Poise is all about the right perspective.
So when Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo talks with unruffled confidence about Saturday’s playoff game against FC Dallas at Invesco Field at Mile High, rest assured he’s selective when looking back.
“The way we end the season makes you really think things can work,” Clavijo said Sunday, a day after the Rapids rallied for a 3-3 draw at Houston that secured their fifth consecutive Major League Soccer playoff berth.
Never mind the Rapids won just once in their past six games, ended the season 11-13-8, are the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and are 0-3-1 against FC Dallas this season, having been outscored 9-3. And pay no attention to the fact Colorado has just 36 goals in 32 games this season and the worst goal margin (minus-13) in MLS.
Thorns? Clavijo sees only roses. After all, the Rapids knocked FC Dallas out of the playoffs last season in a home- and-home aggregate-scoring series that boiled over with emotion and controversy.
Midfielder Alain Nkong was at the center of it all at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Cameroonian was involved in several incidents on and off the field and booed by the FC Dallas fans before he was sent off for a foul on Simo Valakari – a foul Clavijo and Nkong insist never happened.
Despite being down a player for more than an hour, the Rapids rallied to force overtime and eventually won on penalty kicks.
“We are definitely going with a lot of confidence,” Clavijo said.
Nkong is back after being re-signed by the team in August. FC Dallas goalie Dario Sala, who got in Nkong’s face on the sideline before his red card, is scheduled to resume training today in hope of regaining his starting job.
For FC Dallas, which gained the No. 1 seed after finishing 16-12-4, facing the Rapids suits their tactics and temperament.
“Not many times in life do you get a chance to kind of change things around,” FC Dallas defender Chris Gbandi said Sunday.
On paper, FC Dallas has a heavy advantage.
Veteran striker Carlos Ruiz is third in MLS with 13 goals, one more than the Rapids’ top two scorers combined. Kenny Cooper is a big, physical forward who has 11 goals and is tied with Rapids striker Nicolas Hernandez for the most game-winning goals (six) this season.
FC Dallas is second in MLS with 48 goals and Sala is second with 14 wins, while playmakers Richard Mulrooney and Ronnie O’Brien are tied for first with four game-winning assists.
Both teams are tough when scoring first – the Rapids are 9-0-3 and FC Dallas 13-2-3.
But all of that is trumped, in Clavijo’s mind, by last season’s playoff upset.
“We have a little bit of an edge,” he said. “It’s going to be a war, but I like it and I like our chances.”
Rapids/playoffs
First leg: Saturday
FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids, 7 p.m. at Invesco Field at Mile High
Second leg: Oct. 28
Colorado Rapids vs. FC Dallas, 5:30 p.m. at Pizza Hut Park
Aggregate-scoring series with overtime and penalty shootout in second leg if score is tied.
