The Rapids fashioned a quick turnaround in 2024, from a club-worst campaign the year before to a playoff berth under MLS Coach of the Year finalist Chris Armas. But there are some holes to fill and opportunities for growth this season. Here are four keys to an even better 2025:
Take stress off of Djordje Mihailovic
The LA Galaxy is the defending MLS Cup champion not because of superstar midfielder Riqui Puig but because the team strikes a balance between letting him cook and finding opportunities elsewhere.
Rapids superstar Djordje Mihailovic isn’t surrounded by the kinds of weapons Puig is, but L.A. never skipped a beat when the Spanish star tore his ACL in the Western Conference final. Conversely, the Rapids looked lost last year when Mihailovic was injured or at the Olympics.
Finding consistent and dynamic wing play — the Rapids only showed flashes last season — is key. Speed is a prerequisite out wide, and there’s clear intent to use it often. But decision-making and service must improve to build on an already-elite offense and take weight off Mihailovic’s shoulders.
Mihailovic is at his best with the ball, but time will tell if he’s 100% healthy. He was chosen for the U.S. men’s national team’s January camp, but said he stayed back to rehab “some broken bone and a couple torn ligaments” in his ankle from a nasty roll on decision day last year.
If Mihailovic makes the USMNT roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup this summer, the Rapids cannot drop off a cliff when that time comes.
Fluid, flexible formations
Armas’ deployment of a 3-4-3 in a 4-1 series-clinching loss to the LA Galaxy highlighted a change that was as clever as it was desperate but perhaps franchise-altering.
Sam Vines and Keegan Rosenberry played as wingbacks and dropped well in defense, compacting the defensive third into more of a 5-4-1 look that made the Galaxy uncomfortable. The Rapids looked solid, deviating from their standard 4-2-3-1. Armas was intrigued, too, and said it could become a regular formation — a notion solidified by adding two quality center backs this offseason.
He’s been coy about committing to the change, but it sounds like the system will fluctuate based on matchups. Individual versatility in the defense and midfield should ease that evolution.
“I think we just want to be able to train a different system so we can be a little more unpredictable and have variability in what we do and in different parts of the pitch,” Armas said. “We have different ways we achieve that. We’re just thinking: ‘How can we help these guys … (and) give them solutions to all the challenges teams can provide us?’”
Chidozie Awaziem’s potential impact
In the Rapids’ final preseason match in Mexico against Atlético La Paz, new center back Chidozie Awaziem had a moment the club and its fans should expect to see plenty this year.
With only a second surveying the field with the ball at his feet, Awaziem found a pass that split La Paz’s two attackers and barely snuck by a midfielder on a tight string to Mihailovic. With one pass, Awaziem broke two lines and jumpstarted a quickly developed attack that ended in a dangerous chance and near miss from Connor Ronan.
Awaziem is no Moïse Bombito, but Armas noted there are similarities in how both can find line-breaking passes out of nowhere.
“His ability and quality on the ball, his DNA — he wants to help build our attacks with these passes,” Armas said.
Awaziem and other incoming center back Ian Murphy both spoke about a “huge folder” of set-piece plays and strategies courtesy of Chris Sharpe. Awaziem should be the No. 1 aerial target in such moments.
Chris Armas must play youth
Unless forced to toy with lineups by players’ availability, Armas largely stuck with his core group. There’s nothing wrong with that until you make a deep run in Leagues Cup and those players’ legs are run into the ground.
The solution? Play the young guys. The roster is already one of the youngest in MLS, but the club is tipping that scale even younger with its draft haul and signings this year.
Last offseason featured splash signings of veteran players and locking them down (most through 2027). This one is all about development. At some point, the ideologies must combine — youngsters with little to no pro experience need more first-team minutes.
Rookie forward Alex Harris is a good option to begin with, particularly with Darren Yapi out for the first couple of months with a shoulder injury. But long-term, club-wide growth needs to spark from draft picks signed to Rapids 2 contracts earning first-team minutes.
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