Mastroeni will be entering his third season of coaching the Colorado Rapids in 2017
Colorado Rapids are in Tucson, Arizona competing in the Desert Diamond Cup as the final few weeks of preseason lead to the start of the 2017 Major League Soccer season. Ahead of the Rapids departure to the Grand Canyon State, Rapids Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni talked with the media following a final practice in Commerce City.
In 2016, the Rapids enjoyed a highly successful campaign that saw the Burgundy Boys finish with a club record 58 points, good enough for second place in the Supporter’s Shield standings and the team ultimately just missed a spot in MLS Cup Finals after being beaten by Seattle Sounders in the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Mastroeni was asked about how long it took him to recover from the disappointment of losing to Seattle and coming so close to reaching the cup.
“I was obviously in shock, which I think is a good thing because my expectations were to win,” he said. “So I was kind of in a state of shock for probably a week. Then following that week there was a bit of reflection on who we are as a team and what allowed us to get to where we were as a group and then I think the most important part was what do we need to improve on to become multi-dimensional, yet not lose the essence of who were are as a team.”
The former Rapids midfielder turned head coach went on to talk about being in a “dark room, sitting in there watching tape, watching teams from all over the world, looking at the players that we have, the system that we have in place currently [and asking himself]How do we, without turning the whole thing on it’s head, how do we add just a bit more structure in the attack? Clearly define roles and responsibility? What’s the mentality in attack? What are we trying to achieve? What’s the end goal in mind? What’s the objective in this whole build up process? What are we trying to do?”
We’ve played two games (both preseason matches against Ventura County Fusion in California) and I’ve been very pleased at the progress of the understanding, the commitment to want to understand, cause it’s easy after a good year to say ‘let’s just keep doing it again, let’s just keep doing it again,’ and I think complacency is the killer of greatness or of being the best version of yourself,” he said. “I think you have to keep pushing the envelope and at times it’s hard to convince people to step outside their comfort zones, especially after experiencing such good feelings you want to keep reveling in that and I’m saying no, let’s make it uncomfortable for all of us, to grow.”
Mastroeni has been happy with the progress he’s seen from the Rapids during the 2017 preseason, saying, “I’ve been extremely pleased. I can’t explain to you how good it feels as a coach to get a bunch of guys that give you the opportunity to integrate something new after the season that we had. I think it speaks to the leadership of this team that says “okay, I’d like to keep doing what we’re doing, but I’m listening.”
Pablo was asked about playing New England Revolution and Sporting KC in the Desert Diamond Cup, so close to the start of the regular season, even though Colorado would face each side in the first month of regular season play, as well as the team’s goals for the remainder of preseason. He mentioned a couple of things that the club would be working on during their time in Tucson including:
“Continue to fine tune our style of play on both sides of the ball. At some point everyone’s going to see the way you’re going to play anyways. We’re not trying to hide anything. I think if you leave surprises for other teams, most of the time you end up surprising yourself. And that’s not what you want, you know, you want to know exactly what’s being asked and be able to execute that in these games [against]more MLS opponents. Then make your adjustments and go to the next one and then make your adjustments. So each game is a barometer of where we’re at and the different areas that we need to improve on, both sides of the ball and in transition. So I think with every game we want to continue to fine tune that and that’s the idea this preseason.”
Rapids coach Pablo Mastronei said there is no timetable for goalkeeper Tim Howard’s (seen here) return.
Starting goalkeeper Tim Howard’s injury situation also seemed to be a major topic of discussion. Howard picked up an injury late in the season while on duty with the U.S. Men’s National Team which forced him to undergo season ending surgery and to miss Colorado’s final two matches against Seattle. While not giving a firm return date Mastroeni did provide an update on their star goalkeeper saying:
“I think it was 12-16 weeks initially (time that Howard was estimated to miss) and as we get to Tucson the next phase of his recovery is going to be a little bit more intense. Again, there’s no pressure for him to be ready for the first game of the season, having said that, he’s made some really good progress. He’s actually in Memphis right now meeting with the physical therapist that started his rehab. We’re just taking it day to day, week to week, to see where he goes but I think he’s feeling more and more comfortable every day, every training. [Tim] has hit the ground, so he’s diving. His range of passing is about 20 yards at the moment and he feels comfortable with that. So, again, it’s all about gradual improvements and doing so at a level that he feels comfortable with, but his recovery process has been really good to this point.”
Although the club did make a deep run in the 2016 MLS Cup Playoffs, the Rapids did not stand pat during the offseason. Among their key signings was former Los Angeles Galaxy forward Alan Gordon. Gordon, entering his 14th professional season, has a bit of a history with Mastroeni; the two were teammates with the Galaxy back in 2013. “You came out of every game sore in places you didn’t know existed,” said Mastroeni. “He’s a guy you can never take your eye off. Some great movement inside the area, his link up play has always been very good, causing a lot grief for us defensive midfielders, playing off shoulders [with]very good movement. Then the mentality piece, he’s a guy that’s in recent years come into games and absolutely flipped it on its head and has been able to have that psychological advantage over a lot of defenses.”
Gordon, 35, signed with the Rapids during the 2016-2017 offseason.
Gordon’s professionalism and experience (he has two MLS Cups with the Galaxy and one Supporters Shield with the San Jose Earthquakes) also seemed to be major selling points for the club. “He steps on the field and you’re thinking ‘oh, here we go again.’ You’re in for a lot,”said Mastroeni. “Not to mention who he is as a person, his character, his leadership ability, a guy that’s been around and done a lot of great things with his career. He’s just a great person to have in that locker room and continuing to grow that group.”
Asked if Gordon was a dirty player Mastroeni laughed and replied, “He’s a guy that you always want on your team, he’s not a guy you want to play against.”
The Rapids drew 1-1 against Sporting KC in their opening match in the Desert Diamond Cup on Tuesday and play New England Revolution and NYCFC before concluding the 2017 preseason. The Rapids open the regular season at home against New England Revolution on March 4th.
Colorado Rapids
New England Revolution
