Rapids Class VI

7/19 @FC Dallas Man Of The Match

As you know, our Colorado Rapids went to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas last Saturday and tied FC Dallas 2-2. Man of the match voting is available Class VI's boards [click here].

Why the image of the old MISL Wichita Wings? FC Dallas's stadium sponsor is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut was founded in Wichita (the same with White Castle). It was the best chance I'd have to pull out the old logo and get a few old farts reminiscing about leaner years for soccer in America when the pros played the game with dashboards and blue cards. Back in the days before the internet, when cell phones were so large they'd count as a carry on bag, our coach Fernando Clavijo made the occasional trip to Wichita while playing for teams like the New York Arrows, San Diego Sockers and St. Louis Steamers.

If you don't have access to the Class VI boards, drop Mark Bodmer an email (bodmer99 that-at-sign nofanalone.com) and let him. We'll help you get set up.

Rapids at FC Dallas

Our Colorado Rapids are in Frisco, Texas to take on FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park. The super skirts have only won twice in their last 12 league games. It's an excellent opportunity for Clavijo's Rapids to go into the all-star break with a win. The Class VI viewing party will be at the British Bulldog. Kick off is at 6pm.

The British Bulldog is one of few if not only places in town where you can get Paki food. They're located at Broadway and Stout in downtown Denver [Map].

By the way, if you didn't catch last tuesday's From The Pitch you can listen to it here.

A fan's Perspective

by CVI's Dave Ferrey

Some of wondered about the Rapids tendency to begin the season fairly strong only to fade as the season progresses. Here is my perspective.

The old saying is, it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you end the season. Duh, but is there something behind that hackneyed saying? I think so.

During the first part of the season, players are just getting into shape. They are getting to know one another and getting to know the coaching system. The players skills are still rusty and take some time to get sharp again. Now consider other factors which play into winning and losing. Fitness, types of players (skillful vs. athletic), team awareness. Each of these (along with skills and some other factors) will play a role in the success of a team. My contention is factors other then quality and skillful players are more likely to influence team success during the beginning of the year then later in the year.

Think of the quality of players like a continuum, lowest through highest. Then think of the scale as logarithmic and not linear. Players begin the season on the lower end of the continuum and progress upwards as the season progresses. During the early part of the season, the differences between average and good and good and great are lessoned due to the offseason. As the season progresses and players round into playing form, the difference in the qualities of players become more apparent and has a greater influence over a teams results. Note, when I say skills, I'm not just referring to ball handling, passing and shooting. I'm also thinking of of things like man marking, decision making, positioning, and making intelligent runs off the ball.

Coaching, of course, also plays into this. Think of it like hitters facing a new pitcher again for the 2nd and 3rd times in a game. They've seen what he can do and are able to adapt to the his pitching motion, ball speed and rotation. Yeah, the baseball fanatic out there may come back with, hey, what about those pitchers who get stronger as the game progresses. Yeah, there are so many of them, that now there are long relievers, short relievers, middle relievers, set up men and closers. Better coaches will, based on earlier matches, successfully recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents and coach accordingly.

My bottom line is simply the Rapids team is not good enough to finish the season stronger then they begin it. Things that worked in the first month or two, don't work so well after that. Everyone starts the season tied, Better players and coaches will improve over the season more so then lesser ones. Exceptions exist of course and the 2007 Rockies are perfect examples. Players and (to a lesser extent coaching) can simply "put it together" all at the same time and if they do it at the right time and (this is key) their opponents allow it, lesser teams can achieve results well above their "normal" capabilities. How did the Rockies win the NL? Did they get new players, or a did Hurdle become a genius? Did they develop new skills? No, no and no. If a batter historically hits at the Mendoza line, it doesn't mean he will get exactly 2 hits every 10 official at bats. He may go zero for 30 and then get hits in 6 of the next 7 attempts.

