COMMERCE CITY — Tyrone Marshall knew he’d arrived on what was by all accounts a routine day with the Rapids’ organization in 1998. He was summoned to assistant coach Rene Miramontes’ office. As coaches in all sports often do, Miramontes had a dry-erase board on a wall. By the time he was done writing, there were three tiers of names on it, separated by two horizontal lines.
“He said, ‘These are the starters,’ ” Marshall recalled, ” ‘These are the guys who are kind of playing in between, and this is where you’re at.’ “
Marshall, who had been the 11th pick overall by the Rapids that season, was at the bottom jumble of names on the list.
“I’m looking and I’m like ‘Really? I have to do something,’ ” Marshall said.
He looked at the top of the list and wondered, “How do I get to that point?”
Prior to that moment, he’d only thought he’d arrived.
That day taught him that anything worth having is worth working to obtain.
Fourteen years, five teams, two MLS Cups, three U.S. Open Cups and two MLS all-star selections later, Marshall has returned to where it all began as a center back with the Rapids. He’s older, wiser and not nearly ready to bring his career — one of the league’s longest and most productive — to a close.
“I want to play where I walk away from the game,” Marshall said. “Not where the game is pushing you away or you’re being pushed out.”
The way he has played of late, the only place he’ll be pushed is continually into the Rapids’ starting back line.
To look at the 36-year-old is to gaze at a player with many miles on him but none the worse for the wear. He is one of 13 players in the history of MLS to have played at least 300 games, a milestone he crossed May 7.
When the Rapids signed him in January, it wasn’t with any promises other than that the squad needed depth in a season that would be filled with more than the usual number of fixtures due to regular season and CONCACAF tournament play. Injuries and rest required more capable bodies. Marshall insisted he’d be ready.
But as the club gets set to line up for its 13th match of the season today, Marshall has found his way into the starting 11 much more than anyone would have thought.
“What I didn’t know was when he did start playing he was going to look so decent,” Rapids coach Gary Smith said. “He really has forced himself into that staring lineup on more occasions than not.
“At 36, he wants to be playing every game. I haven’t got a bad word to say about the guy. He’s proved to be an incredibly good addition to this group.”
He also has proved to be a durable addition to a team that has suffered injuries by the bushel. And as his teammate, Pablo Mastroeni knows, staying healthy this late into a career might be just as hard a task as getting out and playing elite soccer.
“It’s quite grueling,” said Mastroeni, who is closing in on 300 matches. “You’re averaging 10 miles a game. You’re playing three games a week and you’re traveling.
“It becomes more imperative that you look after yourself, and you really start to figure out what works best for your body and how you can acclimate. Because the amount of work you put in, it almost challenges you mentally as well because your body feels so bad, week-in and week-out, that you’ve got to find a way to overcome it.”
Mastroeni smiled and quipped, “There’s a good chance that neither of us will be able to walk comfortably as we age.”
Marshall’s career renaissance hasn’t just caught the eye of the Rapids, but of his home country, Jamaica. He has been requested to play for the “Reggae Boyz” in the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, though he has not decided if he’ll play.
Beyond this season, how long can Marshall play with the Rapids?
“I think maybe two seasons for me,” Marshall said. “I think I still have the ability to play and the physical capability to perform on the pitch. Coming here to Colorado was a great situation for me.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Spotlight on Omar Bravo: Sidelined by a sports hernia for much of the season, Bravo returned to the team last week and greatly bolsters Sporting KC’s attack. A designated player from Chivas Guadalajara, he scored two goals in his MLS debut this season before injury set in. He has two goals in three matches this season.
NOTEBOOK
Rapids: Forward Omar Cummings (ankle) will not play tonight. There also is a question of whether he’ll be able to play for the Jamaican National Team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup because of the injury and might not go. . . . The Rapids are unbeaten in their last six games.
Sporting KC: Sporting KC has lost five straight MLS matches, though the team did win Wednesday in a U.S. Open Cup match. . . . Former Rapids standout Peter Vermes is the coach of Sporting KC.
