COMMERCE CITY — Much of Facundo Erpen’s soccer career has been defined by mistakes.
He was discovered by mistake when scouts from D.C. United were in Argentina watching another player. Erpen became their new target and the young defender was signed in 2005.
At United, Erpen mixed his talent with regular mistakes born of aggressive youth. His star soon faded among murmuring fans and a front office that traded him to the Rapids last June for aging veteran Greg Vanney.
“That is soccer,” Erpen, 25, said Thursday after practice.
And soccer is woven throughout Erpen’s life. He was raised in the breadbasket of Argentina and punctuated his first trip to the metropolis of Buenos Aires by landing a spot on Boca Juniors’ hallowed youth team at age 15.
With prototypical size for a central defender, Erpen (6-foot, 180 pounds) is fleet enough to push forward, strong in the air, tactically astute and would rather link passes than risk a long ball over the top.
And he’s young, coaches and teammates stress. Much too young to have been given up on so quickly by United.
“D.C. made a big mistake in trading Facundo,” said fellow Argentine Christian Gomez, who played with Erpen at United before joining him in Colorado this past offseason. “He’s a great player.”
Erpen already got a measure of revenge against United as he powered home his only goal of the season to cap a 2-0 victory May 4 over his former teammates. But the bigger impact has been his steadying influence on the Rapids’ defense and a maturation that has driven his maddening moments nearly to extinction.
Erpen, who learned bits and pieces of English listening to his mother teach it, says he’s more comfortable with English now and has learned what it takes to compete in Major League Soccer, which is faster and more physical than in Argentina.
“I thought he was prone to mistakes, for one blooper a game, that’s for sure,” Rapids coach Fernando Clavijo said. “But he’s matured every day and become one of the leaders in the back. With him and Ugo (Ihemelu), we’re getting younger and younger and better and better.”
The Rapids (4-5-0) are in need of a great turnaround today as they host FC Dallas (3-3-4) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, eight days after muddling through a 2-1 loss to CD Chivas USA.
Erpen is one of three players to start every Rapids game this season, no small feat considering the rampant injuries and shifting tactics that have seen Colorado use the standard four and the riskier three players in defense.
Coincidentally, United played the three-man shape, which was at root of many of Erpen’s struggles. United’s aggressive tendencies meant the defenders were often left in one-on-one situations during the counterattack. Erpen would get beat at inopportune times or give up free kicks in dangerous spots with mistimed tackles.
With Boca Juniors in his pedigree, Erpen’s mistakes in MLS were magnified by expectation. At the same time, it helped prepare him for the pressure and criticism.
“I was so happy to be there because every single day they have 300 people that tried to distinguish (themselves) and I was one of them,” Erpen said of his audition with Boca Juniors.
Growing up under the tutelage of a club revered throughout Argentina and touched by stars such as Diego Maradona, Alfredo Graciani and Gabriel Batistuta, where games against rival River Plate can put the country at a standstill, criticism by U.S. fans and media just doesn’t have the same teeth.
“The people are crazy,” Erpen said of Boca Juniors’ fans. “I know some people they don’t even care about their family, they just care about their team.”
As a defender, his continuing good form for the Rapids has led to more relaxation for Erpen, his wife, and their 2-year-old daughter. And if Erpen isn’t playing soccer, he says he is on the couch watching it.
He dreams of one day playing for the Argentine national team, although he knows he must probably catch on with a more prestigious European club to earn that kind of attention. With his contract expiring after the 2009 season, Erpen longs to join a club in Spain or Italy.
Until then, Erpen will continue trying to learn from the mistakes — his and other’s — that have been a backdrop to his career.
Facundo Erpen
Age: 25
Position: Defender
Height, weight: 6-foot, 180 pounds
History: Grew up in the agrarian landscape of Gualeguaychu, Argentina. Erpen was brought into Boca Juniors’ famed youth system in Buenos Aires at age 15. He spent nearly two seasons with D.C. United before joining the Rapids last June. He has two goals in 24 games for Colorado.
