The Colorado Rapids are attempting a rapid ascent in the 2024 MLS regular season, trying to take the express lane from the bottom of the Western Conference to the top after arguably the most ambitious offseason to date among the league’s 29 teams.
The Rapids, fresh off a 2023 season that saw them accumulate just 27 points and finish 14th in the Western Conference — Toronto FC (22 points) were the only team in the league they were better than — have made big, bold moves this offseason.
It started with the hiring of a new head coach in Chris Armas, followed by the signings of free agent Omir Fernandez before landing US men’s national team players Zack Steffen and Djordje Mihailovic via transfers.
They then signed three of the top five selections in January’s MLS SuperDraft among the 11 new players brought to Commerce City in an attempt to ignite new life to a squad that also missed the playoffs in 2022.
“As the dominos started to fall, it’s clear that we mean business,” Rapids president Padraig Smith said at a preseason press conference last week. “We were under no illusions whatsoever that last year wasn’t good enough. The key thing is we knew why it wasn’t good enough, we knew what we had to do to make those changes.
“It came together the way we wanted, the way we planned. And obviously we’re incredibly excited about the group we’ve been able to build.”
The moves have galvanized a frustrated fanbase that staged a walkout last season, protesting what they perceived to be limited resources allocated on improvements on the field. The Rapids were just two years removed from a 2021 season in which they money-balled their way to the top spot in the Western Conference and reached the postseason for a second straight year.
Change was desperately needed and it came — rapidly.
“It was really the middle of ’22 that I realized this is not going in the direction that we wanted. That’s when you start to sit down and have those first few conversations with Wayne [Brant, chief business officer] and [assistant general manager] Fran [Taylor] and then expanding it out and talking with ownership that this is not going in the direction we want. We wanted it to work, we had those conversations internally and we tried to make certain changes and it just wasn’t turning the way we wanted to,” Smith said.
“At that point in time, you have to take any action. We can’t let that go on any further and the action had to be taken. From my perspective, the thing I want to create the most is a club that is competing for MLS Cup every year and providing our supporters and the community at large, representing the community, but providing an attacking and entertaining style of football. We’re not going to settle for anything less.”
Armas, who was the head coach of the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC, arrived in November after assistant coaching stints at Leeds United and Manchester United in England. He replaced Robin Fraser, who was let go two months prior.
Like some of the club’s new signings, Armas arrives in Colorado with a point to prove.
“You never arrive. You always have to prove yourself. That’s real,” Armas said. “Whatever you want to call that, a chip on your shoulder, to prove when you don’t win, then for sure it’s obvious, but when you win its just a hunger to do more and to win and win decisively.”
Armas knew Fernandez since his academy days with the Red Bulls and signed him to his first professional contract. The 24-year-old winger scored 15 goals and added 13 assists in 112 regular season games for the Red Bulls. The Bronx, New York native hit free agency after five seasons in New York and heard a familiar voice on the other end of the phone line in Armas who pitched him on bringing his game to Colorado.
“One of the first things I told him was I’m in this process and I need to go somewhere where I’m going to win and I need to have that mentality,” Fernandez said. “And he said that’s what I’m bringing here. I’m going to bring players that are going to win and that was one of the things that caught my eye and is one of the reasons why it made the decision so easy for me.”
Just after new year came the newest Rapids signing in Steffen, who made a big ticket move from the Columbus Crew to Manchester City, where he never broke in with the first team and went on a pair of loans, first to Fortuna Düsseldorf and then to Middlesbrough, while losing out on the No. 1 goalkeeping spot to Matt Turner with the US men’s national team.
“Zack Steffen, I think this is pretty clear, we’ve got a winner there,” Armas said. “We’ve got a top goalkeeper who has been part of major success, big experiences, some individual honors for sure, player of the year awards, but most importantly he’s been part of good strong cultures, winning cultures. He’s a leader. He’s exactly what a Rapids player represents — talented, but he’s a good character guy and that’s what we’re all about here.”
Steffen, who was the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2018, is hoping a return to MLS is what can kick start his career.
“Chris Armas’ energy is electric. He has a lot of dreams and goals for this club, not just for this year, but for the future,” Steffen said. “So does [Rapids goalkeeping coach] Chris Sharpe and so do I. To be back in the states, back closer to family, closer to friends, to have them part of my career again just gives me a lot of energy and passion and motivation to come back here.”
Four days later, the Rapids welcomed Mihailovic back to the league after a less than fruitful season and a half at AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch Eredivisie. Colorado reportedly paid a club-record transfer fee north of $3 million to sign the 25-year-old midfielder, who had 20 goals and 36 assists in his first six seasons in MLS — 13 goals and 22 assists coming in two seasons with CF Montreal after four years with the Chicago Fire.
“What’s going on in Colorado, the passion the president and the coach is bringing and what their main objective is is very clear to us and also to this city and the rest of the league,” Mihailovic said. “We’re not here to just barely make playoffs. We’re here to compete for the top of the table.”
Those three moves particularly energized the returning players, including Cole Bassett, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder who signed a long-term extension with Colorado on January 9 despite drawing interest from Europe.
“One of the big reasons I decided to stay and sign on longer is kind of talking with Padraig, what guys are we going to bring in to challenge and I think we’ve brought in a couple so far that really get me excited to play with on the field,” Bassett said. “I think the rest of the team is excited at the potential of what we have this year.”
Of course, the proof comes February 24 when the Rapids open the 2024 season against the Portland Timbers.
But there’s already a tangible buzz in Colorado, one unlike any veteran defender Keegan Rosenberry has seen in his five seasons there.
“We’ve only been a couple of days in this stadium together and kind of coming together, but there’s an energy that wasn’t there at times last year,” Rosenberry said. “Going into this year with the signings we’ve made, the moves we’ve made it gives everyone a new sense of confidence that we can compete, we can be one of the better teams in the league.”
