General consensus about the Colorado Rapids, nationally speaking, is that they’re a high-level No. 9 away from reaching the next step.
Head coach Robin Fraser, after guiding his team to the 2021 Western Conference regular-season title and booking a Concacaf Champions League spot, offered his perspective on that topic during a 1-on-1 interview with Extratime host Andrew Wiebe.
Fraser acknowledged that need, but also backed his players’ abilities to get the job done – as evidenced by the 61 points they tallied a year ago, finishing second in the Supporters’ Shield race behind the New England Revolution.
“For us to go farther, everyone talks about spending more money and sure, again, it’s finding the right players to fit into our system, not just ability but personality and attitude,” Fraser said ahead of their CCL Round of 16 series beginning Thursday evening at Guatemala's Comunicaciones (7 pm ET | FS2, TUDN in US; OneSoccer in Canada). “Until we find those players, we push on with what we have. I think what we have are some good and underrated players.”
Rapids EVP and general manager Padraig Smith addressed the roster hole earlier this offseason, saying they’re looking at “a DP-level No. 9 or TAM-level No. 9” to keep progressing. The Rapids currently have no Designated Players after the departure of Younes Namli, a usual hallmark of high-ceiling teams in MLS.
As the search continues, Fraser backed the likes of Jonathan Lewis, Diego Rubio and Michael Barrios as viable options up top. Barrios was their leading scorer a year ago with eight goals and six assists, while Lewis was their second-leading scorer with seven goals and two assists.
Fraser’s also confident about the progress that homegrown forwards Darren Yapi and Yaya Toure have shown. The 17-year-old US youth internationals both spent time on loan in 2021 at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, their USL Championship affiliate.
“For me, I like a lot of our guys,” Fraser said. “Jonny plays as a 9, Diego has been very good in preseason, Mikey plays as a 9 – all three guys score goals from there. Andre Shinyashiki over the years has had really good moments as a 9 as well. While we’re always looking to improve and always looking to find players we think can help us, we really like the team.”
In the meantime, Fraser is confident that Colorado can embark on a CCL run. They’re favored to advance past Comunicaciones, hosting the return leg Feb. 23 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The winner on aggregate will face the winner of the New York City FC and Santos de Guápiles (Costa Rica) series in the quarterfinal stage that runs from March 8-17. No MLS team has ever won CCL in its modern iteration, and the Rapids are making their third appearance and first since 2018.
Can they break the curse?
“It’s about the collective and for us, it’s the unselfishness, the willingness to work for each other,” Fraser said of their strengths. “These are things that make the difference for our team.”
Those qualities could spark Colorado forward in league play, too, with their 2022 campaign starting Feb. 26 at LAFC. That’ll pit them against USMNT midfield mainstay Kellyn Acosta, who swapped Western Conference sides this offseason in a trade, much like Canada midfield mainstay Mark-Anthony Kaye did last summer.
The Rapids are also chasing a further playoff spot, losing to Minnesota United FC in 2020 and the Portland Timbers in 2021. Fraser feels they’re close, though.
“The next step is continuing to advance,” Fraser said. “Two years ago we wanted to get to the playoffs, we got to the playoffs and didn't play particularly well in that first game. We lost to Minnesota. So our goal was to obviously get beyond the first round and last year we did well, ending up winning the West but fell short in the first game. We thought we played well enough to win it, but in the end we didn’t. So the next goal for us has to be to go farther than we did last year.”
For more from Fraser, check out the entire Extratime interview here.
