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It hasn’t been pretty for the Colorado Rapids during Anthony Hudson’s debut campaign as head coach. After 15 games, the Rapids have a tough hill to climb with just 12 points, 11 points back of the sixth playoff spot in the Western Conference.
On the back of Saturday’s 3-2 comeback win over Minnesota United — which gave Colorado its first win in 11 games played across all competitions— Pro Soccer USA takes a look at the biggest surprises of the Colorado Rapids’ season so far.
New coach, new players, new system. Same poor results.
It’s been better over the past two weeks as Colorado has earned four points in its past two matches, but with just 12 points amassed in 15 games played thus far, playoffs are still a tall order for the 2018 version of the Rapids. Just a point out of last place in the Western Conference and two points from being the worst team in MLS, the focus for Colorado has shifted to incremental improvement and avoiding league and franchise marks for futility.
Bottom of the table isn’t an unfamiliar feeling in Commerce City, give the Rapids track record since winning the MLS Cup in 2010. But with a new head coach, a rebuild of more than half of its roster and a publicly stated goal to “do better”, these results have been equally disappointing as they are surprising.
Colorado has only recently snapped a 10-game winless streak which included a franchise-record eight-losses in a row and nine losses across all competitions including an early exit from the U.S. Open Cup tournament where Colorado was defeated 2-0 by first year USL side Nashville SC.
As one Rapids fan on Reddit put it, “I came in just wanting to be better than last year and got the worst in Rapids history.”
The Stefan Aigner situation
Entering the 2018 season, Colorado Rapids fans were rife with enthusiasm on what German playmaker Stefan Aigner could do for the club with a full preseason. Why wouldn’t they be?
It was a signing that the front office promoted as a coup. Aigner was a player with Bundesliga experience obtained for what at the time seemed like a great value. Once he took the field in 2017, he provided an offensive spark the team was lacking with two goals and an assist in nine starts.
He was continually praised in the offseason and preseason, training with Bundesliga club Hoffenheim for preseason fitness and obtaining his green card to relieve the Rapids from having to apply another international roster spot. In a vacuum, it looked like a player committed to the cause.
But a preseason injury and green card travel led to Aigner being left off the team sheet early in the campaign, according to Rapids head coach Anthony Hudson. Aigner’s absence continued and frustrations boiled over with a heated exchange between the midfielder and head coach at an open practice in April.
Eventually, Hudson addressed the Aigner situation publicly, but the other side of the story from Aigner’s point of view wouldn’t come to light. Eventually, Aigner and the Rapids agreed to part ways and the player returned home to sign with another German club.
No one could have foreseen that less than a year after his highly touted signing, that Stefan Aigner would no longer be a part of the Colorado Rapids organization.
The continued rise of Dominique Badji
Plenty of Rapids fans will claim this isn’t a “surprise”, citing the fact that Colorado’s Senegalese striker led the team in scoring last season. But that mindset isn’t necessarily appreciative of what Badji is accomplishing and how rare it is.
For one, Badji has improved each season since joining the club as a fourth-round draft pick in 2015. This kind of consistency is rare, particularly for young MLS players with potential. Young players can show flashes of brilliance, but continued improvement over the course of four seasons is commendable. One needn’t look further than Colorado draft picks Deshorn Brown and Dillon Powers to see how promising careers can often take turns to different directions.
It should also be considered surprising because, on paper, even the front office didn’t expect this kind of production from Badji, who has six goals in 13 games played this season. In the offseason, Colorado made very public moves to sign strikers Jack McBean and Joe Mason in addition to drafting Niki Jackson. The Rapids search for a striker continued with the signing of PSG academy product Yannick Boli.
Despite the increased competition, Badji has risen to the task, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the team’s offensive production thus far – and he’s doing it with a new coach in a new system against defenses that are now keen on his scoring ability.
If it’s not surprising, it’s at the very least, impressive.
The post Colorado Rapids: Biggest surprises so far through MLS season appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.
Original author: Marco Cummings, Pro Soccer USA
NEW YORK (Wednesday, June 27, 2018) – Major League Soccer announced on Wednesday the complete five-day schedule of entertainment and charitable events prior to the 2018 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target. MLS, Atlanta United and the city of Atlanta welcome fans to enjoy a wide array of festivities, highlighted by a free concert and open training sessions before the best of MLS take on Italian giants Juventus at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 1 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The match will be televised domestically on ESPN and UniMás in the U.S., and on TSN and TVA Sports in Canada, as well as in more than 170 countries around the world.
Tickets are available for purchase here.
MLS All-Star week kicks off with the MLS Block Party on Saturday, July 28 at Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark on the iconic Atlanta BeltLine. The MLS Block Party is a celebration of Atlanta and soccer culture. Free and open to the public, the daylong party will include food and drinks, music, a soccer mini-pitch, games, apparel, and an Atlanta United viewing party. Atlanta recording artist Waka Flocka will be there to celebrate along with other celebrity friends and soccer legends. Iconic Atlanta artist Greg Mike will also be there finishing his MLS All-Star inspired mural live.
