By ADAM SERRANO
The long schedule may already be catching up with Real Salt Lake.
Goalkeeper Nick Rimando is listed as questionable for this weekend with a bone spur in his
ankle, which may press back-up Kyle Reynish into the starting lineup for the claret-and-cobalt
against the Los Angeles Galaxy.
This year starts on a much better note than the last 3 years. Before our first kick of 2011 we'll
be raising our 2010 Champions banner (I assume)! That's a much better place to be than on a 3-year
playoff drought like last year. With the added CONCACAF Champions League games the Rapids have a
full schedule this year.
Found At soccerchris.com
TEAM: Colorado Rapids
COACH: Gary Smith (ENG)
2010 LEAGUE RESULTS: 46 pts (12-8-10), 5th Western Conference, MLS Cup
Champions
2010 REVIEW: In 2010, the Colorado Rapids became the 9th team to capture the
MLS Cup.
By AVI CREDITOR
The Colorado Rapids enter the 2011 preseason with an unfamiliar distinction: Defending MLS Cup
chamions.
Not much has changed in terms of the team's make-up. Captain Pablo Mastroeni is back in the fold
after climbing the champion's mountain for the first time in his career; the lethal strike tandem
of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings is still in tact, which may have been an uncertainty had Cummings
gotten the chance to impress on trial at Aston Villa; and the defensive unit, which had a number of
unknown commodities in 2010, has a successful season under its belt as it enters another campaign
together.
Why the fuck are we practicing now? This is total bullshit. It wasn't that long ago I got
knocked out of the playoffs. Now it's January and I have to shlep around the field barking shit at
supplemental draft picks. What the fuck is this schedule? I can't even gloat about our attendance
like I did last year.
(Editor's note: This is part two of a series looking at how the Rapids will fill out an
expanded roster for 2011.)
There are only six defenders on the current roster, but there is probably no position in better
health for the Rapids. There's also no area that will tell more about the team's long-term plans
for captain Pablo Mastroeni, 34, than what Colorado does on defense.
