The Rapids look to back up their Rocky Mountain Cup victory against Real Salt Lake with another strong performance against St. Louis CITY SC this weekend. On the call will be Brian Dunseth, who spent nine years in MLS as a player and now close to 20 years in MLS as a broadcaster. The color commentator will call this Saturday’s match alongside Max Bretos on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Having been a part of many Rocky Mountain Cups over the past two decades, does a win in the rivalry hold any extra value compared to a normal win in MLS?
Yeah, I think it means that much more after you have a tougher stretch. When you look at the previous four or five games for Colorado, there were moments which, watching from the outside, were proactive versus reactive. Momentum is a funny thing. When you have the ability to lean into a rivalry like Colorado and Real Salt Lake, which obviously I was intimately involved with from day one, I think you go into the match realizing that it's a derby, but more importantly, these are the games that matter most from the standpoints of the fanbase. Not too often does the fanbase really get to lean into a singular game or a group of games that matter more than others. I think outside of a playoff competition conversation, this certainly is one of those dates that I think are immediately marked by the coaching staff from either team, and the recognition that whether home or on the road, they've got to figure it out a way. Despite having three games in seven days, you've got to get the strongest team on the field because you understand that that's an opportunity to manufacture momentum, if that makes sense.
As a former player, how important was it to string together positive results after a tough stretch of form?
I would use the New England Revolution as a perfect example. Carles Gil, one of the best number tens in Major League Soccer, I think he single-handedly put that team on his back. If they could figure out ways to match his effort, the results were going to start to trickle in. Suddenly, New England went from bottom of the basement and competing with Toronto FC and CF Montréal as maybe one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference, to now, where they're a very comfortable playoff team. I always use examples of teams like that, because even when you're not playing well, it's not just winning that could turn things around. I think that's what people forget. Sometimes it's something as stupid as keeping the sheet clean even if you're not scoring, because unfortunately, I've been a part of a couple of bad teams. I can specifically remember one time with Eddie Pope, he looked at me and said, “Let's do our job. Let's keep the zeros and let's give the attack opportunities to score goals.” I think from a defensive standpoint, if you keep zeroes, all of a sudden, some good things can happen. At the same time, offensively, if you're out of confidence, lacking form and you're missing opportunities that are decisive game changing moments, that then applies much more pressure to the defensive phase of play. I keep using this term “manufacturing momentum”, and that could be an extra little bit of something in the tackle, it could be psychological in a moment where you outrun your opponent to get back, that could be taking a breather at a jog as opposed to a walking pace. All of these little things happen because the margins for error in Major League Soccer are extremely thin.
What have your thoughts been of the Rapids so far in 2025?
I've been covering Colorado for a long, long time, watching the various managers come and go. I think with bringing in Chris Armas, there was a focus on bringing in guys and spending some money on players that had European experience, but more vitally, had MLS experience. What we've learned in this league is that the margins are extremely thin, and the depth of your roster is really important. You have to find a unique balance of filling out the roster and spending money on guys that you can trust, that can score goals, and that can be leaders in the back. At the same time, there's a very fine line between players that are aging out of their career and players that are just stepping into their career. Colorado has always done a great job of focusing on giving opportunities to young players while putting experienced players around them to help them bleed into being a pro at the highest level. So, with what Chris is trying to do, you can see the idea of game models. You can see that they're very fluid and are able to switch up their formations when necessary. I think from the outside, looking in, understanding Chris and understanding this group, they'll be disappointed with the run of form, because, especially with three games in seven days, that puts a certain amount of pressure on rotation and recovery when it's not necessarily there. Again, if you get the three points against Real Salt Lake, that's one of where you look at each other, you take that deep breath, and then you say, ‘Okay, let's get back on track,’ and I'm not sure there could be a better team to do that right now, considering what St. Louis CITY is going through. At the same time, I would be very concerned if I was Chris Armas and his coaching staff to make sure that this isn’t an example of a wounded cat. You don't know if it's going to come out clawing at you when you go in and try to take care of it. So, it's going to be a really tricky game. I think St Louis, in similar ways, have found themselves in moments where they could put games away, but haven't been able to put the game to bed.
How do you see Saturday’s match playing out?
There are a couple players that I'd be concerned about on St. Louis. The front three of [João] Klauss, [Cedric] Teuchert, and [Marcel] Hartel are really dynamic. Célio Pompeu is attacking the side, and he was up for MLS Goal of the Matchday against Sporting Kansas City. If you can, limit Tomáš Ostrák, who's done a great job sitting in the pocket, turning and driving through the initial press. For Colorado, this is going to sound so stupid, but it's the simplicity of playing 90 minutes right now. When you have a team that's lacking confidence that you're coming up against, it doesn't matter what the score line is, they'll always feel as though they're insecure until that final whistle blows. I think that's where, psychologically, if you can have this monster mindset that you're just not going to stop until that final whistle happens. Until St. Louis proves that they're capable of holding on to leads and closing out games, I would say you throw the kitchen sink at them if you're chasing the game.
