As homecomings go, I think it’s fair to say that Dantouma ‘Yaya’ Toure made quite the impression on Tuesday night, tucking away the game-winning goal in one of the most entertaining matches MLS is likely to witness this season.
Had he sat down and penned the perfect return to Red Bull Arena, where he spent time in the Academy and had a season with Red Bulls II, I’m convinced there would have been elements his imagination could never have conjured up.
Or perhaps he did imagine stepping onto the field with 10 minutes remaining, for the player who had just leveled the game at 3-3 with only his sixth MLS goal in 239 appearances, before watching Michael Barrios hand the Rapids the lead for the first time.
Perhaps he envisioned calmly slotting home his team’s fifth just moments later for his first goal in Major League Soccer, dropping coolly to the ground and welcoming the adulation of his teammates, only to have the celebrations snuffed out by video review.
He may even have contemplated the idea of lurking at the far post and side-footing in the rebound in the 89th minute after the New York Red Bulls goalkeeper had only been able to parry a Diego Rubio shot.
Let’s be honest, even in his wildest dreams none of what we saw will have played out in his mind, or the mind of anyone else, for it was such an unbelievable evening and one the 18-year-old will replay over and over for many years to come.
He said: "It feels amazing to go out there and act upon my ability and to give to the team.
“The satisfaction to be back home at Red Bull Arena, to walk on this red carpet and not touch the bull and make it an opponent, I just wanted to go out there and be myself."
Even after Toure’s maiden MLS strike, there was still time for the Red Bulls to drag the contest back to 5-4 with their second penalty of the night. An offside call on a fifth Red Bulls goal deep into stoppage time only added to the drama as the Rapids finally secured their first road win of 2022, and with it their 100th away win in franchise history.
Inevitably, head coach Robin Fraser was asked about Toure’s contribution in the postgame press conference.
He said: “I thought Yaya was very good in what's a big game for him. He was obviously in this club.
“He has been in very good form lately, scoring goals for Rapids 2 and it felt like an opportunity for him to get in there.
“We needed some pace and he was really threatening from minute one. Really, really happy for him.”
Toure is the club’s leading scorer for Rapids 2 in MLS NEXT Pro, with seven goals in 14 appearances. If you include the goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers U21s in the MLS NEXT Pro Invitational, the teenage talent has tallied five goals in his previous three outings for Erik Bushey’s boys.
In other words, he is a player in form, and that form carried over from Rapids 2 to the First Team with great effect on a muggy night in Harrison, New Jersey.
The Guinea-born Toure commented: “It's like a video game, when you visualize what's happening, when you predict. It's like watching television. If you don't try to predict and take a chance you have no chance to score.”
It’s often said that there’s a fine line between arrogance and confidence. Toure is confident. He also has the swagger most strikers need. And in front of goal, given half a sniff, he is going to give it a go. Even after having his first effort ruled out for offside against Gyasi Zardes, his instinct positioned him well for the goal which stood.
I recall talking to Toure in Tucson as the players prepared for the 2021 season. He had joined the club after a season with New York Red Bulls II, during which he had managed three goals in 13 appearances.
In that sit-down chat he mentioned receiving his paycheck - the first as a fully-fledged MLS player - earlier that week and how much it meant to him. It was a reminder, if one were needed, that he had stepped up another level.
The young man has patiently waited, with time spent at the Switchbacks last year, and four substitute appearances for a total of 22 minutes prior to Tuesday night. In those brief cameos we had seen glimpses, glimpses of his pace, his trickery, his eagerness to have the ball and head for goal.
On Tuesday, perhaps with greater incentive bearing in mind the opposition, we saw all of that mentioned above, and with an end product.
Toure added: "The eagerness to come back was brilliant from the team. If you believe, good things happen.
“We are built on a good foundation from Robin, and his message to us is always to set ourselves up for success, and we did that tonight."
And so, there’s a pretty good quiz question for down the road: ‘What was the name of the player who scored the game-winning goal to give the Rapids their 100th all-time road win? It was also his first goal in Major League Soccer.’
If folks need a clue, you could mention that it was in a 5-4 game, in which the Rapids - who had not won away all season - had trailed 2-0, then 3-1, before leading 4-3, then 5-3. The opposition were the New York Red Bulls, who had two penalties - the second of which made it 5-4 - and who felt they had scored a fifth deep into seven minutes of stoppage time. Oh, and the referee had initially sent off a Rapids player before overturning it after video review.
Actually, don’t give them the clue. They’d find it too unbelievable.
