The Rapids, and the rest of MLS, resume matches this coming Saturday. The 2 week World Cup break allowed teams to rest players, regroup, and bring in some trialists. The Rapids are no exception. Plenty of new faces have come through the Rapids training in the last two weeks, including trialists, academy players, and a few college players on summer break.

Training Observations:

• Kosuke Kimura is training and moving well. No word yet if he will be available for this weekend.
• Forward Ross Schunk is progressing well from his knee injury. He started running straight lines this week.
• Oscar Murillo is no longer with the group. From what I understand, his loan is over and the Rapids didn’t pick up his option. He is back with his club team in Colombia.
• Jamie Smith was moving well and it looks like his injury problems are behind him. Jamie could break into the starting 11 against Houston.
• I’m starting to wonder if Claudio Lopez has anything left in the tank. He hasn’t shown drastic improvement in the last few weeks. But then again, I don’t see him train every day.
• Andre Akpan is on loan with Real Maryland in the USL Division 2. He will return to the Rapids on July 3. Akpan needed more playing time and this was an opportunity to get him some minutes.
• Danish defender Ulrich Lindquist (spelling?) is on trial with the Rapids. Looked solid, trained primarily with the first team.
• Julian Baudet is struggling with a hamstring injury, but looked very agile when he dipped and ducked reporter’s questions on France’s early exit from the World Cup. In the end, Baudet answered every question.
• Scott Palguta should get the start alongside Drew Moor this weekend.
• Ciaran O’brien was not at training.

Notes:

• Apparently the players are having a good laugh at the expense of Baudet and the French team. On the flip side, none of the players have said anything to Coach Smith about the US v. England match. A wise decision.
• The Colorado Rapids visit the Houston Dynamo on Saturday June 26 at 6:30pm.
• The US Men’s National Team faces Ghana in the round of the 16 on Saturday June 26 at 12:30pm.

Coach Smith on Jamie Smith, adding a defender, and the trialist:

On Jaime Smith starting against Houston:

“It will be pretty close, I mean the Columbus free kick, the cross for Conor, there have been some creative moments that have earned us points, in fact four points. He’s looking fit, he’s looking strong, and he’s looking healthy. He’s one of four guys, and that includes Omar, who are fighting for those outside slots. The important thing now is that the form players get the chance and when games aren’t going quite as well as we might like, we’ve not only got fresh legs, we’ve got fresh quality legs coming on, and that’s a big improvement on even last year.”

Adding a defender:

“We’ve certainly looked at a couple of other bodies. If you look at our defensive record, which is the second best in the league at the moment, we’ve only conceded nine goals, which is a fabulous tally. A testament not only to Matt [Pickens] and the back four, but a lot of hard work in front of them. I’m pleased with what I’m seeing with the guys we’ve got, but I’m also very mindful we are thin on the ground with defenders. We’ll probably need to add one. It will be important when that window opens, that we are close to maybe adding a character that can continue our improvement and certainly in depth.”

On the Danish trialist:

“We have a guy with us at the moment Ulrich Lindquist (spelling?) who is from Denmark, who has done ever so well. Whether or not we can come to any sort of terms, or whether or not the guy actually wants to come here, or indeed that in the end of the period of with us I want to keep him. We need to add a defender somewhere along the way now. Hopefully that is sooner rather than later.”

Colorado Rapids win their home opener against Chivas 1-0. Goal scored by Omar Cummings in the 57th minute.

Here is a full match report by the Rapids: Rapids Defeat Chivas USA 1-0 in 10′ Season Opener

Here is a full match report by the Chivas: Cummings, Colorado Spoil Chivas USA Home Opener

A road victory is a great way to start off the season.  The Rapids played a smart game and got some brilliant performances from a few players.  Overall, I think the Rapids controlled the way match would be played and didn’t allow Chivas to play their style.

The Good:

• First road victory to open a season.
• New signings Earls, Larentowicz, and Wynne
• Colin Clark went 80 minutes and recorded an assist
• Ross LaBauex made his professional debut and almost got an assist
• Rapids put together some solid passing sequences
• Rapids defended and controlled the center of park
• Kept a clean sheet
• Rapids supporters representing at the local Denver pubs

Not So Good:

• The through balls and crosses were off the mark for the most part
• Midfielders had trouble moving the ball forward unless they went over the top
• No width for large portions of the game
• They were exposed a few times and needed Wynne to bail them out
• Finishing was off
• Because of so many new signings there was still some confusion among players about runs, marks, and showing to passes
• Pickens didn’t look confident with his hands

Player Ratings:

Pickens: 6, a little shaky, didn’t look comfortable using his hand but kept the clean sheet.

Kimura: 5, started the game a little out of rhythm but picked it up.  Not his best night but held down the right side of the field adequately.

