Omar's GOTW

Finally, a Rapid gets Goal of the Week. I had to post it so I can look back at that glorious moment when 16,000 RSL fans hopes of a win were ruined. Thank you Omar for causing pain to RSL. It was a beaut.

Tough Love for the Rapids

Chivas 2, Rapids 1. It was tough to watch that second half. The Rapids just collapsed after giving up the second Nagamura goal. For that, I think the whole team needs to work on their resilience. It was like they knew they were lucky to take the lead, and lost hope when reality caught up and they fell behind. The first half Rapids dominated, and deserved the Cummings goal. The second half Rapids panicked.

Now for the tough love. There are a lot of Kimura fans in Colorado. I am not one of them. I know you can't place blame on one player for a loss, but I cannot sit back and pretend Kimura is a reliable defender when I see his blunders lead to goals so often. When I saw him starting again on Saturday, I thought, here we go... but I will try to love him. He did ok, but it did not last. And neither did my hopes of trusting him this year. Let's go to the tape:



A Chivas cross goes harmlessly into the box with three Rapids around, no Chivas challenging for the ball . Kimura has lots of options: control-and-clear, head wide right out of danger, head-tap back to Pickens... but no. Instead, a nice soft head-pass, across the top of the box, to settle perfectly at the feet of Paulo Nagamura. Clear shot, easy goal. Appalling. Unacceptable.

Gary Smith has called for accountability and earning your spot every week. If that is true, he must hold Kimura accountable for these gaffes. Last year's last-minute Movsisyan RSL goal in that knocked us out of the playoffs was also a nice setup from KK. I noticed these things several times last year, and the problem has not been fixed. So, in the name of accountability, I am starting a tally sheet, tagged here for the first time as Kosuke Kimura own-goals. Somebody's gotta keep track of these things. I mean, I know its not literally an own goal, but a gaffe like that might as well be.

Kosuke Kimura 2009 Own-Goal Tally: 1

By the way, Soccer by Ives noticed it too. Ives has Kimura on his week 1 Worst XI, along with Zach "The Snack" Thornton who gave us a gift for the first goal.

I love you Rapids. That's why I rant.

The Day is Near

The boys are back in 6 days. Rapids at Chivas on Saturday March 21st, and then the home opener vs KC on Saturday March 28th. New kits, a new striker, and hopefully a new era. The Rapids are running a new promotion this year that I love: the so called "Lads' Night Out." It entails 2 tickets to the game, plus 2 beers at Fado's downtown, and a free party bus ride to and from the Dick! 39 bucks. Not bad.

CG Back to DC, Rapids get DP Back!

It looks like the rumors were true. Christian Gomez has been traded back to DC United, along with GK Mike Graczyk. In exchange, the Colorado Rapids picked up Ivan Guerrero and the Designated Player slot they originally traded away for Gomez last year. Considering the rumors of how Gary Smith wanted to get rid of CG for whatever reason, and Gomez's apparent unhappiness in Colorado, it seems like a great outcome to me. It's exciting to see we have a DP slot again, though it is hard to imagine the Rapids front office using it. It definitely opens up some more possibilities for that much-needed pedigreed 2nd striker. The optimistic dreamer in me can't wait to see what happens with the DP slot and added salary cap space. However, the realist in me cannot see the FO shelling out the big dough.

I was a big Christian Gomez fan while he was a Rapid. It was a shame to me that the whole thing didn't work out. Seeing Nick LaBrocca get the start over CG week after week just never made sense to me, but then I never knew what happened in training or the locker room. I did see some magic from Gomez. I could tell he had that vision to link up with savvy players like Conor Casey. But somehow he was not very impactful as a Rapid. I would have liked to see him roam around the field more to disrupt other teams' plans, like Blanco does for Chicago. Maybe it was his unwillingness to take that role that led to his being benched, and ultimately traded back to DC. Good luck Christian. It's time for Medhi Ballouchy to prove all the naysayers wrong this year, I hope. Go Medhi.

Bye Bye Bouna!

So, Ives is saying that Bouna Coundoul is leaving the Rapids for Europe. It is sad news for Rapids fans. He has been one of my favorite Rapids the last 2 years and I am not happy to see him go. He has a great future ahead of him. It looks like Matt Pickens will be our new keeper, which I am not terribly excited about right now. I remember seeing him play for Chicago in the 07 playoffs and was not impressed, (or was that Perkins?). I'm sure I'll come around and end up liking him, but he has big gloves to fill. He has a lot to prove, especially since it looks like he is coming off a failed stint in England with Queens Park Rangers. Maybe that experience has helped him, but on paper it looks like we'll have a less-promising keeper, probably with a much higher salary (than Bouna's in 07 and 08). Prove me wrong Matt. Please.

Good luck Bouna Time. We'll miss you.

Boca 2 - Racing 1

We survived our visit to La Bombonera. It was crazy. And amazing. The banners, the singing, the volume, and the passion are all beyond anything you see in America. American college football might come close in terms of fanaticism, but the extent to which these fans go to show their support... there is no comparison in the states. It inspired me for the Rapids season next year. I can't wait to cheer for my team again.

Boca won 2-1. We were lucky to get tickets, even though we unfortunately ended up in the Racing section. This added a whole extra level of anxiety to the experience, but it was all cool in the end. It was worth it sitting there to be able to watch the Boca socios on the other side of the stadium go loco when they scored, and bring out their giant banderas before the game.

Dominica posted a great documentation of our experience, here on our travel blog. It has highlights of the game, and shows some of the Boca fan section, which was comparable to what we experienced on the Racing side.

Boca Juniors vs Racing Club tonight!