The Rockies are a bad team. They were a bad team before 2007 and a bad team until the last month of 2007. They hit 6 of 7 (so to speak), at the end of the seasons and the teams ahead of them decided to beat each other and swoon at the same time. They are a bad team again in 2008. Same players, same coaches.

The Rapids are the soccer equivalent of the Rockies (without the end of the season luck). They are simply not good enough. I know some people feel the talent on this team is good enough and with better coaching could compete. I disagree. Sure, some players show some brilliance some of the time. The bone headed plays, the basic skill mistakes, the poor decision making, poor marking, shooting and passing aren't coaching issues (well maybe coaching when they were 12). They reflect the quality of the players. Ruud Gullit isn't going to make Sean Franklin an MLS all star and FC isn't going to make Omar put the shot on goal or allow Epko a clear path to the goal. FC did hire and decided to play those that did however.

What about Christian Gomez? Gomez is a very good player maybe a great one, why hasn't he turned the Rapids into a contender. Simple, he doesn't have Moreno, Fred or Emilio to play off of and to. Gomez, when the Rapids play the ball to him, has shown he can control it and move around and forward. But sorry, Clark, Peterson, Cooke, Omar etc. aren't in the same league with the three D.C. players I mentioned.

The team and those that determine who is on the team need to be replaced.

USA vs. Brazil – July 13th, 2008

by CVI's Geoff McPherson

I head off DSG park with my 3 year old daughter not knowing what to expect on a day that is hotter than the inside of well roasted marshmallow. The demographics are a lot of people in my situation with kids plus there are packs of girls in the 15,000 strong crowd. Why wasn’t this around when I was 14? Not like would have talked to any of them anyhow, the skinny, zitty kid I was back then. “Dude you say something to her”…. “No dude you say something”, …ahhhh Hi…ahhhh…I’m Geoff enjoying the game? (with the 5 tone octaves from my voice breaking) “Yes” replies the Winnie Cooper look-a-like from the ‘Wonder Years’. “Dude she said yes what do I say now?”……Before I know it she’s talking to some senior named Steve..…you pretty much know how the rest of story goes.

In woman’s soccer the nations with progressive female culture dominated the landscape in early world cups and Olympic events. In the China 2007 Word Cup we witness the changes occurring in developing countries as counties such as Brazil started to show signs of moving away from traditional male dominated societies.

The USA touch down in Denver after two impressive back to back wins in Scandinavia against Norway and Sweden, a first for US woman’s soccer, all as part of their build up for the 2008 summer Olympics is China. This game is the first time two teams have meet since the 4-0 soccer clinic put on by Brazil in Hangzhou last year, so there is more than just a little Olympic warm up here at stake.

Made it to our seats 5 minutes late due to I-70 being closed down to one lane, the US look competitive with a great work rate, surprisingly the Brazilians seemed to winning the physical battle. There were a few chances here and there but basically the teams were canceling each other out, Abby Wambach is making good runs, while Carli Lloyd if I have the name right (I wasn’t going to splash out $10 for the teen magazine looking program) was distributing the ball well from the midfield.

Both teams were playing a very limited width, definitely no room for Cooke and Clark in this formation. The number 7, Formiga for Brazil had all the skills to make most defenders look silly, but at times she just didn’t have players around her that could make the correct runs for the openings she made. It was refreshing to be watching a competitive game of soccer and not have drama queens flop around all over the place or constant verbal abuse of the officials, Mastroeni would have been red carded in the first 10 minutes if he was playing.

We go into the half at 0-0 and the US has to happy that they seemed to have regrouped themselves from last year under the coaching philosophy of Swede Pia Sundhage. Then randomly some dad three rows in front of me decides to crank up the harmonica, yep you heard me right the harmonica, I’m baffled to say the least and feel the pain of her teenage daughter.

