COLORADO RAPIDS v. SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC

Greetings to my brothers and sisters in Green. It’s time for that once a season mile high-altitude fun at Commerce City, when we play Colorado away. Actually it’s slightly less than a mile high, at 5164 feet, which is 116 feet less than a mile……anyway, the air is going to be a bit thin, and I hope we’ve prepared for it.

What: MLS league match, Colorado Rapids v. Seattle Sounders FC.

Where: Victory Way, Commerce City, Colorado.

When: 6:30 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, Saturday 5 October 2024 CE.

At Stake: We can’t be displaced from MLS Cup qualification, and no matter what, we won’t have to play in the “wild-card” round; we will instead begin the tournament in the Round of 16.

MLS insists the round of 16 is the first-round, but that’s impossible as technically the “wild-card” matches are the first-round, but then you can’t expect MLS to get the details right, as that would require awareness, competence, and the ability to count to two. But I digress.

We can’t be displaced from the Round of 16, so where we are seeded will only address who will be our opponent, and whether or not we will play games one and three of the best-of-three series at home or away, and whether we will play at home if we advance to the Quarter-Finals.

We are also currently in qualifying position for next season’s CONCACAF Cup, but it is not guaranteed. Salt Lake, Houston, and Orlando could displace us on points. NYC FC and the Red Donkeys could mathematically tie us on points (if we should be defeated by both Colorado and Portland), and then classification would be decided by tie-breakers.

Where to Watch: MLS Season Pass via Apple TV.

Where to Listen: KJR 950 AM and El Rey 1360 AM.

The season is winding to its close. Just two more fixtures to play in the league and the season is over, to be followed by the MLS Cup tournament.

Over the years we have done quite well against our friends from the Rocky Mountains. You would hope that Saturday night would be no different. Make no mistake, this will be a difficult match. Not only do we have to play against Colorado, but also we must combat the high-altitude conditions and fatigue from the previous two matches over a period of eight days.

Those lads are going to need some chuffing up from away support. Hopefully some of our people from the Heartland will turn up and make themselves heard. If ye do, look after each other. Tie your scarves proper. Be present and be loud.

For the rest of us, in The Evergreen, it’s pubs, houses, flats, and sometimes even boats. We put on our colours. Flip on the tele, and belly up to the bar, or perch on the edge of the settee. Because it’s Sounders football, under the lights in the mile high on a Saturday night. GO ON YOU SOUNDERS!!! GET IN!!!

Before kick-off, please join me in the auld toast: “TO THE SEATTLE SOUNDERS FOOTBALL CLUB…AND VICTORY!!!”

The lads had better carb up. It’s gonna be a long night in the thin air at Victory Way, 

despite the Gaffer’s science-denial assertion that the effects of high-altitude

on strenuous athletic activity are completely psychological.

The Good News

Sounders are in excellent form, unbeaten in their last five matches (4-1-0) and registering four clean sheets over that time.

Jordan Morris still leads the line with 13 goals. Next are Rusnak with nine, Ruidiaz with eight, and Rothrock with five. Rusnak leads the squad in assists with 15, and Vargas is next with seven.

Colorado has struggled of late, dropping three of their last four matches (1-0-3), featuring losses to Kansas City, Minnesota United, and LA Galaxy.

The Sounders FC defence is tied for best in the league with Columbus, with 34 goals conceded. Colorado is 21st in the league in defence, having conceded 56 goals in the league. That’s a decisive edge for us.

Over the years, we’ve had the lion’s share of positive results against Colorado. I think the record is 22-5-8 in our favour. Of course with the amount of player turnover during that time, I don’t think you can read much into this statistic.

The Bad News

Colorado, despite their recent reversal of fortune, is still a top-10 MLS club. They are tied for 6th best in the league having scored 59 goals. Seattle, despite our excellent resurgence, are 18th in the league, having scored 49 goals.

Rafael Navarro leads the line for Colorado with 14 goals; next are Mihailovic with 11 and Bassett with nine. Mihailovic leads their squad with 14 assists; Bassett is next with seven.

Our Manager thinks that the effects of high-altitude exertion are psychological. Sooooo that’s unfortunate.