La Bombonera. Going here tonight for Boca vs Racing. My first South American futbol experience. Don't worry- I'll be careful. Boca is closing in on the Apertura title, and this is a cross-town rivalry clasico. Nothing like Boca-River, but I expect it to be pretty lively.

Crew Win

Congratulations to Columbus Crew and all of their fans for winning MLS Cup. I was lucky enough to watch it on ESPN in Buenos Aires. It was probably only on because Guillermo Barros Schelotto played for Boca Juniors for 10 years, and Juan Pablo Angel used to play for River Plate. Speaking of GBS, he was brilliant (as always I suppose). He is truly an MVP because of the way he makes his team better. Just get in front of his crosses and you'll score. The last goal of the match was a perfect example of his vision: a little looping chip that Frankie Hejduk flicked over Cepero. Here it is:

I must say about the TV coverage: the picture sucks! Does it always look like you are watching from space when the game is at Home Depot Center? Camera-man: zoom in, or get closer! Maybe the framing is off, but it seems like good soccer coverage is at a higher and closer angle so the depth perception is better and you can tell what player you are looking at. ABC, ESPN... you usually do a good job, but this was sad for a championship match.

Pablo is Staying!

Ok, I'll admit that I was counting the money the Rapids would have free if Pablo Mastroeni stuck to his promise of heading to Europe after this year, and was kind of looking forward to it. That's because I thought Pablo deserves to be at the top level of soccer, and we need some salary-cap room for a proven striker. Now that I know that he is staying in Colorado, I am even more excited for 2009. It shows how much confidence Gary Smith has instilled in the team. If a player of Pablo's caliber recognizes the potential for success in a club he has spent most of his career with, I have to believe there is something special happening.

I'll also admit that I was hoping John Spencer would be coach in 09, but GS will be just fine with me. I just hope he makes a few better line-up choices (bring back CG and Erpen, keep Bouna in the net!). The offseason will be fun. I'm glad that Conor got a call-up for the MNT game this week; he deserves it. Hopefully we'll find that second strike partner to help him pummel defenses next year. The Rapids need to make some moves, and GS needs to prove he is trade-savvy. We have a good core, but there are definitely some leaks. As of now, here are is my starting XI, including the spot that needs filling:

---------------------------------Bouna----------------------------------

-------------------Gibbs?--------Ugo------------Erpen-----------------

-------Cooke---------Mehdi------Pablo------C.Gomez--------Colin--------

----------------------Casey------?????-----------------------

At first I had this as a 4-4-2, but I remembered how brilliant Mehdi was when he finally got his shot. I think a Gomez/Ballouchi midfield would be among the classiest in the league. Our defense is solid enough with Pablo staying, that I think a 3-5-2 would work great. I definitely want 2 strikers, but hey I'm no coach.

My 2009 Rapids Wishlist, Part I

These are some of the players I would like to see the Rapids' Front Office go after if they can this offseason. This is assuming Pablo Mastroeni will be gone (I'll miss him, but it will give us some $$ to work with), and that there is a chance Christian Gomez will want to be traded (maybe a slight chance).

These are all current MLS players, and I haven't thought much about trades to go along with the acquisitions, but I think they are in the realm of possibility. I would love to see some foreign-based players come into the fold too.

Strikers
1. Chris Rolfe
I was thinking about this guy before he lit up NYRB for 3 goals in the first half a couple weeks ago. The Rapids need a more reliable strike partner with Conor Casey. They should be willing to part with Omar and/or Jacob Peterson to get a forward of this caliber. He'll probably cost $100k per season, and Chicago probably won't let him go, as it seems like he is peaking and may be a contender for a USMT residency. He has a classy touch and good soccer brain like Conor, and I think they'd work well together. Tom McManus would make a solid 3rd striker option.


2. Maykel Galindo
I think he was injured almost all season this year, so he only had one goal. In 2007, however, he was #5 in the league with 12 goals in 28 games. There is a rumor that he and Preki don't get along, so he might be leaving Chivas USA soon. The rumor also has him going to Seattle. He is also in the $90k-100k range. It would be risky to get him, but if healthy, the 27-year-old should be able to put a bunch of balls in the net.

3. Dominic Oduro
FC Dallas' 3rd striker/super-sub. I don't know much about him, but I know he's fast, tall, and can score clutch goals, (like he almost did vs. the Rapids July 19th; the late goal was offsides). He's more affordable, around $35k, and would make a perfect swap for Omar. He's still young, but I've been impressed when I've seen him play.

The bottom line is that our striker list is not deep, especially with Herculez now gone. We need more talent up front, and I won't be surprised if the FO finally shells out some big bucks for a more marquee striker. I also won't be surprised if they act like we have everything we need.

I'll continue with my desirable mids and maybe defenders next time.

Rapids Top 10 Goals 2008

Great memories. One thing I notice from seeing Colin Clark's second goal on the list is his chemistry with Omar Cummings. Omar creates the goal, bringing it in the box and passing to Colin at the top of the 18. It's a simple high-success-rate play. Unfortunately, Omar does not always show that kind of composure in the box. He also had a beautiful cross vs Chivas late in the season, which Colin finished perfectly. It makes me hopeful for the future with Omar.

Now if only Colin could find an open man a little quicker! I love the way he attacks, and his confidence (he's one of my favorite Rapids), but to be a complete player he needs to create some more goals for others and rack up some assists.

90th Minute Man

First off, I'm a Colorado Rapids fan through and through. It kills me to post this, but this is one of the sickest goals I've seen in MLS all year, and it deserves to be seen again and again. The scorer in question is none other than Real Salt Lake's Yura Movsisyan, the man who hammered the final nail into the Rapids' coffin last week. RSL is loving this guy. I can't hate him though, when he's bringing this kind of class to the league. 90th minute again. Oi.