Second half there are more substitutions than you can poke a stick at. The US offense is ignited by 5 ft 4”Amy Rodriguez a.k.a ‘A-Rod’ from USC who seems to be popping up every where and has an extra step that everyone else. The defense is playing things tight at the back resulting in the US second string keeper having little to do. Physically we are stronger in the second half and Formiga's options are being limited by the US defensive midfield. Then in the 71st minute the Brazilian defender makes a mistake which results in Rodriguez just firing a rocket into the top of the netting from 16 yards out on the left side.1-0. U.S.A-U.S.A-U.S.A.

We ride out the rest of the game to take the game 1-0, and not before a quick visit to the team store for a Rapids merchandise purchase on the way out. We are definitely looking better going to China this year than we did leaving it last year.

For my first woman’s soccer match it was great to see some open flowing soccer and a generation of girls having there own heroes in Denver that they can connect to, look up to and believe that they can be, something this 30 plus year old male took for granted as a kid.

Rapids vs. Earthquakes – July 12, 2008

by Geoff McPherson

Is this the week we get two results on the trot? Or another frustrating week when are unable to take advantage of the results that keep falling in our favor? The Earthquakes have had one win in 7 games, so you’ve got to rate our chances even for this Jekyll and Hyde team, maybe this will be the week where the spell is broken.

Class VI’s Dave Ferrey argued a very good point this week re the Rapids limited ability on the player continuum where the cream rises to the top at the end of the season and the Rapids squad don’t have the combined skills to make it to the top of the bottle this season.

Before reading Senor Ferrey article my perspective was yes we are spotty and inconsistent but at the same time the Western division is very poor and winnable by any team that wins a few games on the trot. I’m not saying we can be competitive with the top three teams in the east but I do believe we can win this division. Maybe I just have an overdose of the naive passion of being a Rapids fan and in complete denial of the logical reality of what we have and where we will be on the final day of the season. Sometimes it feels good to be a little naïve.

We stay with the same 3-4-1-2 line as last week, including 31 year old Mastroeni who stated on Goal TV this week he if is not going this transfer window he’ll be going at the end of the season. The Earthquakes pick up Darren Huckerby mid week of Norwich fame (if there is such a thing) he’ll suit their long ball ping ball style of football yet it won’t be all official until the transfer window opens July 15th.

Fantastic opportunity for Casey after 11 minutes, then 8 minutes later McManus puts one away but play is pulled back due to an offside call. We are providing the Earthquakes too much space out side our box, when the ball is cleared they seem to have easy options to deliver the ball in again (same problem we had against Chicago). Playing against a long ball team 4 at the back may be more effective, Cook is dropping way back on defense nearly falling into a right back position. As a result all our offense is coming from the over populated left side. We need to play the ball on the deck and not play the aerial balls as its just bread and butter for the Earthquakes defense.

It’s a touch painful watching the slow energy sucking style of football that the Earthquakes serve up. Thirty one minutes and we have to up the tempo and the running off the ball, no idea why we are feeding long balls into Casey, it cuts Gomez out of the game and it’s not our strength, even though Casey plays that role well. In fact is Gomez still on the pitch?

Casey every time he gets the ball on the flanks he makes good decisions and more often than not gets a good cross but we don’t seem to time our runs into the box for these crosses. Dear lordy who’s picking up Ivan Guerrero? Who just waltzes in on the back post, Bouna saves the ball and Ugo's embarrassment, who is just marking space or checking out the blonde in the front row, to add his chance he served up on a platter earlier on to Karmara.

Half time its 0-0 and I’m trying to work out what’s more exciting the first half or the ads on Altitude TV.

Ok we need to take off Gomez it’s just not happening today, bring on Herculez or start playing the ball on the deck. Midweek Tigres coach said he was concerned with the pace of the Rapids players and passing and rightful so it’s our strength and when we do it we do it well but for some reason management doesn’t want to play that card today.

51st minute, we get the a cross on the deck but no one makes a run, but it shows its going to more effective against this defense, the space is starting open up, and the speed of the Rapids is resulting in yellow cards and penalties against the Earthquakes. Yep we need to bring Herculez.