Wynne: 9, great performance by the new signing. His speed and tenacity kept us in the game. He looked good at center back.

Moor: 7, great game by Drew. He cleaned things up and kept things organized as the verbal leader. Was beat by Galindo a few times but that is why they paired him with Wynne.

Earls: 6, not a bad debut by the young defender. Showed he can play at this level but did get beat a few times and his pass back to the goalie showed a little bit of inexperience.

Ballouchy: 6, wasn’t very influential in the match but he worked hard getting into tackles and making himself available.

Mastroeni: 8, defensively, it was a good night for the captain. He broke up plays and completely frustrated the Chivas midfield.  His touch was a little off, but I think that is the result of being injured for most of preseason.

Larentowicz: 7, a real presence in the midfield.  Looked a little out of sync at times and still a little rusty with the ball, but he got into some hard tackles. A little too hard sometimes, but I won’t complain.

Clark: 6, looked like he was asleep for the first 30 minutes.  Once he woke up he started looking like the Clark of last season. Still isn’t 100% but there were glimpses of what he can do.

Omar: 8, scored the game winner.  He got in behind the defenders a number of times and was dangerous throughout the night. He needs to clean up his passing and ball handling but it’s the first game after preseason and I’d imagine the legs are still a little heavy.

Casey: 6, he needed better service but didn’t capitalize on the chances that did fall his way.  He was handful for the Chivas defense and created plenty of space for Omar.

SUBS:

Thompson: 6, he was brought in to hold the lead and did his part.

LaBauex:6, great debut for the young midfielder.  Did his part to hold the lead and almost had an assist.

Palguta: N/A he played, that is really good news after an injury layoff.

Coach Gary Smith: 8, had some players injured and a few guys out of position.  He got great performances out of the players he put his faith in.  He substituted intelligently to help kill off the match.  The Marvell Wynne move looks like a stroke of genius at this point.

The Rapids home opener is Saturday, April 3 at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.  The Rapids host the Chicago Fire.  If you don’t have tickets yet, the Green Army and FC Denver are selling tickets on the terrace for $16.  Email: fcdenversoccer@gmail.com for more information.

The morning session looked like it consisted mainly of the players making the trip to LA on Friday. The rest of the squad was scheduled to participate in the reserve scrimmage that was canceled due to the weather.  There was a ton of media out at training today.  The television news crews were out as were several newspaper journalists.  Nick Thomas, former writer of the blog WeWantRapidman, was out reporting for his new gig with MLSsoccer.com.  Brian Jennings from Soccer365 was also out there getting in some comments from players.  So there should be plenty of Rapids stories popping up in the next few days.

Training Observations:

• Jeff Larentowicz trained with the first team in the morning but was scheduled to get a few minutes with the reserves this afternoon. The word is that he is ready to play but it still isn’t clear if he will start.
• Colin Clark should make the trip to LA and play some part in the match.
• Scott Palguta is recovering from his Achilles tendinitis but probably won’t make the trip to LA. He was scheduled to play 60 minutes in the reserve match.
• Jaime Smith and Julien Baudet are shaking off a few knocks they took over the weekend but should be available on Friday.
• A few of the players had already gone back inside by the time they opened up training to the media but this is who I recall being out there : Earls, Moor, Kimura, Balluchy, LaBrocca, Pickens, Pablo, Cummings, Casey, and Larentowicz

Notes:

• The Rapids need to have their roster set by 3pm tomorrow
• Pat Noonan was waived
• MLSsoccer.com is supposed to launch tomorrow afternoon. (Everyone is keeping their fingers crossed)
• The word is that coach Smith is looking at a few players that have or might get waived from their MLS teams in the next couple of days. Busch? Elliot? Van den Bergh? DiRaimondo? Talley?
• The Rapids kick off the season at Chivas USA this Friday, March 26, at the Home Depot Center. Game starts at 8:30pm.

Final Thoughts:

Everyone is excited and anxious to get the season started.  Its been a tough preseason and the guys are ready to start playing some games.

Wells Thompson is probably one of the nicest guys you will ever meet.  It kind of makes you wonder why he was one of the most hated players in the ACC.

I had the opportunity to catch Wells Thompson for a few minutes after training on Saturday and we talked a little bit about his Colorado experience so far.

The former Wake Forest standout and New England Revolution midfielder grew up playing ice hockey in North Carolina. It’s no surprise he plays with such tenacity.

“I spent most of my time in the penalty box, I have a little bit of the ice hockey mentality in my game.”

The coaches and staff like Wells’ aggressive play. But Wells admits he hasn’t always used it positively.  He’s accumulated 18 yellow cards and one ejection in his three MLS seasons.

“I’ve been at fault for losing my head, and not being mature or controlled enough, that is one part of my game I’m working on.”