It’s our third match in eight days. We have to significantly rotate squad players in, or else our veterans and players who played most of the matches against Vancouver and Houston are going to be completely gassed by the 50 minute mark. The only comfort is that Colorado has had the same meat-grinder of a schedule. Thanks for that, Leagues Cup [sarcasm].

The Side I Would Select

So there’s what we need to do, and what makes sense to do. What we need to do is play our best team. The problem with that is that most of our first-choice players have already played the better part of two matches in five days, with a two-day turn-around to Colorado on Sat. There is also the matter of high-altitude football, which will probably have a significant impact on our more veteran players. Or just an impact on players who are already experiencing fatigue. It makes sense to play younger players and also more rested players. Unfortunately, we were unable to salt away MLS Cup qualification and CONCACAF Cup qualification earlier on, so even at this late stage, we kind of still need points in the standings. The ethical thing to do would be to play well-rested players. The most competitive thing to do would be to have your first-choice players in the team, and then substitute for them if they run out of steam. I would choose ethics in this scenario. Even if it might cost us a CONCACAF place next season.

GK     Thomas

LB     Baker-Whiting

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Bell

RB     Baker

LDM    Kitahara

RDM   Leyva

LF     Leo Chu

CAM   Atencio

RF     Teves

CF     Musovski

The Side I Think The Gaffer Will Select

I think it’s highly likely that training was very light and limited after the midweek fixture against Houston. The Colorado match will be the Sounders’ third match in eight days.  All recovery methods will have been utilised, but cryo-therapy can’t fix the thin air at Commerce City, or purge lactic acid from muscles more quickly. This selection seems like a safe bet.

GK     Frei

LB     Nouhou

LCH    Ragen

RCH    Bell

RB     Alex

LDM    Vargas

RDM   Cristian

LF     Rothrock

CAM   Rusnak

RF     de la Vega

CF     Morris

Intangibles

The Referee for Saturday night’s match is Timothy Ford.

Colorado record with Ford as Ref: 3-3-1

Sounders FC record with Ford as Ref: 1-2-2

General notes on personnel

Colorado transfers IN:

Rafael Navarro (Palmeiras) undisclosed

Anderson - re-signed

Larraz - re-signed

Stewart-Baynes - draft

Fernandez (New York RB) free

Steffen (Manchester City) free

Mihailovic (AZ Alkmaar) €2.73M

Beaudry - academy

Loffelsend (Real Salt Lake) €91,000

Frederick - draft

Jones (Austin FC) €230,000

Vines (Royal Antwerp) undisclosed fee

Cabral - reserves

Diack (Nantes) loan

Bandre - reserves

Cannon (Queens Park Rangers) free

Colorado transfers OUT:

Beitashour - retired

Price - released

Rodriguez - released

Vallecilla (Universidad Catolica) free

Yarbrough (San Jose Earthquakes) free

Diaz (Saprissa) free

Leyva (Seattle Sounders FC) end of loan

Gutman (Chicago Fire) €417,000

Wilson (Queens Park Rangers) free

Nicholson (Motherwell) free

Alves (Cuiaba) undisclosed fee

Miguel Navarro (Talleres) loan

Galvan (Banfield) loan

Keita (Bohemians FC) loan

Tavares (FC Porto B) end of loan

Gersbach - buy-out

Ilic (Sarpsborg 08FF) loan

Priso (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) €137,000

Diack (Nante) loan expired

Ilic (Sarpsborg 08) loan

Keita (Bohemians) loan

Bombito (OGC Nice) €7M

Comparison against common opponents

POR 4:1 COL

COL 2:1 POR

POR 4:0 COL LC

POR 1:2 SEA

POR 1:0 SEA

(against POR: COL 1-0-2 -6, SEA 1-0-1 0) edge SEA

RSL 1:2 COL

RSL 5:3 COL

COL 3:2 RSL

RSL 2:0 SEA

SEA 1:1 RSL

(against RSL: COL 2-0-1 0, SEA 0-1-1 -2) edge COL

COL 0:1 HOU

HOU 3:1 COL

HOU 2:2 SEA

SEA 1:0 HOU

(against HOU: COL 0-0-2 -3, SEA 1-1-0 +1) edge SEA

COL 3:2 LAFC

LAFC 3:0 COL

LAFC 4:0 COL LC

LAFC 2:1 SEA

SEA 0:3 LAFC

SEA 0:3 LAFC LC

SEA 0:1 LAFC USOC

(against LAFC: COL 1-0-2 -6, SEA 0-0-4 -8) edge COL

SJ 0:3 COL

COL 2:3 SJ

SJ 3:2 SEA

SEA 2:2 SJ

(against SJ: COL 1-0-1 +2, SEA 0-1-1 -1) edge COL

COL 2:1 DAL

DAL 2:3 COL

DAL 0:0 SEA

SEA 3:2 DAL

(against DAL: COL 2-0-0 +2, SEA 1-1-0 +1) edge COL

COL 1:0 VAN

VAN 2:1 COL

SEA 0:2 VAN

SEA 1:1 VAN

VAN 0:3 SEA

(against VAN: COL 1-0-1 0, SEA 1-1-1 +1) edge SEA

COL 3:3 MIN

MIN 3:0 COL

SEA 2:0 MIN

SEA 2:0 MIN LC

MIN 2:3 SEA

(against MIN: COL 0-1-1 -3, SEA 3-0-0 +5) edge SEA

COL 2:0 ATX

SEA 0:0 ATX

ATX 0:1 SEA

(against ATX: COL 1-0-0 +2, SEA 1-1-0 +1) even

STL 0:3 COL

COL 4:1 STL

STL 1:2 SEA

SEA 2:0 STL

(against STL: COL 2-0-0 +6, SEA 2-0-0 +3) edge COL

COL 4:1 MTL

SEA 5:0 MTL

(against MTL: COL 1-0-0 +3, SEA 1-0-0 +5) edge SEA

COL 2:1 SKC

SKC 4:1 COL

SKC 2:1 SEA

SEA 2:0 SKC

(against SKC: COL 1-0-1 -2, SEA 1-0-1 +1) edge SEA

LAG 3:2 COL

COL 1:3 LAG

LAG 1:0 SEA

SEA 0:0 LAG

SEA 3:1 LAG LC

(against LAG: COL 0-0-2 -3, SEA 1-1-1 +1) edge SEA

PHI 2:2 COL LC

PHI 2:3 SEA

(against PHI: COL 0-1-0 0, SEA 1-0-0 +1) edge SEA

Know Thine Enemy

Colorado as they lined up in their 1:3 defeat by LA Galaxy at Victory Way on 2 October.

GOALKEEPER

Zack Steffen, Age 29

United States (29/0)

Notable Clubs: Columbus Crew (76/0), Pittsburgh Riverhounds (9/0), Manchester City (2/0), Fortuna Dusseldorf (17/0), Middlesbrough (42/0), Colorado Rapids (32/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by West Chester United, FC Delco, and Philadelphia Union. Played his university football for Maryland (48/0). Won two English Premier League titles and one English League Cup with Manchester City. Won a CONCACAF Nations League with United States. Named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year 2018. Named to MLS Best XI 2018. Named 2024 Leagues Cup Best Goalkeeper.

DEFENCE

Jackson Travis, 20

United States

Notable Clubs: Colorado Rapids (9/0)

Estimated Transfer Value: €75,000

Notes: Developed by Colorado Rapids.

Andreas Maxso, 30

Denmark (2/0)

Notable Clubs: FC Nordsjaelland (108/3), Osmanlispor (20/1), FC Zurich (28/0), Brondby IF (96/5), Colorado Rapids (65/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1.2M

Notes: Developed by Brondby IF and FC Nordsjaelland. Won a Danish Superliga title with Brondby.

Alhassan “Lalas” Abubakar, 29

Ghana

Notable Clubs: Charlotte Eagles (14/2), Michigan Bucks (12/0), Columbus Crew SC (31/2), Pittsburgh Riverhounds (5/0), Colorado Rapids (137/9)

Estimated Transfer Value: €800,000

Notes: Full name: Alhassan Abubakar. Played his university football for University of Ghana and also for Dayton (61/4).