Instead Cummings comes in for McManus; I would have taken off Casey if you’re going to bring on Cummings, McManus you know will run all day.

Utter bollocks the Rapid season continues its same theme, Rapids have a number of chances to score, don’t capitalize, then make a defensive error and now we are down 1-0. Ugo is having a little bit of nightmare to say the least.

Gomez comes off replaced by DiRaimondo; Ballouchy pushes up in Gomez’s role behind the front two.

Ok keep Casey on, great cross by Cooke great goal by the big lad, definitely no penalty, 1-1. Frank Yallop is sent off for throwing a grumpy pants tissey, quiet comical since his team has been getting away all game with the physical niggles.

We keep pushing forward, making substitutes that just bemuse me, Casey comes off in the 93rd minute, we hang for a draw, only the second of season but at the same time 2 more points dropped to the Earthquakes.

We didn’t win back to back games, I’m still feeling like this team has something a little magic, if they could get on a role, maybe and just maybe they could be the Rockies of 2008.

Rapids vs. Red Bulls – American Soccer Culture

by CVI's Geoff McPherson

July 4th fireworks games represent the things that make soccer unique in this country along with the summer season and for the minority of teams in the MLS logo free jerseys. Unfortunately for this writer the dark clouds of the corporate America are hovering over head as rumors of jersey sponsorship deal for the 2009 season.

At the same time I was glad to hear the news from Mr. Bodmer that we side stepped Wal-Mart being slapped on the Rapids jersey but yet it gave me an insight to how the poor bastards in Chicago felt, who on opening day had great jersey and now have the embarrassment of looking like some dork in sandwich board on Michigan Avenue. Quite amazing that we need a sponsorship deal since we are owned by one of the wealthiest people in America. Yes, yes, I understand the Rapids are a business and we have to make sensible business decisions, but with a sponsorship deal is it really going to take this team to the next level? Or make Nigel from accounting look good when he presents our quarterly results to the owners?

Ironically with all this discussion going on the New York Red Bulls fly in this week and are representative of a franchise going the whole hog in the sponsorship arena seemingly more focused on money than football where the political turmoil of the back office doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.

We go with what seems to be our standard home formation of 3-4-1-2 in front of a packed house, Mastroeni (who is looking to move in the trading window across the pond) is playing central defender again which strengthens our defense a little but seems to weaken our midfield more.

Ten minutes into this game and you can see how the Red Bulls lost midweek to (a team that has the misery of calling themselves) Crystal Palace USA in the US Open Cup, there is not a sense of urgency or creativity, plus quite baffling playing three at the back where it looks like they have come to play for a draw at best.

My thoughts at this early stage will we take the chances that are in front of us? Or go into our 5 year old grumpy shell because things aren’t going our way? Our tempo could be a little higher, Ballouchy is crowding Cooke who looks to be yearning for the space available in the good old 4-4-2 formation.

On 24 minutes Clark and Erpen work a clumsy 1-2 on the left side, Clark patiently picks out McManus well timed run, losing his defender, with a fantastic finish, and a bit of state side showmanship to the roar of a very focal DSG crowd.

Refreshingly we push for the second, instead of going back to our often nervous formation mindset. At the other end Coundoul is taking ownership of the box dealing with the aerial balls compared to his counterpart who seems stuck to the goal line.

Just when I was about to critique the lack of fluency of the attacking 6 of Cooke, Casey, McManus, Gomez, Clark and Ballouchy they move the ball effectively across the top of the box from left to right, Cooke crosses for Ballouchy to knock in his first of the year, we go into the break at 2-0 knowing the second half we can just sit back and enjoy as the Red Bulls look as they would rather be in the security line at DIA.

Mascot five-a-side games should be a federal offense.

Clark attacks the goal on the left four minutes into the second half and drills it past the keeper on a ridiculous angle, its great to see Clark do this, but it seems like the game is over when it happens, love to see him attack with same speed and cockiness for the 15 – 20 minutes of a game and see the holes pop up in the defensive teams strategy.

