Reason for hope in 2025

In some ways, the Colorado Rapids’ 4-1 loss in an elimination game against the LA Galaxy on Friday night was an example of the season they’ve orchestrated: down, up, then back down.

Firstly, the only goal conceded as a result of a deflection at a weird angle that you only see once every thousand games. Then the crash of a shot to tie it up and gain momentum. Finally, at the very end, two goals were conceded.

The Rapids’ season followed largely the same pattern: a 4-0 collapse in the opening game against Portland, an incredible run to third place in the League Cup and a 13-match unbeaten run at home, followed by seven defeats in their last eight games.

But the Rapids showed energy and character in many big moments that couldn’t be said two years earlier.

As sad as the season was, 2024 offered a glimmer of hope. Like a sea of ​​maroon and blue flags pulsing back and forth at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in the 39th minute on Friday night, football is coming alive again in the Centennial State.

Life is back in the stands

When Keegan Rosenberry looks back on the 2024 MLS season, his first as Rapids captain, one of his proudest accomplishments was energizing the fan base.

Fans just endured the worst season in franchise history in 2023, just a couple of years after being eliminated in the first round of the 2021 MLS Cup playoffs, finishing first in the Western Conference. And the fans began to forget what victory was.

The 2024 season, when coach Chris Armas revived the culture, washed away that taste until the final stretch of the season.

“Part of our goal at the beginning of the year was to get that fan base back after a couple of bad seasons, especially last year which was very disappointing and difficult to get through, we had to get some people back,” Rosenberry said. “I think we succeeded and I think we gained new fans among people, which we think is a great achievement.

“There have been some tangible accomplishments with the Rocky Mountain Cup, third place in the League Cup, Champions Cup and all that, but I think the way we came together and immediately, under new management, we were successful. launched this new system with new tactics and took it in stride. It’s very difficult to make that much change from year to year.”

Lessons Learned

Armas doesn’t go a day without learning something about his team, player or aspect of coaching. As the Rapids’ first-year coach, it’s one of the best ways to improve at any level.

The foundation he helped build in Colorado was built in part by encouraging everyone around him to do the same. For midfielder Oliver Larraza, who scored from long range against Los Angeles and converted the penalty with a finer strike in the League Cup third-place tie, the learning came quickly.

After some injuries left the defensive midfielder weak, Larraz immediately stepped into the starting position, playing just 22 minutes in MLS. In 27 starts, 36 games and over 2,200 minutes, the 23-year-old has found that whatever he uses for rest and recovery, he should probably get the high-mileage stuff next season.

“(I learned) the impact of the season, the length of the season and the importance of the playoffs because I feel like we had a very, very good season and at the end of the day, in terms of the MLS Cup, we don’t have anything to show for it” – Larraz said. “So next year, focus on doing all the right things throughout the year and getting ready for the end of the year, because that’s when it really matters: getting to the playoffs, but then being ready for a full game, which was for me.” new. .

“In my opinion (in the past), throughout the season you always go the same way, you fight until the end of the season and then at the end of the season there is a kind of relief, we are done. But this season has shown me what is important now.”

Profitable investments

Beyond the culture created by Armas, whose level of urgency matched his grandiose goals, it’s encouraging that the Rapids poured relatively large amounts of money into players who made immediate and consistent contributions. After moving former center back Moise Bombito for a club-record $7.7 million, they are well positioned to do the same this offseason.

President Padraig Smith’s most obvious need this off-season, apart from finding another star on the flanks and in defensive midfield, is to add depth to his squad.