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Josef Martinez tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during Atlanta United’s opening game of the MLS season on Saturday. The Venezuela international was taken off on a stretcher 69 minutes into Atlanta’s 2-1 win over expansion franchise Nashville after colliding with David Romney. Martinez’s head coach Frank de Boer admitted after the […]

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WASHINGTON — In the brisk February air, D.C. United began the 2020 Major League Soccer season with a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids in front of an announced 16,711 at Audi Field Saturday afternoon. 

A late stoppage time goal from Jonathan Lewis sealed the victory for the away team. Contrary to its 2019 defensive form down the stretch, United gave up two late goals after scoring first. United ended 2019 with five consecutive clean sheets in the regular season.

“We are not used to giving up goals,” D.C. defender Steve Birnbaum said. “Giving up two in the first game is not what we want.”

It was a tale of two halves for the home team. United started the game with its new pressing identity and built out of the back, which was effective for the first 45 minutes. 

While United shook off some preseason rust, Peruvian attacker Edison Flores and midfielder Julian Gressel meshed quickly. The two newest additions created the majority of United’s chances in the first half.

“I thought a lot of our promising attacks started through [Flores],” D.C. head coach Ben Olsen said. “He is going to be fun to watch.”

While attacker Ola Kamara handled the hold-up play inside the box, Gressel started the game centrally with Flores on the right flank. With his natural positioning out wide, Gressel moved between the center and right wing. Flores covered the space he left open. 

“We played like that in the first half,” Gressel said of Flores. “He is a left footed player on the right wing so he likes to come inside. I think I give naturally a bit more width and I like going to the right. In that way, I think that is what the coaches want.”

United’s disallowed goal in the first half came from the pairing. In the 26th minute, Gressel sent a cross in front of goal for Flores to curl behind goalkeeper Clint Irwin. Referee Nima Saghafi waved the goal offside, something that plagued United during the course of the game.

“The first half we played well. We built the game well. We turned them over in some good spots,” Olsen said. “We were a little unlucky to not get the goal in the first half.”

Although United slowed down in the second half, defender Russell Canouse was able to get the opening goal from a set piece. In the 60th minute, Gressel stepped up to the corner flag while his teammates formed a line perpendicular to goal. Canouse pulled away from the Colorado defense to find space on the back post. He headed in the opening goal.  

The Rapids were quick to equalize on a set piece of their own seven minutes later. United cleared the initial kick out of the box, but defender Drew Moor collected the ball in Colorado’s attacking third. Captain Jack Price served a long ball in front of goal for striker Kei Kamara to finish with a header past goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

“That is as good as I have seen him play in a long time. He seems pretty engaged and motivated,” Olsen said of Colorado’s Kamara. “Giving that many set pieces up to Colorado is dangerous. They are as good as any team in the league in that department.”

Colorado’s goal took the air out of United’s attack. Instead of looking for the go-ahead goal, United were hanging on to a 1-1 draw in the final minutes and ultimately conceded the game-winner in the 92nd minute. 

“We got away from building the game and there were too many transition moments where we were running back and forth,” Olsen said. “We lost the middle of the park.”

Additionally, Flores — who provided much of United’s chances — came off in the 71st minute for Yamil Asad. Due to injury and Visa finalization, Flores did not participated in all of preseason preparation and was not yet 90 minutes fit. The change was the only one Olsen made.

“A lot of it had to do with set pieces. At that point, if you look at the bench, it’s not very tall,” Olsen said. “We put the best team out there that we have for set pieces.”

After the disappointment at home, United has a quick turnaround next week when it hosts Inter Miami CF on Saturday, March 7. 

“It is the first of 34 games,” Gressel said. “There are still a lot of points to be earned.”

The post D.C. United falls to Colorado Rapids 2-1 in 2020 season opener appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The 2019 season was one of disappointment, followed by hope for both the Colorado Rapids and its fans.

An unsatisfactory 0-7-2 start to the campaign led to the eventual firing of then head coach Anthony Hudson. Following Hudson’s dismissal, results turned and Colorado racked up points at a league-leading pace of 1.81 points per match under interim head coach Conor Casey and permanent hire Robin Fraser, who closed out the season.