Reggie Cannon, 26

United States (28/1)

Notable Clubs: FC Dallas (67/2), Boavista (82/0), Queens Park Rangers (21/0), Colorado Rapids (4/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2M

Notes: Developed by FC Dallas. Played his university football for UCLA (20/0). Won a CONCACAF Gold Cup and a CONCACAF Nations League with United States.

MIDFIELD

Connor Ronan, 26

England

Notable Clubs: Wolverhampton (8/0), Portsmouth (16/0), Walsall (11/0), Blackpool (10/1), Grasshoppers (30/1), St. Mirren (27/7), Colorado Rapids (58/2)

Estimated Transfer Value: €1M

Notes: Developed by Copperpot JFC, Rochdale, and Wolverhampton. Won an English EFL Championship title (2nd Tier) with Wolverhampton.

Djordje Mihailovic, 25

United States (11/3)

Notable Clubs: Chicago Fire (73/7), CF Montreal (61/13), AZ Alkmaar (23/1), Colorado Rapids (27/11)

Estimated Transfer Value: €3M

Notes: Developed by Chicago Blast and Chicago Fire. Won a Canadian Championship with CF Montreal. Son of former Washington Diplomats midfielder Aleks Mihailovic.

Oliver Larraz, 23

United States

Notable Clubs: Colorado Rapids (37/1), San Diego Loyal (12/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €450,000

Notes: Developed by Colorado Rapids and MSV Duisburg.

FORWARD

Omir Fernandez, 25

United States

Notable Clubs: New York RB (112/15), Colorado Rapids (31/1)

Estimated Transfer Value: €2.5M

Notes: Developed by New York RB. Played his university football for Wake Forest (44/18).

Rafael Navarro, 24

Brazil

Notable Clubs: Botafogo (62/18), Palmeiras (47/2), Colorado Rapids (42/15)

Estimated Transfer Value: €4.5M

Notes: Full name: Rafael Navarro Leal. Developed by Fluminense and Atletico Goianiense. Won a Brazilian Serie B title with Botafogo. Won a Recopa Sudamericana, two Brazilian Serie A titles and a Supercopa do Brasil with Palmeiras.

Calvin Harris, 24

England

Notable Clubs: FC Cincinnati (24/1), Colorado Rapids (48/5)

Estimated Transfer Value: €450,000

Notes: Developed by Hong Kong FC and Wellington Phoenix. Played his university football for Wake Forest (32/10).

Familiar Faces

Chris Little has coached for Colorado Rapids since 2021. Little was formerly a coach at Seattle Sounders FC Academy (2017-2018), and for the Sounders FC Reserves (2019-2020). For eight matches last season, Little was interim manager for Colorado Rapids.

Squads

Colorado from:

Bandre, Beaudry, Ilic, Steffen, Abubakar, Anderson, Bombito, Cannon, Chacon, Edwards, Jones, Maxso, Rosenberry, Vines, Diack, Fernandez, Larraz, Loffelsend, Mihailovic, Ronan, Travis, Frederick, Harris, Lewis, Navarro, Stewart-Baynes, Yapi.

Sounders FC from:

Frei, Thomas, Baker, Bell, Gomez Andrade, Hawkins, Nathan, Nouhou, Ragen, Alex, Atencio, Baker-Whiting, De la Vega, Joao Paulo, Kitahara, Leyva, Rusnak, Vargas, Morris, Cristian, Leo Chu, Minoungou, Musovski, Rodrigues, Rothrock, Ruidiaz, Teves.

Injury List

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Colorado -

OUT: Bassett (quadriceps), Cabral (elbow).

MATCHDAY DECISION: none.

Sounders FC -

OUT: none.

MATCHDAY DECISION: Ruidiaz (knee),  Joao Paulo (calf).

Discipline

(as listed on mlssoccer.com at press time)

Colorado: No players suspended. Harris and Navarro out next match if booked.

Sounders FC: No players suspended. Nouhou out next match if booked.

Fun Facts

Hey, you lot! Sounders FC defender Jackson Ragen has got himself a genuine bona fide call-up to the Yanks. Well done, lad!

Sounders FC Reserves play their last league match of the MLS Next Pro season against St. Louis City SC2 at Citypark on Sunday 6 October. Kick-off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PDT.