As the Rapids get set to host Austin FC on Saturday, June 7, we sat down with MLS veteran Dax McCarty. The former midfielder played for 14 seasons in the league, featuring for the New York Red Bulls, Chicago Fire FC, Nashville SC, Atlanta United, and D.C. United. Catch McCarty on MLS 360 alongside Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan, Kaylyn Kyle, Kevin Egan, and more with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Four out of the next five matches for the Rapids are at home at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park. How important is a stretch of matches like this to help gain consistency at this point in the MLS season?
It's a great question, because your home games are going to determine whether you make the playoffs or not. If you can win a few games on the road, I think every team would take anywhere from three to six wins on the road and call that a really nice, consistent haul. It's very tough to win on the road. Now, you need to win the majority of your home games if you want to have a chance to make the playoffs. So, when I look at the Colorado Rapids splits, they’ve played eight at home, they’ve played eight on the road. Look, they pick up the majority of their points at home. Four wins on the season at home out of eight. You'd like to see that number skewed a little bit higher, but that's decent. That's good enough, and if they continue at that pace throughout the rest of the season, then they will make the playoffs. But I think Chris [Armas] will put more pressure and demand on his team to play better at home. They've been a little inconsistent recently. The goals have kind of dried up for the Rapids, and I think they need to try and find some more goal scorers. Some more secondary scoring from the midfield would help. Getting Darren Yapi more involved and getting some more goals from him. Cole Bassett, who I think is dealing with a little bit of an injury right now, getting him in and around the box more. Getting some of these other midfielders in and around the box more so they can score more goals. I think that's a big key for them. There are three big games coming up. I look at their home stretch coming up, where they have three in a row, starting with Austin. That has to be three points. Orlando is a very good team, and I think that you would want to get three points, but you'd accept one. Then with the LA Galaxy, with the form that they're in this year, you'd say that has to be three points. So, I'm looking at Colorado, and I'm looking at Chris, and I'm thinking that this is the most important stretch of the season for them, because if they can pick up anywhere from 10 to 14 points in these next five games, I think that's a really nice haul and I think that will set them on their way to being able to solidify that playoff position. But, if they don't, they have a lot of tough games coming up. Just taking a quick glance at their schedule after that five-game stretch that will take them into July 4, you're looking at LAFC, Vancouver, Seattle, Philadelphia, leading you into Leagues Cup. That is a murderer’s row, man. That's a gauntlet. So, yeah, it shouldn't be lost on Chris and this team how important these next five games are.
You played with Djordje Mihailovic at the beginning of his career in Chicago. What growth have you seen from him both on and off the pitch?
I think Djordje has matured a lot on and off the field. When he was in Chicago with me, he was a little bit immature and pretty cocky. This isn't something that is out of character for young, talented players. Djordje isn't an anomaly in that sense, but I've just seen so much personal growth from him. I think becoming a father has helped him a great deal. I think it's helped him gain perspective, settle down a little bit, and I think it's given him another purpose to grow and to go and try to be more of a leader. I see that evolution from him, just in his demeanor, the way that he plays, the way that he speaks to the media, the way that he pushes his teammates along on the field. He's just grown a lot on and off the field as a leader, and he’s constantly trying to get better. He'll still text me every now and then and ask me a question about how to handle a certain situation, and I love that because it shows that he's willing to ask for help and he's willing to listen. I always tell him that being a leader is not something that you can force, it's something that comes naturally. I think he's got that in him because he's a very good soccer player, and people respect him because of his talent. If he can start delivering leadership messages in the right way, I think he can be a really big asset for Chris and this team. I'm always on him, making sure when, in times of frustration, that he is not letting his emotions get the best of him, making sure that his body language is good. All these little details that I think are really important for player growth, and I think Djordje has done a good job of that. You see his performances, when he plays well, typically the Rapids get a positive result. It’s a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but he can absolutely handle it.
Chris Armas was an assistant coach with the New York Red Bulls during your time there, what can you say about his coaching style and him as a person?
Chris is a wonderful man, first and foremost. When you talk about Chris, I always want to talk about the person before the coach. As a person, he is one of the best people you could ever come in contact with, and you could ever meet. His playing career speaks for itself. He instantly gains and demands that type of respect from anyone who he's in a room with, but then you meet him, and there’s instantly a wave of humility that just washes over you because of how humble and how down-to-earth Chris Armas is. We're talking about one of the best defensive midfielders that our country has ever produced, and yet he's still asking questions about you. He still wants to know how you're doing. I think one of his superpowers is his ability to connect with players on a deeper, more personal level. I think he learned that as an assistant coach before he became a head coach. He was only ever an assistant coach when I was under his tutelage, and I think that helped our relationship really blossom and flourish. I would always come to him with little questions that maybe I didn't want to talk to Jesse Marsch about. He was such a great conduit between the head coach and the players and the messaging between them. I think he's gained a lot of clarity throughout his career. He's had a lot of very interesting experiences. First, being the head coach with the New York Red Bulls and winning a Supporter’s Shield to then the team moving on from him pretty quickly after that, then going to Toronto, then going over to England and having the experiences that he had there. The thing about Chris is that he's had some tough moments in his coaching career, and every time he speaks about it, it's all about learning. It's all about growth. There's never one negative word that comes out of his mouth, and for me, that's such an inspiration because I feel like everyone can take a little dose of his perspective on coaching, on life, and on how he attacks every problem that he encounters. As a coach, I think he's grown tremendously with the Rapids. I think he's really comfortable in his own skin. I love the way that he's put his own spin on the “Red Bull style.” I think he wants to be better with the ball. He doesn't want to just be known as a coach who just high presses all the time. He has a tactical nuance that he's developed over time himself. So, I just see a really great person first and foremost, and then a coach that's constantly evolving and trying to get better.
How do you see Saturday’s match playing out?
Yeah, I think one of these teams is bound to break out in the attacking third eventually. Austin has been really poor this year in the attacking third. Honestly the worst attack in MLS. They've only scored 11 goals this year. That's criminally low for how much money they spent on that roster. So, I think it's a team that's coming into Colorado desperate, which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I think if you're Colorado, you have to attack this game from the opening whistle. You have to start the game with energy and urgency, and I think you have to make sure that you press them right from the opening whistle, because I believe this is an Austin team that's really struggling for confidence. I think that they don't really have an identity. I don't think that Nico Estévez has really solidified how this team can be at their best. So, I expect Colorado to win this game. I expect Colorado to dominate on the ball in possession, and I also expect them to create a lot of chances. While Austin had a very good back line earlier in the season where they weren't conceding very many goals, that's kind of gone out the window recently. They've been much leakier in the back, and I think this is a Colorado team that has shown they have an ability and a propensity to score goals at home in front of those home fans. So, I see Colorado getting a really positive result out of this game. I'd be shocked if the Rapids didn't win, but you never know in MLS. That's why it's so difficult to predict MLS. I mean, I had Vancouver not making the playoffs. I had San Diego finishing last. I like to think of myself as knowing this league pretty well, but because of the parity in MLS and the nature of the chaos that happens week to week, I don't think anything's a guarantee. So, I expect Colorado to win the game, but don't overlook Austin, because they certainly have players who can hurt you.
