Ahead of tonight's match (7:30 p.m. CT) against Colorado, SportingKC.com caught up with Rapids' broadcaster Marcelo Balboa to preview the home opener at Children's Mercy Park.
What's been the key for Colorado's strong defensive play last season and early this year?
Last year you saw the team really pride themselves on defending as a group and I think you see it from the forwards all the way back to the goalkeeper. They're a pretty defensive, tight unit. That's what they lived off last year. They're looking to attack more this year, bringing in some players who are a little more offensive minded. When you get so many new bodies into the lineup, it takes a little bit of time for that part of the game to click. I think they're happy with how they've played defensively. There's been a few errors here and there but overall they've been really solid defensively.
On the offensive side, what's been the reason for their struggles?
It's going to take some time for Gashi but he's gotten better and better every game. Marco Pappa is now playing 90 minutes and he's getting healthy. Solignac scored his first goal against Toronto so he's on the scoreboard, something he didn't do last year. Their waiting for Kevin Doyle to come back from his injury he suffered with the National Team. Colorado went and picked up some more offensive bodies and that's what their looking for this year, for that side of the game to click. They've created a lot of chances but need to be a little bit more clinical in front of goal.
What are you some things you're going ot be watching for this match?
I'll be looking at some of the match-ups in midfield with Graham Zusi and Benny Feilhaber against Colorado's Arira, Cronin, and Powers. That's always been a pretty good match-up to watch. Keeping an eye on Dom Dwyer is always important for Colorado. I thought that the way Colorado started against Real Salt Lake in their last match, is what they need to do in this match. They came out and put a lot of pressure on RSL in the first 20 minutes and didn't allow them to get comfortable. I think they need to do the same against at Kansas City. They need to go into Kansas City and put pressure on them and not let get comfortable. But they're playing a very good team and well organized team from Peter Vermes. It's a challenge for Colorado but this is where they'll test themselves, against the best teams.
Tonight's match is the 20th Anniversary from the first match for both clubs. What are your thoughts on MLS and it's development through the years?
If you go back to 1996, we knew that we had funding for three years and we're going to be playing in football stadiums. We didn't know what kind of future there was for MLS. We just knew we finally had a professional league that we were going to do everything possible to try and make it successful. It wasn't the greatest soccer but it was a lot of guys who were passionate and dedicated to make this league succeed. 20 years later, you have Dick's Sporting Goods Park, StubHub Center, and many other teams having their own stadiums. The financial side of MLS looks much brighter. You can turn a game on TV on networks in Spanish or English and catch a game on Wednesday night, which you couldn't before. I think more than anything is how the fan base has grown and they feel like it's their club. They have their stadium, it's their home and they're passionate about their group. I think all the steps that needed to be taken in the early stages were taken and again you've got to thank the fans and the ownership that stuck by it. They lost millions of dollars in the initial years but they hung in there and saw what the future could be. Finally, they're starting to reap the benefits of what's been going on for 20 years. Many thanks for the owners and fans because they all stuck with it.
