Football Season Review

After a standout 2016 campaign, the Colorado Rapids would fall back into old habits during the 2017 season, in what can be considered a disastrous year. Finishing the season with just 33 points to their name, the Rapids would end up in tenth position in the Western Conference table, making them the third worst side in MLS. Without a number of key names from the 2016 season, such as central midfielder Sam Cronin, the Rapids would lack any real bite in midfield. With no solid spine to the squad, and with their line up constantly changing, Colorado would fail to maintain any consistency throughout the season. The sacking of head coach Pablo Mastroeni part way through the campaign only demonstrates how poor the Rapids were. While interim boss Steve Cooke managed to improve the Rapids’ league form slightly, the side from Commerce City will need to strengthen all over in the offseason, if they wish to make any sort of improvement in 2018. Despite such a poor finish, there were a few positives for the Rapids take away from the 2017 campaign. The emergence of young defender Kortne Ford is certainly one of them. The rookie defender would display flashes of brilliance at centre back for the Rapids, and looks like an exciting prospect for the future. New signing Stefan Aigner also looks like a fine addition to the squad, who can perhaps make a real impact if given a chance next season. The final player to impress was young forward Dominique Badji. Finding the back of the net 9 times and recording 6 assists, he was perhaps Colorado’s standout performer. With Anthony Hudson taking over as their new manager, the Rapids fans certainly have a lot to be excited about next season. Having already brought in some solid signings such as Johan Blomberg and Vancouver’s Deklan Wynne, it will be interesting to see how their 2018 campaign plays out.

Player of the Season: Dominique Badji