Fraser will look to finish what he started in 2019 in his first full season at the club where he started his career in MLS as a player. He’ll try to do it with some new faces including former Toronto FC Nicolas Benezet and designated player Younes Namli as well as returning fan favorite Drew Moor, among others.

Combined with the new additions, Fraser hopes the implementation of his system can lead Colorado to its first playoff appearance in three seasons. Their first test lies on the road against D.C. United.

Rapids travel to face new-look DC United at Audi Field

When: February 29, 11:00 a.m. MT, 1 p.m. ET

Where: Audi Field

Broadcast: TV — Altitude-DirecTV 681; RADIO – Altitude 92.5 FM (KKSE), 950 AM

Live stream: ESPN+

The buzz:  The 2019 season will mark the first full season under head coach Robin Fraser for the Colorado Rapids. Colorado hopes to return to the playoffs following a three-year hiatus.

Despite opening the season on the road, facing a DC United squad in transition presents an opportune challenge to gain points for the Rapids. Despite adding a top young talent in Julian Gressel, the Black & Red lost key contributors Luciano Acosta and Wayne Rooney.  

Robin Fraser surely will be under an immense amount of pressure for a first-year head coach. The Rapids’ front office has promised fans a “perennial playoff team” for the better part of three seasons now, in its now infamous “Rapids Way” editorial, but has failed to deliver.

Other key matches

March 7 vs. Orlando City SC– The wounds still run deep for Colorado Rapids fans when you bring up Oscar Pareja, who left the club in the midst of the 2014 preseason to return home to FC Dallas. This game will be important for both clubs as they look to set the tone for their respective rebuilds and hopes to make the playoffs. Weather forecasts show a low of 25 degrees for this game, so at least temperature-wise another Snow Clasico might be in play. 

April 11 & Aug. 22 at/vs. Real Salt Lake – Colorado has faltered so often in the Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry that fans on both sides and even neutrals around the league are starting to question whether this is still a real rivalry.”

Bringing the rivalry trophy back to Colorado would go a long way in starting a legacy for Robin Fraser in order to bring back a spark to this rivalry and return some good will back to the fanbase. With longtime captain Drew Moor back in the locker room, expect the locker room to once again be fired up for the RMC.

July 4 vs New York Red Bulls – The Fourth of July game is always an important one for the festivities (often a sellout due to postgame fireworks). This year’s edition will also feature a halftime ceremony retiring the No. 25 in honor of longtime captain and former head coach Pablo Mastroeni.

Aug. 9 vs. Nashville SC– The former coach of Colorado’s 2010 MLS Cup winning side, Gary Smith will make his return to as the head coach of Nashville. The club will honor Smith and the 2010 MLS Cup win as part of their celebrations of MLS’s 25th season. Nashville’s roster also features former Rapids players Dominique Badji, Eric Miller and Alan Winn.

Check out the full 2019 schedule here.

Quotes & Notes

“We’ve certainly done a lot of work in how we want to play, both offensively and defensively. My concern is to have the team be good and competitive and cohesive. When we concentrate, we’re good. We need to work on that. The more we work on that, the better we’ll be and we’ll see where that takes us.” — Robin Fraser

“It’s a team with a lot of potential, I think that’s obvious to everybody. A lot of young players, but also a lot of quality. The way the team wants to play isn’t just kick and run, they want to play football, and also entertain the fans. That’s what I like. That’s why I decided to come here.” — Younes Namli

“We have a great group of guys this year, we’re very united. It feels like we’ve picked up right where we left off.” — Andre Shinyashiki

Biggest offseason moves

• Acquired defender Lalas Abubakar permanently from Columbus Crew

• Acquired forward Nicolas Benezet from Toronto FC

• Acquired Drew Moor in free agency

• Acquired attacking Designated Player Younes Namli on loan from FC Krasnodar

• Acquired defender Auston Trusty via trade with Philadelphia

• Drafted defender Jeremy Kelly from North Carolina.

• Acquired young Designated Player Braian Galvan from Argentinian side Colon. He’s expected to join the club this summer.

• Signed homegrown goalkeeper Abe Rodriguez.

