With Sporting Kansas City heading on the road on Saturday to face Western Conference side Colorado, we caught up with Rapids' broadcaster and former USMNT star Marcelo Balboa to preview the match. The match will kick off at 5 p.m. CT with live coverage available on KMCI-TV, SKCTV and 102.9 FM.
JF: Pablo Mastroeni is the new head coach at Colorado after Oscar Pareja left to take over at FC Dallas. What changes has Mastroeni brought since taking over and what is his goal for how he wants this team to play?
MB: Looking at the first few games, I'm not looking at too much of a style change. I think you look at more, like any coach when he comes in, is the mental side of it. Getting the right mentality as a new coach of how he wants to play and like anything it will take time. The good thing is that Pablo has been with the Rapids fo a long time. The players know him so there's not a lot to get adjusted to except for just what is Pablo demanding of the players. I think the transition's been pretty good. I think the team that Oscar left is a solid base of players. I think that's a huge bonus.
JF: What are the expectations for Colorado this season?
MB: I think everybody walks in every year and says "I want to win a championship". I think everybody's goal right now is to win a championship. That's probably step one. Making the playoffs is another one. You want to make the playoffs. Those are the top goals that you're looking for.
JF: One reason for Colorado's success last season was the play of young players like Chris Klute and Deshorn Brown. Do you see these players continuing to progress this season as Colorado looks to build on last season?
MB: In any sport, people worry about that second year or a sophomore slump. The potential these kids have, the upside of Deshorn Brown, Chris Klute, and Dillon Powers, there's a lot there. I think it's just a matter of learning to be professional the second year. You can have some good days and you can have some bad days. It's how you recover and you are looking for consistency. They've got a good, young solid group and Shane O'Neill is also a part of that group. It's a team that's built for the future.
JF: What are your thoughts on Sporting KC and how they match up against Colorado?
MB: They're defending champions so they'll match up well against anybody. I think you have to look at what Peter Vermes has done. He's got some guys who will probably be on the USMNT World Cup roster. There's guys like Zusi, Feilhaber, Collin, Besler, you can keep going down the list. You've got a great base. They're looking to repeat so this will be a strong team. Any team you watch coached by Vermes will want to play good soccer. They want to play offensive soccer.
JF: What do you see as the key factors for Saturday's match?
MB: Both teams want to play offensive soccer. You're going to see two teams that want to attack each other. The altitude is always going to affect teams. I think you have two teams who are pretty well matched. The only difference is that Peter Vermes has had his team a lot longer than Pablo. He's already got them molded, into the system he wants, how to play, and he's perfected it. The way they played last year and the way they are getting used to that system, they've perfected it. I think Colorado is still getting used to a new coach so it's going to take them a little time but I do look at two teams who are pretty well matched.
JF: What are you expecting to see from Saturday's match
MB: I don't expect Kansas City to open up too much early because of the altitude. I think once they catch their second wind then you'll see them attack more. Peter's teams are always organized. His teams are very aggressive and they play good soccer. I expect Colorado to come out being at home and put pressure on Kansas City early kind of like what they did against Portland. I expect them to try and grab a goal in the first 15 minutes before Kansas City can catch their breath. Then, I expect game to settle down and two teams who try to possess the ball.