Cummings had come on for Casey at the half showing his speed early and providing another headache for the Red Bulls defense. He doesn’t take his first or second chance but makes no mistake on his third skipping past New Zealand International Boyens to slot it pass the Keeper. 4-0 after 70 minutes, which someone must have forgotton to tell Mastroeni as he begs the referee to give him a yellow card after an appalling no call on an offside decision. Or maybe he realized time was running out and he hadn’t given an official a verbal bollocking.

Full time 4-0 Rapids.

On this glorious July 4th night in Colorado it’s another week where our jersey is uniquely American and not part of some branding exercise but whatever way the sponsorship deal goes with the Rapids there will still be something’s that will stay very American in this soccer landscape we live in.

VI Questions with Coach Clavijo: Firecracker of a Victory!

Well, I just finished watching the July 4th game via MLSNet.tv - I'm very pleased at spending money to watch such a fine game! Coach Clavijo and the boys beat up on New York in front of a capacity crowd and he's been kind enough to answer some questions about the victory.

I. You gave Mehdi Balloucy his first start of the season against New York. What was the reasoning behind this decision and what do you think of his performance?

Mehdi Ballouchy is a great player that got bad news at the beginning of the 2008 season; Christian Gomez was coming to town,

With two very good talents in the team was a little difficult to find him a place, but also the last 14 games Christian was an easy target for other teams bad boys.

Having Mehdi in the midfield last game created a bigger problem for NY to contain. Mehdi had a great game and I am very happy for him.

II. Conor Casey came out at half time for Omar Cummings. What was the decision of this substitution?

Conor Casey’s strengths are holding the ball, knowledge and winning ball in the air, well for first time this season he was having a hard time doing that, he didn’t looked comfortable from the beginning; also after we score 2 goals I knew NY will open up and go forward so we were looking to add speed up front with Omar Cummings, Omar was presented with 4 clear chances to score and put one away.

We are looking for him to put away 50% of his chances.

III. Christian Gomez was substituted when the victory was secure. Was this to protect the star player, due to injury precautions, or some tatical decision?

Like I said before, Christian is a easy target for defenders and the referees are not protecting him, He was out with an injury from the game vs. Houston and is slowly recovering, at half time after talking to him, we decided to see how he was going to do in the second half, but after 5 minutes I realize he was not going to be able to help us without risking further injury.

IV. Colin Clark had and outstanding game with a fantastic cross and a beauty of a goal. As a young professional, what has Colin done successfully to become a starting player and which parts of his game does he still need to address to take his game to the next level?

Colin Clark is his worse enemy, he has all the skill to succeed but need to bring the same energy every game.

We are talking to him every day and every training and he has all the tools to be a be dynamic player,

Consistency is a key for him.

V. After a June that saw the team go 1-3-1, what does the big victory mean to the team that is now two points from first in the West, and how do you plan on keeping the team focused for it's first back to back victories when the Rapids take on the last place expansion team, San Jose?

This win only reinforce what I have mention to them all along, BELIEVE , we are a very good team, but cant miss that many empty nets every game and make innocent mistakes all the time.

VI. Rafeal Gomes was released from the team last week. What was the reason for his release?

Rafael Gomes was a casualty of MLS rules, after July 1 all contracts will be guaranteed.

Rafael need it more time to adapt to a new language and new way of life and football, but that time was not there. We looked at the roster and could not have justify giving more time.

Pablo gives Victory Speech?

Here's some hot news from the pitch.

Pablo Mastroeni gave an interesting version of a victory speech after helping the Rapids demolish the Red Bulls in the traditional July 4th *smackdown*.

By the way, it was nice to see the team get 4 on the 4th.

Here's a snippet from the Colorado Gazette about Mastroeni's after-game talk:

Pablo celebrates American Independence Day his way

Are the Rapids a Contender?

