Rapids Offseason Update by Chris Brown
January 28, 2017 – Colorado Rapids were one of the quieter teams early in the MLS offseason cycle but the club has had a flurry of activity in the last week. Here’s everything you need to know about the Rapids offseason changes so far:
Colorado went deep into the MLS postseason playing their final match, a 1-0 home loss to Seattle Sounders that saw the Rapids postseason end in the Western Conference Semi-Finals, on November 27th, a full five weeks after most MLS teams seasons ended on October 23rd. With five weeks of the organization’s focus being on winning playoff matches it means that the Rapids were slow out of the gate to make postseason moves, but that changed with several acquisitions in the past week.
Colorado added several new pieces this week in an effort to improve on 2016’s impressive season. (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)
On January 23rd Colorado announced the signing of free agent forward Alan Gordon. Gordon played the past two and a half years with LA Galaxy and the 13 year veteran has scored 52 goals and notched 22 assists over 245 regular season MLS matches. Attacking is the area that Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni needs to improve the most and adding Gordon should help the Rapid strike-force score more than the 39 goals Colorado recorded in 2016 (tied with Houston Dynamo for second least in MLS). For a more in-depth look at the Alan Gordon signing check out this article.
Just a day after the Gordon signing Colorado acquired Ghanaian midfielder Bismark “Nana” Adjei-Boateng from Manchester City using Targeted Allocation Money. Adjei-Boateng, who will occupy an international spot on the Rapid roster, spent the last four seasons on loan at Norwegian club Stromsgodset IF. During his time playing in the Tippeligaen, Adjei-Boateng notched 18 goals in 101 appearances and helped Stromsgodset to their first league title since 1970.
Rapids signed former LA Galaxy forward Alan Gordon to help bolster the Rapid attack. (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)
Speaking about Adjei-Boateng Rapids Sporting Director Padriag Smith said “Bringing Nana to the club was a key part of our offseason strategy and we’re delighted to welcome such a promising young talent to our club.”
Adjei-Boateng fills an important hole in Colorado’s roster after Jermaine Jones’ rights were traded to LA Galaxy who later signed the U.S. Men’s International. Jones transformed the Rapids when he was in the lineup, playing box to box and creating important scoring chances from midfield. “Nana” has played a similar role for Stromsgodset and Sporting Director Smith feels he’ll hit the ground running. “He’s a powerful player with the drive and energy to be effective box to box. He possesses great technique and vision and influences the game on both sides of the ball. We’re confident Bismark will make a smooth transition to MLS as he heads into the prime of his career.”
Pablo Mastroeni is happy with the signing as well, saying “We are pleased to add a player with the quality of Nana to our roster. He has a deep understanding of the game and a lot of technical ability. At just 22, he has performed consistently at a top level in a very competitive European league for a number of years and we’re looking forward to his contributions in 2017.”
Colorado also added a new coach to the staff by hiring former Rapids striker Conor Casey as First Team Assistant Coach. Casey played for Colorado from 2007 to 2012 and remains Colorado’s all time leading scorer with 50 goals.
Casey’s most important goal for the Rapids came in the 2010 MLS Cup Final. Casey scored the game tying goal in the 57th minute of the final against FC Dallas, forcing extra time where Colorado eventually won the title.
Pablo Mastroeni played with Casey during the forward’s time in Commerce City and the Rapids will hope that bringing in Casey will have the same effect that John Spencer had when he arrived as an Assistant Coach last year. Both Spencer and Casey are former Rapid strikers and Casey should be able to help the Rapid attack improve even further in 2017.
Jermaine Jones headlines the losses the Colorado midfield sustained this offseason, but the Rapids will miss Sebastien Le Toux and Marco Pappa as well. (Photo Credit: Corbin Elliott)
Colorado could sign a few more players before the regular season starts on March 4th against New England Revolution. The roster could use increased depth in midfield, especially as Jermaine Jones, Sebastien Le Toux and Marco Pappa are no longer with the club. Though Colorado may have addressed some of that with their SuperDraft picks, those players will need time to develop and remain players for the future, not necessarily players expected to get on the pitch in 2017.
Colorado Rapids
MLS Western Conference
