Pablo Mastroeni is over the red card he picked up last month in the World Cup, which kept the Rapids’ captain out of the United States’ 2-1 tournament-ending loss to Ghana.
“I beat myself up over getting red-carded against Italy for the next day and a half,” Mastroeni said Monday. “Then I realized to beat myself up was a pretty selfish act being that the team was bigger than myself.”
It may not be long before Mastroeni is over the Rapids, too. The 29-year-old defensive midfielder said he got some inquiries from European clubs while at the World Cup in Germany and would favor a move abroad if given the chance. Mastroeni stressed nothing was beyond the exploration phase, but said he would favor a move to the English Premier League.
Mastroeni has two years left on his contract with the Rapids. With more than 50 appearances with the U.S. national team to his name, Mastroeni said he wasn’t worried about making it to a future World Cup.
“As far as international soccer, I’ve experienced and tasted it,” Mastroeni said. “If I’m in form and the coach wants me to be a part of it, then I’ll be there. I have no expectations of myself going forward as far as international soccer is concerned.”
U.S. Open Cup
The Rapids will play rival Real Salt Lake or the Virginia Beach Mariners of the USL first division Aug. 2 in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup.
The Rapids will host the game if Virginia Beach beats Salt Lake. In keeping with tradition of playing Open Cup games in suburban venues, the match is tentatively scheduled to be played at the North Area Athletic Complex in Arvada.
No love for Cooke
Englishman Terry Cooke will be the first to admit soccer statistics are misleading. But the Rapids midfielder still isn’t getting any recognition for leading MLS in assists this season if recent all-star votes are an indication.
Cooke is tied with Chivas USA forward Ante Razov and D.C. United’s Christian Gomez with six assists, but the former Manchester United star has received just 1 percent of the fan vote as of last week.
The game will be played Aug. 5.
Youri trouble
The New York Red Bulls issued a statement Saturday concerning the absence of forward Youri Djorkaeff after he was spotted by television cameras in Germany watching France defeat Brazil in Saturday’s World Cup quarterfinal match.
Djorkaeff, 38, missed the Red Bulls’ 3-2 loss Saturday to New England to attend to “an unexpected, serious family matter” in his native France.
“At no point did Youri state that part of his trip was to attend the World Cup game between France and Brazil in Frankfurt, Germany, or that he had any ill-feeling toward the organization,” the Red Bulls said in a statement.
Djorkaeff has two goals and three assists in 13 games this season.
Footnotes
New England defender and Colorado Springs native James Riley (peroneal strain) is probable and not expected to start tonight for the Revolution.
The former Harrison High School standout has played in eight games this season.