This piece was submitted from CVI's Dave Ferrey. As you've noticed, the CVI webstaff is either MIA or on vacation ... so we're thankful for Dave's view of the current state of the Rapids

Some of wondered about the Rapids tendency to begin the season fairly strong only to fade as the season progresses. Here is my perspective.

The old saying is, it doesn't matter how you start, it's how you end the season. Duh, but is there something behind that hackneyed saying? I think so.

During the first part of the season, players are just getting into shape. They are getting to know one another and getting to know the coaching system. The players skills are still rusty and take some time to get sharp again. Now consider other factors which play into winning and losing. Fitness, types of players (skillful vs. athletic), team awareness. Each of these (along with skills and some other factors) will play a role in the success of a team. My contention is factors other then quality and skillful players are more likely to influence team success during the beginning of the year then later in the year.

Think of the quality of players like a continuum, lowest through highest. Then think of the scale as logarithmic and not linear. Players begin the season on the lower end of the continuum and progress upwards as the season progresses. During the early part of the season, the differences between average and good and good and great are lessoned due to the offseason. As the season progresses and players round into playing form, the difference in the qualities of players become more apparent and has a greater influence over a teams results. Note, when I say skills, I'm not just referring to ball handling, passing and shooting. I'm also thinking of of things like man marking, decision making, positioning, and making intelligent runs off the ball.

Coaching, of course, also plays into this. Think of it like hitters facing a new pitcher again for the 2nd and 3rd times in a game. They've seen what he can do and are able to adapt to the his pitching motion, ball speed and rotation. Yeah, the baseball fanatic out there may come back with, hey, what about those pitchers who get stronger as the game progresses. Yeah, there are so many of them, that now there are long relievers, short relievers, middle relievers, set up men and closers. Better coaches will, based on earlier matches, successfully recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their opponents and coach accordingly.

My bottom line is simply the Rapids team is not good enough to finish the season stronger then they begin it. Things that worked in the first month or two, don't work so well after that. Everyone starts the season tied, Better players and coaches will improve over the season more so then lesser ones. Exceptions exist of course and the 2007 Rockies are perfect examples. Players and (to a lesser extent coaching) can simply "put it together" all at the same time and if they do it at the right time and (this is key) their opponents allow it, lesser teams can achieve results well above their "normal" capabilities. How did the Rockies win the NL? Did they get new players, or a did Hurdle become a genius? Did they develop new skills? No, no and no. If a batter historically hits at the Mendoza line, it doesn't mean he will get exactly 2 hits every 10 official at bats. He may go zero for 30 and then get hits in 6 of the next 7 attempts.

The Rockies are a bad team. They were a bad team before 2007 and a bad team until the last month of 2007. They hit 6 of 7 (so to speak), at the end of the seasons and the teams ahead of them decided to beat each other and swoon at the same time. They are a bad team again in 2008. Same players, same coaches.

The Rapids are the soccer equivalent of the Rockies (without the end of the season luck). They are simply not good enough. I know some people feel the talent on this team is good enough and with better coaching could compete. I disagree. Sure, some players show some brilliance some of the time. The bone headed plays, the basic skill mistakes, the poor decision making, poor marking, shooting and passing aren't coaching issues (well maybe coaching when they were 12). They reflect the quality of the players. Ruud Gullit isn't going to make Sean Franklin an MLS all star and FC isn't going to make Omar put the shot on goal or allow Epko a clear path to the goal. FC did hire and decided to play those that did however.

What about Christian Gomez? Gomez is a very good player maybe a great one, why hasn't he turned the Rapids into a contender. Simple, he doesn't have Moreno, Fred or Emilio to play off of and to. Gomez, when the Rapids play the ball to him, has shown he can control it and move around and forward. But sorry, Clark, Peterson, Cooke, Omar etc. aren't in the same league with the three D.C. players I mentioned.

The team and those that determine who is on the team need to be replaced.