Colorado Rapids

Early years

The Colorado Rapids were one of the ten founding clubs of Major League Soccer, owned and operated by the Anschutz Corporation. The inaugural 1996 season was a forgettable one for Colorado. Despite fielding experienced players like Shaun Bartlett, Chris Henderson, Chris Woods, Roy Wegerle and Marcelo Balboa, and head coach Bob Houghton, the team finished last in the Western Conference with the worst record in the league. Balboa became the first player ever to score for the club and also the first to record a goal at Mile High Stadium (in 1996).

For the following season, Glenn Myernick was hired as a new head coach and Dan Counce joined as a general manager. Myernick and Counce brought new faces to the squad including Paul Bravo, Wolde Harris, Ross Paule, and keeper Marcus Hahnemann. The team struggled early on, but rallied to grab a post-season spot. The Rapids pulled off two upsets and advanced to the 1997 MLS Cup final. Chris Henderson scored a mid-air scissor kick goal past Dallas keeper Mark Dodd in the 87th minute in the Western Conference final, ensuring Colorado's place in the MLS Cup final. They scored in the MLS Cup (hosted at the home stadium of the opposing club) thanks to a goal by Adrián Paz, with the team and club barely able to make the trip thanks to an impending record snowstorm in Denver, but lost the final 2–1 to D.C. United.

Colorado continued on a roller coaster of success alternating with major disappointment: Myernick brought in more new players including Anders Limpar and Marcus Hahnemann and the club made it to the 1999 U.S. Open Cup final, only to be upset 2–0 by the Rochester Raging Rhinos.

The 2000 season boasted two of the more memorable moments in Rapids history. The first was Marcelo Balboa's famous bicycle kick which garnered the Goal of the Year. The second was clinching a playoff spot in the final game of the season against the Los Angeles Galaxy, with Paul Bravo scoring in the 97th minute.

In 2001, Tim Hankinson took the reins as Colorado's new head coach. Scottish striker John Spencer also joined the club that year. While Hankinson did bring effective players like Mark Chung, Chris Henderson, Carlos Valderrama, and Joe Cannon to the squad—and made the playoffs every year—Hankinson also signed a number of expensive and unsuccessful players including Zizi Roberts and Darryl Powell. During his coaching stint, the club also traded away club legend Marcelo Balboa, who would play one game for MetroStars before retiring.

2002 was a banner year for the Rapids, and they started off their new year at their new home of Empower Field at Mile High by acquiring two powerhouses and future stars for the team, Pablo Mastroeni and Kyle Beckerman from the defunct Miami Fusion F.C. Chris Henderson went down in history as the first player ever to score a goal in the brand-new stadium. Mark Chung posted record numbers on the season, and Mastroeni shone for the U.S. Men's National Team in that year's World Cup. The club advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs Semifinals, and although they did not advance to the MLS Cup, the Rapids did clean up at the MLS postseason awards ceremonies. General Manager Dan Counce was named MLS Executive of the Year and 4 other Rapids front office staff were named as the best at their positions in MLS that year. Mark Chung was named to the League Best XI squad and also took home the MLS Fair Play Award. Finally, the Rapids ticket sales staff was named best in the league after the Rapids finished first in MLS average home attendance for the first time ever with an average home crowd of over 20,000 fans per home game.^[]

2003 saw the club change their identity, with a rebranding that brought in the new team identity and color scheme of black and blue. Mark Chung and forward John Spencer had banner years. Spencer, the Rapids' team captain, set a new team record by scoring in six consecutive games and tied his own team record with 14 goals on the season. He finished the season third in MLS with 33 points, was a finalist for Honda MVP and was named to the MLS Pepsi Best XI. Joining him on the Best XI was Chung, who tied his career-high of a year prior with 11 goals and was second on the team with 28 points. This was Chung's second consecutive appearance on the MLS Best XI and it marked the first time in league history that two Rapids had been so honored in the same season.^[]

The Rapids set a new MLS record for the lowest home Goals Against Average over an entire season with at 0.53 by only allowing eight goals in 15 matches at Invesco Field during the season, and never more than one in a single game. After Kansas City broke the Rapids' MLS record 16-game home undefeated streak on June 9, the Black & Blue reeled off 11 more undefeated home games. On the year Colorado was undefeated when scoring more than one goal, a credit to the play of goalkeeper Joe Cannon and the suffocating defense.

