to put all my energy into my family and recharged my batteries and myself, too.”
Assistant coach Gary Smith will take over as head coach for the rest of the season.
A look at the scores and match reports from this weekend’s games in Major League Soccer.
Columbus 2 FC Dallas 1
Jeff Cunningham became the fourth player in MLS history to reach 100 goals when he scored in his first game for FC Dallas, but midfielders Brian Carroll and Brad Evans netted second-half goals to give the Crew a 2-1 win Saturday night.
Cunningham’s 35th-minute tally was his first for Dallas since being acquired from Toronto FC Aug. 8. It also was his first goal against the team for which he played eight seasons.
Mark Sadler is a huge Everton fan who has a blog called bollocks. Mark is looking for a someone who is attending the Everton vs. Colorado to email him a commentary of the game as a “guest commentator” for the day.
If you are going to the game and want to see your match report read across the Internet email Mark at markpsadler@gmail.com.
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