Revolutions often are messy and seldom go according to plan.
Since taking over the Rapids in December, it could be argued coach Fernando Clavijo has upgraded the team with younger, less expensive players, but the Rapids have shown little cohesion while developing a head-scratching emotional barometer.
“Right now, we just lack some conviction,” goalie Joe Cannon said.
Such uncertainty has the team tied for its worst start (4-10-2, 14 points) through 16 games since the franchise was founded in 1996.
After Wednesday’s 1-0 loss to San Jose, the Rapids reached the midpoint of the season with one more loss than they had in all of 2004 – a season that ultimately cost coach Tim Hankinson and general manager Dan Counce their jobs.
“I’m not going to say I’m happy with our record, because I’m not,” said general manager Charlie Wright, who hired Clavijo, a former World Cup defender. “When you make a lot of changes, it takes some time. I would be panicked if I thought we didn’t have a good team, but we do.”
Only nine of the 24 players on Colorado’s 2004 playoff roster remain with the team. The most notable losses are veterans Chris Henderson and Mark Chung – both traded last month – and John Spencer, who declined to return after last season.
Clavijo said he expected the team to struggle while the players adapted to each other, but he is surprised by the lack of fight, finishing and possession.
“To be able to have a championship team, you have to have the right attitude,” said Clavijo, who will be enshrined in the National Soccer Hall of Fame in August.
Making wholesale changes and building on youth was Clavijo’s coaching blueprint during his 2 1/2 seasons with the New England Revolution, where he compiled a 22-31-12 record from 2000-02.
Several of the players Clavijo drafted at New England – Taylor Twellman, Shalrie Joseph and Marshall Leonard – are now standouts for a Revolution squad that leads Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer.
Known as a player’s coach, Clavijo has an eye for recognizing talented, determined and often raw players, Twellman said.
“They are probably one or two pieces from being a good team,” Twellman said of the Rapids.
For a Colorado team that set an MLS mark for scoring futility with 29 goals in 30 games last season, Clavijo’s first move was acquiring striker Jeff Cunningham from Columbus. He is tied with New England’s Pat Noonan for the league lead in goals with eight but has received little help. Colorado’s 16 goals in as many games are barely an improvement, while the defense is on pace to surrender 44 goals – 12 more than in 2004.
The Rapids’ midfield is their top concern. Marshaled by defensive midfielder and captain Pablo Mastroeni, Colorado lacks an attacking midfielder and speedy wingers who can possess the ball long enough to allow teammates to join the fray.
Most of Clavijo’s unproven acquisitions – Luchi Gonzalez, Alain Nkong, Terry Cooke, Leo Cullen, Hunter Freeman, Guy Melamed and Fabrice Noel – have shown bursts of promise, but have yet to settle in. Veteran additions such as Mike Petke and Wolde Harris are vital – and so are their voices.
Cannon, the MLS 2004 goalkeeper of the year, said this team is the most talented collection of individuals Colorado has had in three years, but lack of veteran leadership on and off the pitch could be a problem.
“I can say we’re one of the better teams in the league,” second-year striker Jean Philippe Peguero said. “We just don’t show it yet.”
In the Rapids’ first victory this season, they used patient possession to dismantle the Columbus Crew 2-0. Seven days later, the Rapids were overwhelmed 3-1 by the MetroStars – winless at the time – giving up three goals at home for the first time since July 13, 2002.
After posting consecutive victories, which included a gritty 1-0, nine-man win over Los Angeles, the Rapids relapsed Saturday at home and were soundly beaten 3-1 by FC Dallas.
“If we had a reason, we’d obviously try to correct it,” defender Ricky Lewis said of the team’s inconsistencies. “I really don’t know.”
Clavijo has reminded his players on several occasions that they are competing for their jobs.
“I think right now we have a lot of people who really do not know what the professional environment is,” Clavijo said. “They are used to getting paid to play, not perform. To me, that is not a professional athlete.”
When asked Saturday if the Rapids were a better team under Clavijo, FC Dallas goalie Scott Garlick, formerly of Colorado, gave perhaps the most fitting evaluation.
“You’ll only know that at the end of the year,” Garlick said. “I think they’re just still trying to find their identity.”
Rapids in U.S. Open Cup
The Rapids will play in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The U.S. Soccer Federation’s National Championship is an annual competition open to all amateur and professional soccer teams affiliated with U.S. Soccer.
Depending on what happens in the third round, the Rapids will either host Real Salt Lake at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada, or visit the Minnesota Thunder of United Soccer Leagues 1 in St. Paul, Minn.