Roster breakdown

Forwards – Nicolas Benezet, 29, Jonathan Lewis, 22,Niki Jackson, 23, Kei Kamara, 34, Diego Rubio, 25, Andre Shinyashiki, 22, Matt Hundley, 19, Sam Nicholson, 25

Midfielders – Younes Namli, 25, Kellyn Acosta, 24, Cole Bassett, 19, Nicolas Mezquida, 28, Jack Price, 27,

Defenders – Drew Moor, 36, Auston Trusty, 21, Kortne Ford, 23, Keegan Rosenberry, 25, Lalas Abubakar, 25, Danny Wilson, 27, Sam Vines, 20, Deklan Wynne, 24, Robin Afamefuna, 22, Seb Anderson, 17

Goalkeepers – Clint Irwin, 30, Andre Rawls, 28, Abe Rodriguez, 17

See full roster details here.

The post Colorado Rapids 2020 preview: Can Robin Fraser pick up where he left off? appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

Giuseppe Rossi has returned to football! After being without a club in the past 18 months, the Italian will be returning to the country of his childhood, the United States, as he has signed a deal with the Major League Soccer outfit – Real Salt Lake. The club announced on Thursday that the Italian striker […]

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Well, it is a return to football, but strictly speaking, Guiseppe Rossi never really stayed away from football. Italian striker and former Manchester United striker has been without a club for a while now and seeing him getting closer to actually striking a deal is a very good sign. Rossi could now be joining Real […]

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The quality of MLS signings has increased exponentially year after year. Perhaps the best example are the players that recently joined the league ahead of the 2020 season that begins next week. Several top players — mostly coming from Liga MX — have decided to make the jump to MLS. Therefore, teams in the league […]

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There has been some turmoil at Barcelona recently, and as a rift between the squad and sporting director Eric Abidal seemed to be widening, the future of Lionel Messi became a hot topic. Most recently, reports broke about LA Galaxy being very interested in bringing the Argentine superstar to the MLS to replace Zlatan Ibrahimovic, […]

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Chicago Fire are really getting ready for a big season ahead. After the change of ownership, rebranding and relocation to downtown Chicago, the Fire are now signing players almost on a daily basis. The team led by former Basel coach Raphael Wicky was first improved by a signature from Argentina and then a day later […]

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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The Colorado Rapids have added to their goalkeeping corps Thursday, signing Abraham “Abe” Rodriguez as a homegrown player.

“Abe has been turning heads since he made his debut in the USL Championship last year as a 16-year-old,” Rapids executive vice president and GM Padraig Smith said in a team statement. “We knew how talented he was from his time in the academy and his performances at the USL level. The level of maturity he has already shown in his young professional career gives us the confidence that he has the ability to develop into a top-class goalkeeper.”

The now 17-year-old Rodriguez spent the entirety of last season with the Rapids’ USL affiliate, the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, starting 16 games with a save percentage of 59.8 percent.

Prior to landing his first professional contract, Rodriguez logged over 2,250 minutes as a member of the Rapids’ Development Academy.

The Thornton, Colo. native joins a goalkeeping corps that includes Clint Irwin, the expected No. 1 for Colorado following the retirement of Tim Howard and backup goalkeeper Andre Rawls.

Given Rodriguez’s age and standing on the depth chart, in addition to his importance to the success of Colorado Springs, it’s likely he’ll spend this season on loan with the USL side.

Colorado wraps up its preseason this Saturday with a friendly against Toronto FC (3 p.m. ET) before beginning its regular season on the road at D.C. United Feb. 29 (1 p.m. ET).

The post Colorado Rapids sign 17-year-old homegrown GK Abe Rodriguez appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

The new Major League Soccer season is going to be the 25th campaign and it is getting closer and closer. In 20 days, teams will be on the pitch, playing their first matches, and that is why there are still a lot of deals being done these days. One of those came unexpectedly from Serbia. […]

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Inter Miami are looking to start their 2020 MLS season with a bang. The franchise led by David Beckham are aiming to become a MLS Cup contender right away, and the management wants to build a stellar team before their season debut. The former England international is making everything he can to help the squad […]

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The post Inter Miami Highly Interested In Signing Luka Modric, Edinson Cavani appeared first on Soccer News.

Major League Soccer revealed the kits for all 26 teams ahead its 25th season in a fashion show on Thursday. The entire collection is manufactured by Adidas and follows the same template, with the brand’s iconic three stripes deployed vertically over the right shoulder of each jersey. Despite the generic look, many have still managed […]

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The post MLS reveals new kits in fashion show ahead of 25th season appeared first on Soccer News.