So far though, things have been looking up for Wells in the Mile High City.  The move from New England is a welcome challenge for a player that is always looking for new opportunities.

At the end of 2009, Wells approached Coach Nicols about his desire to move away from New England.  It’s not that he was unhappy, but he “doesn’t want to be one of those guys that is just happy to be in the league.”  He wanted a new challenge and asked the coaching staff to consider his request.

A week before training camp Wells got the call about the trade to Colorado.  He said “it was an answer to a prayer.”

Wells immediately felt welcomed in Denver and having Ex-Revs Pat Noonan and Jeff Larentowicz around made things easier.

“I can’t say anything but good things about the experience.”

He did admit though, that there are some differences between Smith’s training camp and Nicol’s.

“Preseasons are a lot, lot different. New England starts at a crawl. We start at a sprint here, we had the beep test on the second day.” Wells is enjoying it though, “I love it, I enjoy it . . . I’d rather do more than less.”

The Rapids are a couple weeks into camp and he says that he is finally getting the kinks out and getting back into shape.  He is looking forward to the season and has already set some high goals.

“I want to contribute, play as much as I can . . . get the team to the playoffs. We have a great squad, there’s no reason we shouldn’t win the championship.” He added, “we are going to do big things this year, and I’m excited to put on a new Rapids jersey.”

Wells also expressed his thoughts on his former New England teammate, Jeff Larentowicz, who made his way to Colorado with Wells in the same trade.

“Jeff is tough, Jeff is really tough. That is what I like about him. He will leave it all on the field for you . . . I think he has a winning mentality and the effort he puts on the field, it’s hard not to commend that. He’s in the middle of the field and he’ll battle for you all day.”

Off the field, Wells is looking to get more involved and plugged into the community. He found other players on the Rapids that share his beliefs and started attending local services. Overall, he just feels blessed to be here.

His closing thoughts on Denver summed things up nicely, “I love it, I’ll take Colorado over Massachusetts any day.”

This is going to be the year . . . I feel it.  I had the opportunity to check out training this morning and take some pictures.  We were only allowed to check out the end of training but luckily for us the session went a little long.  We caught the end of the 11 v. 11 scrimmage and had the opportunity to speak to a few members on the Rapids staff.  Here are some observations and notes:

Training Observations:

• There were well over 30 players at training, including several trialists.
• The remaining draft picks looked good. Chris Cutshaw isn’t in camp anymore but Akpan, LaBauex, and Borak looked very comfortable in the scrimmage. Akpan was deployed at striker and showed good strength and ability to play with his back to the goal. LaBauex played in the middle and looked to handle the pace of the game well. Borak looked comfortable in the back, he mostly played left back.
• Julien Baudet showed up with his hair completely bleached.
• Wells Thompson looked really strong. He’s got good speed and is super aggressive
• Local guys Stephen Keel, Dan Gargan, and Seth Trembly were at training. Keel should be returning to Portland when their season gets underway.
• Rapids Academy player James Rogers trained with the full team today. He didn’t look one bit out of place. The kid blew past a few defenders with the ball at his feet and buried it far post. Excellent turn, quick burst of speed, and clinical finish. The kid is only 16 years old but looked very comfortable as demonstrated by a clever back heel to an oncoming midfielder. Learn more about him here: Rogers Trains with the Big Boys
• We got to see a little bit of Jaime Smith. He went at players consistently and threw in some step-overs to beat challenges.
• Colin Clark played but he got a rest right after we arrived so we didn’t get see too much of him.
• Coach Smith seemed very pleased with the session. He called it a good ‘athletic’ performance but needed to be cleaned up a little on the technical side.
• Danny Earls was out at training but didn’t do anything spectacular.

Notes:

• The Rapids head out to Arizona in 7 days before heading to England. They will be in Arizona at the same time as the Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, and the Columbus Crew. From our understanding, they should get a game in with each of them. Not bad for preseason opponents.
• The teams they will face in England are not confirmed but it looks like they are trying to arrange a match with the Aston Villa reserves.
• Oscar Murillo and Devon Hodges should be arriving to training sometime this week.

Final Thoughts:

From the little I saw today it really looked like the  players wanted it.  Every player was going 100% for every ball.  It made for some sloppy play at times but that type of tough mentality is what it takes to be champions.  One of the buzz words we were hearing from the staff and some of the players was “winning mentality”. They want to bring in players that are tough and know how to win.  I definitely think that is something that was missing last season and it is great to see that the Rapids are taking steps forward in that respect by bringing in guys like Wells Thompson and Jeff Larentowicz.

We’ll have some more pictures up soon, so stay tuned to the blog for that. Also, check back this week for a couple interviews with two of the new faces at the Rapids.