Kroenke Sports Enterprises purchased the club in late 2004 and made several changes before the 2005 season. In the front office, KSE replaced long-time executive GM Dan Counce with Charlie Wright, who appointed Fernando Clavijo as the new head coach. Clavijo and Wright brought in many new additions to the squad including Jeff Cunningham, Terry Cooke, and David "Dedi" Ben Dayan. The team saw steady improvement over the course of the 2005 season. The season's success was highlighted by a dramatic playoff victory over FC Dallas in a penalty shootout, and their claiming of the brand new Rocky Mountain Cup in the tournament's inaugural year.^[]

Colorado's 2006 season seemed to parallel trends from previous years. Clavijo's squad performed inconsistently and only secured a playoff spot at the last instant. Lightning managed to strike twice as they duplicated their 2005 playoff run by again beating FC Dallas in penalties only to crash out of the Western Conference Final by a two-goal deficit. Other highlights from the final black and blue season include securing the Rocky Mountain Cup for the second consecutive year and winning the MLS Reserve Division.^[]

2007–13

New head executive Jeff Plush took over the business responsibilities of the club when he was named Managing Director in January 2006. The club's colors were changed to burgundy and blue, to align with other clubs owned by Kroenke Sports Enterprises. This accompanied the company's commitment to building the world's largest professional soccer stadium and fields complex, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which opened to worldwide acclaim in March 2007, and formulating relationships with another KSE soccer club, Arsenal of the English Premier League and Pachuca of Mexico.

The Rapids enjoyed a successful inaugural year at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, hosting numerous international exhibitions and tournaments on the stadium's complex, and successfully bid and won the rights to host and produce the 2007 MLS All-Star Game; on the pitch though the team's record was 9–13–8. The team started out strong with a 2–1 victory over D.C. United in frigid conditions. Herculez Gomez became the first player to score in the Rapids' brand new stadium. The team had a long winless streak that saw them sink in the standings. Colorado ultimately finished just shy of a playoff spot. Major low points in the season included an embarrassing 5–0 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, and a defeat to Real Salt Lake that saw them lose both a playoff berth and the possession of the Rocky Mountain Cup. The club won the MLS Reserve League for the second consecutive year.

Heading into the 2008 season, Rapids GM Charlie Wright added depth to the midfield and defense. Major signings included Christian Gómez and Jose Burciaga Jr. The 2008 season saw a resurgent Rapids side, which started off the season with a complete thrashing of David Beckham and the LA Galaxy by a 4–0 score on Opening Day to launch the season. However, an inconsistent mid-season stretch where, for 13 games, the Rapids could not win two games in a row or lose 2 in a row, saw Clavijo resign from the head coach position for personal reasons, and saw Gary Smith, an assistant coach who came from the Arsenal F.C. system, take over on an interim basis with 11 games left in the season. Under Smith's direction, the Rapids surged into the playoff race, with two key away wins, but fall short of the playoffs in the last game of the season, against Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake tied the Rapids 1–1 in the 90th minute of that game to eliminate the Rapids from playoff contention. Because of the signs of improvement shown in the last 11 games, Smith was hired as the head coach.^[]

The 2009 campaign featured head coach Gary Smith in his first full season. Smith took over the reins from Fernando Clavijo as interim manager after Clavijo resigned.^[] Smith's first appointment was ex-England international Steve Guppy as his assistant; Guppy had spent the previous season at USL-1 team Rochester Rhinos as their player assistant coach. Shortly after, Rapids veteran midfielder Pablo Mastroeni re-signed with the club for four years after mulling potential offers from Europe. The Rapids also signed new four-year contracts with midfielders Colin Clark and Nick LaBrocca and defenders Jordan Harvey and Kosuke Kimura. The Colorado Rapids acquired former QPR and Chicago Fire goalkeeper Matt Pickens to replace Senegalese goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. The other major roster move included the arrival of Iván Guerrero from D.C. United in exchange for midfielder Christian Gomez and backup goalkeeper Mike Graczyk. The media criticized the Rapids for not making more roster changes for the 2009 season. However, the core of the team remained intact.