The party will continue Sunday, July 29, with a free concert beginning at 6 p.m. ET to celebrate the cross-section between soccer and music. The artist, an Atlanta native, will be announced at a later date. At that time, fans wishing to attend the MLS All-Star Concert presented by Target can secure their RSVP reservation by visiting MLSsoccer.com/FanPass. Due to space restrictions, registration does not guarantee entry, which will be first come, first served.
The Digital HQ presented by Wells Fargo opens on Sunday and will remain available for fans through Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET. The Digital HQ is a prime destination for fans featuring lounges to experience Digital HQ through games, giveaways and access to live productions. MLS All-Stars will be dropping in for interviews and roundtable discussions throughout the week and Digital HQ will also be the home of the eMLS All-Star Challenge presented by Wells Fargo, where eMLS competitors will team up with influencers from the gaming community, MLS players and amateur gamers for a dynamic, fun and entertaining 2 v 2 competition.
Men in Blazers LIVE MLS All-Star Extravaganza will once again take place during MLS All-Star week. Known for their “occasionally intelligent, always passionate take on global football's unspooling narrative,” Roger Bennett and Michael Davies will bring their live show to Atlanta to celebrate all things soccer, featuring guest appearances by MLS All-Stars and other prominent characters of the beautiful game. The show will be at the Tabernacle (6:30 p.m. ET) on Monday night and tickets can be purchased here.
Tuesday, July 31, just one day before the MLS All-Star Game, welcomes the most robust day of programming beginning first with Juventus and MLS All-Stars’ open training sessions. Juventus will take the pitch at 10 a.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Stadium followed by the MLS All-Stars. Tickets are available for purchase here, with one ticket providing access to both sessions.
Tuesday evening, the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground will play host to a doubleheader as the fifth annual Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Showcase presented by MLS WORKS and ESPN precedes the annual MLS Homegrown Game presented by Energizer. The Unified Sports All-Star soccer teams will play an 11 v 11 match, featuring athletes with and without intellectual disabilities representing MLS clubs. The match will be livestreamed on MLS YouTube beginning at 6 p.m. ET. The MLS Homegrown Game will showcase the next generation of MLS stars against Tigres UANL, the reigning Mexican league’s Under-20 champion. The game will be broadcast nationally on Univision Deportes Network and livestreamed on Twitter. Tickets to the doubleheader, starting at $15, are available for purchase by clicking here.
The festivities will continue at the Soccer Celebration presented by Scott, an interactive fan zone with music, games, autographs and free giveaways taking place on the International Plaza outside Gate 2 of Mercedes-Benz Stadium over a four-hour window leading up to the main event – the MLS All-Stars taking on the seven-time defending Italian champions Juventus.
View the full list of activities surrounding the MLS All-Star Game presented by Target below.
| DATE | ACTIVATION | LOCATION | TIME | TICKETS |
| Saturday, July 28 | MLS Block Party | Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark on the BeltLine | 12 - 11 p.m. ET | Free - No pass required |
| Sunday, July 29 - Wednesday, August 1 | MLS Digital HQ presented by Wells Fargo | Southern Exchange (200 Marietta St NW Atlanta, GA 30303) | 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. ET *Opens at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday. Closes at 3:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday. | Free - No pass required |
| Sunday, July 29 | MLS All-Star Concert presented by Target | Historic Fourth Ward Skatepark on the BeltLine | 6 p.m. ET | Fan Pass required (More information coming soon) |
| Monday, July 30 | Men in Blazers Extravaganza | Tabernacle | 6:30 p.m. ET | |
| Tuesday, July 31 | Juventus Open Training followed by MLS All-Star Open Training | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 10 a.m. ET | Buy tickets here |
| Tuesday, July 31 | Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Showcase presented by MLS WORKS and ESPN | Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground | 6 p.m. ET | Buy tickets here (includes access to MLS Homegrown Match) |
| Tuesday, July 31 | MLS Homegrown Match presented by Energizer | Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground | 8 p.m. ET | Buy tickets here (includes access to Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Showcase) |
| Wednesday, August 1 | eMLS All-Star Challenge presented by Wells Fargo | MLS Digital HQ presented by Wells Fargo | 12 - 3 p.m. ET | More information on how to enter coming soon |
| Wednesday, August 1 | Soccer Celebration presented by Scott | Georgia World Congress Center International Plaza | 3 - 7 p.m. ET | Free - No pass required |
| Wednesday, August 1 | MLS All-Star Game presented by Target | Mercedes-Benz Stadium | 7:30 p.m. ET | Buy tickets here |
