2008 MLS Season Is Here…And So Are The Rapids Reserves…

You all know my style by now, I’m not team specific on the blog but I am a Rapids supporter through and through. By now you’ve heard, the Rapids spanked the “mighty” LA Galaxy on Saturday night in front of a sell out crowd here in Denver. Way to go ‘Pids! Big win! While the Rapids fans are jumping for joy after not seeing that big a margin of victory since 1996 and the club is patting themselves on the back for a successful kick off we here at FCTP need to look at the win from another angle. Where did all these starters come from? (“Rhetorical question Farley, I already know the answer!” is what Mr. Woodcock would say, right bad movie conisours?)

Those who don’t regularly attend Rapids games, check the website for daily updates, surf BigSoccer regularly or go to Rapids Reserve matches probably won’t recognize some of the names on the Rapids opening night starting roster. Kosuke Kimura, John DiRaimondo, Nick LaBrocca, Omar Cummings and Stephen Keel all filled in for injured starters or found themselves at the top of the depth chart after some good old fashion pre-season hard work.

First off, the Rapids have moved to a 4-5-1 formation with the off-season signing of Argentinean playmaker Christian Gomez. He will be allowed to operate at the top of a five man midfield with few defensive responsibilities if any. With two of the other four midfielders wingers that leaves two defensive minded midfielder spots open. Going into opening night I expected to see Pablo Mastroeni and Brazilian off-season signing Rafael Gomes holding down those two spots. However, fitness wouldn’t allow it and we got two youngsters, DiRaimondo and LaBrocca in their place. I have to admit, I was nervous when I saw that flash across the FSC pre-game lineup screen.

Next the back line. Jose Burciaga Jr. and Facundo Erpen have been starting in the league for a few years now, but Kosuke Kimura and Stephen Keel haven’t. Injuries to Mike Petke and Ugo Ihemelu opened up two spots and the two youngsters filled in admirably. With Mike Petke being on the Injured Reserve list, out until at least May 10th, Stephen Keel is going to get plenty more playing time after helping to shut down Carlos Ruiz and Landon Donovan.

Finally, up top we saw Omar Cummings’ first professional start for the Rapids in league play. Last season he was coming off the bench to give Conor Casey and Jovan Kirovski relief. This season he seems to have wrestled the starting position away from Kirovski while Casey is also on the Injured Reserve list.

So where did these guys come from? The Rapids Reserves of course. For the past two seasons the Rapids have been using their reserves for exactly this purpose, to fill in for the senior team when injuries rear their ugly heads. The Rapids seem to have figured out that instilling a winning spirit in the reserve team can help the senior team. Coaches Clavijo and Murphy need to be given credit for their ability to scout players and sign players who don’t rate well after the MLS Combine but who still have the right stuff. While other teams seem to be using the transfer market more as the main player conduit, the Rapids have quietly assembled a group of talented young American college products. Yup, all of the guys mentioned above either graduated or played some college soccer here in the US. Yes, all those doom and gloom people out there who forecast the death of American soccer need to take another look. Combined with good coaching on a reserve team American college players are still making an impact. This also shows that programs outside of the power conferences are doing well at bringing along talent. Cummings played for Cincinnati. LaBrocca played at Rutgers. Kimura went to Western Illinois University. DiRaimondo attended St. Louis University. Keel went to the biggest soccer school, Wake Forest.

All of these guys have one thing in common. They’ve spent the last season or two playing for the reserve team, winning back to back reserve league championships. They’ve been given time to mature into the pro life as opposed to being thrown in at the deep end. It takes a special player to be able to adjust immediately from College to the Pros, the rest need time. Of this group Kimura had the most starts going into last night with four. LaBrocca and Keel both earned their second while the rest their first.

The #5 selection in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft, Ciaran O'Brien, got his first league action as a second half sub. While he showed a lot of hustle, he also showed some rookie over exuberance with his tackle on Carlos Ruiz from behind. He earned the red card and learned that tackles against the worst diver in the league need to be better timed. From what I've heard everyone in the Rapids camp is happy with O'Brien's pre-season work and he should continue to get minutes as the season moves along, and his red card suspension expires.

Congrats to the Rapids for a big season opening win and for showing the rest of MLS how to develop players.