Editorial (December 13, 2018) – The Colorado Rapids scouting and recruiting team has been busy this off-season. As the club continues to rebuild on a budget, they are looking for ways to add value and catch up to the rest of MLS. The league has moved away from aging (and often overpaid) European stars for young talent from South American.
Colorado Rapids Scouting: Behind the trend, but finally heading to South America
The Rapids have been behind the trend in this respect. Previous Central and South American signings have been on the older side and haven’t worked out. In 2018, most of the international acquisitions were middle-age players from the English Championship, with mixed results. Meanwhile, Atlanta United FC just won MLS Cup with young and dynamic South American players all over the field.
Other players like Luciano Acosta, Raul Ruidiaz, Darwin Quintero, and Jesus Medina have come in in recent years and contributed to their clubs. The Rapids meanwhile, have struggled with central chance creation in the final third. Some supporters joke they’ve been waiting for the club to sign a No. 10 since 2010.
The Boca Juniors friendly was intentional:
General Manager Padraig Smith had the club take steps to rectify this in 2018. The July friendly against Boca Juniors was no coincidence:
“We’ve actually had a relationship with Boca over the past couple of months. We’ve talked to them about players and some of the things they’re doing, so I think you can expect us to keep growing that relationship,” Smith told Pro Soccer USA.
The Rapids front office staff was traveling in and out of the country at that time and this off-season has had them wracking up the frequent flyer miles as well. The Boca Juniors friendly was used to get the club’s foot in the door in South America, to establish contacts and help build out scouting contacts and intelligence.
“It’s part of our ambition as a club to be more relevant in the South American market, to have stronger ties down there both from a scouting perspective and a network perspective. We want to broaden our scouting network. Building that network with Boca is part of that,” Smith said on Holding The High Line back in July.
Other clubs have the people to pull these deals off:
Other clubs with more informed personnel have gone into South America and found talent with a good return on investment. The leaders of this revolution have been those with ties to Central and South America. Former Rapids manager (heading to Club Tijuana from FC Dallas) Oscar Pareja famously signed Latin players no one in American Soccer had heard of and have them produce. More recently, Wilmer Cabrera with Houston Dynamo has done similar work.
The now departed Tata Martino had the most clout with these players, young and old. The former Argentina and Paraguay manager had Miguel Almiron call him asking if he could come play for him in Atlanta. Almiron just helped the Five Stripes win MLS Cup and is on the brink of a move to Newcastle United for a record transfer fee.
The Rapids don’t have anyone with connections and reputation in South America. Smith’s roots are on the British Isles. Having a former South American international coaching in MLS in a city with a strong Hispanic presence is one thing. Starting from scratch with just a few contacts and little known reputation to a player growing up there are hurdles they have to overcome. Then there’s the potential language barrier.
Making progress and playing catch-up:
It’s good that the Rapids finally see the direction the league is going in. It’s good they agree with the trend of finding young undervalued South American talent, bringing it to MLS, and cultivating it for the better (whether in results on the field or in selling those players for a profit).
That said, the optics suggest they don’t have the same aura as the staffs of other MLS clubs that have followed this model to success. They need to close that gap to find some diamonds in the proverbial Amazon rough. Their travels and networking with Boca need to be productive.
If they can do that this off-season and do it again and better in the summer of 2019, the Colorado Rapids scouting department is headed in the right direction. By extension, the club will be heading in a better direction regardless of being a year or two behind.