2010 MLS Cup Champions

The 2010 campaign featured many roster moves: Danny Earls, Jeff Larentowicz, Claudio Lopez, Quincy Amarikwa, Ian Joyce, and Wells Thompson join the club. The offseason also included a new contract for star forward Conor Casey. The Colorado Rapids also excited many of the ultras supporter groups by the creation and construction of a supporters terrace within Dick's Sporting Goods Park. During the summer transfer window, the Colorado Rapids signed academy youth player Davy Armstrong, and brought in defender Anthony Wallace from FC Dallas. Colorado also sent Mehdi Ballouchy to New York Red Bulls in exchange for Macoumba Kandji and acquired Brian Mullan from Houston Dynamo in exchange for Colin Clark. Following these changes, Colorado qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs and defeated the Columbus Crew in the first round. On November 13, Colorado hosted the San Jose Earthquakes in the MLS Eastern Conference Championship and won by a score of 1–0, leading to the team's first trip to the MLS Cup since 1997. Colorado faced off against FC Dallas in the finals. During the final, the Rapids trailed 1–0 at halftime. Conor Casey equalized in the second half to send the game to extra time. Macoumba Kandji helped set up the game-winner that went off FC Dallas defender George John. Colorado won the 2010 MLS Cup 2–1, Colorado's first MLS Cup championship and first major trophy in the club's history.

The 2011 campaign led to no roster changes. However, Sanna Nyassi and Tyrone Marshall were signed from Seattle Sounders FC. Joseph Nane and Josh Janniere were additions from Toronto FC. Local product Steven Emory was signed after an open tryout during preseason. The Rapids made the headlines when Irish International and former Hull City striker Caleb Folan signed with the club. The primary departure was defender Julian Baudet. Since Colorado won the 2010 MLS Cup, they automatically qualified for the group stages of the 2011–2012 CONCACAF Champions League. On September 9, Colorado signed versatile defender Miguel Comminges. The Guadeloupe International can play at either Left or Right back. On September 13, Comminges made his debut for Colorado as a substitute in a 4–1 home loss to Club Santos Laguna in the CONCACAF Champions League.

The 2012 season began with several changes to the club. Oscar Pareja was appointed head coach following the departure of Gary Smith. The team traded Sanna Nyassi to the Montreal Impact, and Macoumba Kandji to Houston Dynamo. Acquiring Hunter Freeman, Jaime Castrillón, Luis Zapata, and young Kamani Hill and the loan of young talent Martín Rivero the Rapids looked to begin on a positive note. After defeating the Columbus Crew 2–0 on opening day, things seemed promising. However, as the season ticked by, things started to turn for the worst. Looking for a turnaround, Hárrison Henao was loaned and Brazilian Edu was signed. In July, Kosuke Kimura was traded to the Portland Timbers. Shortly after, defender Tyson Wahl was brought in via trade from the Montreal Impact. After a poor season, the Rapids looked for a late-season turnaround when they signed Hendry Thomas from Wigan Athletic. The Rapids were eliminated from playoff contention in late September ending hopes for another MLS cup.

The 2013 season for the Rapids saw massive changes made to the team. All-time leading goal scorer Conor Casey was released and Omar Cummings would be traded during the offseason, the Forward duo combining for 89 goals in the Rapids' careers. With the majority of the 2010 MLS Champions team gone (only 5 players remaining on the squad), the team looked considerably different. Coach Oscar Pareja wanting a squad of younger, more athletic players. Colorado finished the 2013 season campaign with a 14–11–9 (W-L-T) record which placed them fifth in the Western Conference, eighth in the overall standings. They were eliminated in the knockout round in the playoffs. During the off-season, Oscar Pareja revealed his desire to return to FC Dallas to be the head coach there after taking the opportunity to do so. Eventually, Colorado found his successor which would be none other than Colorado veteran Pablo Mastroeni who had previously retired as a player.

2014–2020

Under Mastroeni's first year as head coach, Colorado finished eighth in the West and seventeenth overall having 8 wins, 18 losses, and 8 ties having the Rapids fail to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs, after previously qualifying last year. Despite an upper-mid table performance to start the season, the club was plagued heavily by injuries, causing the team to go winless in their final fourteen matches of the season. In the U.S. Open Cup, the Rapids were eliminated from the tournament to the Atlanta Silverbacks. Additionally, they were unable to defend their Rocky Mountain Cup title, losing to rivals, Real Salt Lake.

During the off-season following the 2015 season, where Colorado finished last in the Western Conference, The Rapids had made major changes in their line up, which includes acquiring players: Shkelzen Gashi, Marco Pappa, Jermaine Jones and Tim Howard, who all joined by the summer transfer window. The club went on to having a successful 2016 campaign with a 15-game unbeaten streak and a trip to the western conference championship in which they lost to Seattle Sounders 3–1 aggregate. The 2017 campaign saw the departure of Jermaine Jones, and several weeks into the season, the Rapids made more changes to their roster by trading Sam Cronin and Marc Burch to new expansion side Minnesota United FC. The team struggled, and head coach Pablo Mastroeni was fired by the end of the season as the Rapids finished the 2017 season with 9 wins, 19 losses and 6 draws, good for 10th in the Western Conference.

For the 2018 season, the Rapids hired former New Zealand coach Anthony Hudson. The Rapids made many additions, including wingback Edgar Castillo and midfielder Jack Price while switching to Hudson's preferred 3–5–2 formation. The season began with the Rapids being eliminated from the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League by Toronto FC, a tournament they had qualified for on the strength of the 2016 campaign. The middle of the 2018 saw another major trade with 2017's leading goalscorer Dominique Badji being traded to FC Dallas for Kellyn Acosta. Despite the changes in the 2018 season, it ended with another 10th place Western Conference finish, with the Rapids accruing 8 wins, 19 losses and 7 draws.

For the 2019, the Rapids turned their attention to MLS veterans for additions to the roster adding Benny Feilhaber, Kei Kamara, Diego Rubio and Keegan Rosenberry. The team also added youngsters Jonathan Lewis, Matt Hundley, Sam Raben and Andre Shinyashiki to the squad. In the preseason, the Rapids parted ways with Sheklzen Gashi. Despite the changes to the team and scoring in every game but one, the Rapids began the 2019 season winless in their first 11 games. The Rapids parted ways with Hudson after going winless in the first nine games of the season. The club named Conor Casey as interim head coach on May 1. Casey led the Rapids to a record of 7 wins, 7 losses and 4 draws. On August 25, the Rapids named Robin Fraser the club's ninth permanent head coach. Fraser posted a 5–2–0 (W-L-D) record, falling just shy of the postseason.

The Rapids made several moves ahead of 2020, trading for Auston Trusty and permanently acquiring Lalas Abubakar. The club also brought in Drew Moor, a 2010 MLS Cup champion with Colorado, as well as goalkeeper William Yarbrough, midfielder Nicolas Benezet and Designated Player Younes Namli. The Rapids started 2020 with two wins before MLS paused its season in early March due to COVID-19. Colorado was placed in Group D of the MLS is Back Tournament with Real Salt Lake, Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United FC. The MLS regular season restarted in August with Colorado taking three points from four games. On September 12, the Rapids defeated Real Salt Lake 5–0, marking Colorado's first ever win at Rio Tinto Stadium and beginning a run of three wins in four, including three shutouts. After several players and team staff tested positive for COVID-19, the Rapids paused their season, eventually cancelling five matches. After a full month between games, the Rapids returned to action with losses at Sporting KC and Minnesota. MLS changed the MLS Cup Playoffs qualifying format to points-per-game on Oct. 31. The Rapids then defeated defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders FC, 3–1, before clinching a playoff berth with a 1–0 win at Portland Timbers on Nov. 4. Colorado closed the regular season with a 2–1 win at Houston Dynamo on Nov. 8. Colorado visited Minnesota in the first round of the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, falling 3–0. The season featured break-out performances by Rapids Homegrown defender Sam Vines and Homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett. Vines played every minute of every regular season match, while Bassett led the team with five goals and five assists. Both were named to MLS 22 Under 22 for a second consecutive year.