Somewhere in the Rapids front office lays a document. And on said document the Rapids’ identity is outlined in painstaking detail.
Paul Bravo, the club’s vice president of soccer operations and technical director, revealed its existence last week and delved superficially into its contents.
So what exactly is the Rapids’ system?
“Possession-based,” Bravo said. “That’s probably a conversation that can go a little bit deeper and a lot longer, but we have it clearly laid out in our business plan. We want to be possession oriented. We want to be a team that plays on the front foot, a team that gives our attacking players the freedom to do what they do best: improvise, make plays.”
As for the formation, coach Pablo Mastroeni envisions his side playing a 4-2-3-1.
“And then it can easily change into a 4-3-3, and then that can easily be a 4-4-2,” Mastroeni said. “It just varies depending on where the ball is and when you take the snapshot of the formation.”
The Rapids have homed in on their system this season as they work in tandem with Charlotte Independence coach Mike Jeffries and his staff to ensure the USL affiliate club is playing the same system, same formation and employing the same mentality.
“For us, especially at home, I want to play more north-south, more aggressive with the ball, trying to get to the goal quick, pressing higher up the field, and obviously everything within context of what the game is giving you,” Mastroeni said.
The Rapids plan to use the altitude at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to their advantage, Mastroeni said.
“And then defensively just being really, really organized and hopefully winning the ball higher up the field,” Mastroeni said. “And so it’s with that kind of mind-set where we just want to be on the front foot. Just, taking the game from the first whistle.”
The addition of bulldog defensive midfielders Sam Cronin, Marcelo Sarvas and Lucas Pittinari were key, Bravo said, to ensure the Rapids’ outside backs can be freed up to join in the attack.
“We’re trying to be an extremely hard-working group with a high level of technical ability, especially in the middle of the field,” Bravo said. “We want outside backs that have the ability to join into the attack and make a difference in the final third.”
The Rapids are toying with the idea of second-year pro Marlon Hairston at right back, and like their options of Marc Burch and Michael Harrington, acquired in trade from the Portland Timbers this offseason, at left back.
“(Mastroeni) has the expectation that he wants those guys (fullbacks) going forward, which has always kind of been a part of my game that I’ve used in Kansas City and Portland as well,” Harrington said last month. “I like to get forward and get into the attack and so we’re on the same page there.”
Mastroeni said the thing he has stressed most is the club needs to make aggressive runs ahead of the play when on the attack, so that balls can be played into space — either beyond or beneath the defense — so that the Rapids can join in and attack as a group.
And who provides the goals?
“Whoever scores them,” Mastroeni said. “Deshorn (Brown), Dillon Powers has the ability. Last year we kind of fell short in that department where we leaned on Deshorn a little bit too much. The guys who play in the wider midfield positions need to take on a bit more responsibility.”
One key in all of this is the addition of director of soccer Claudio Lopez, who will work with the attackers on their play in the final third. If it works out the way the Rapids have drawn it up, the style could look a lot like it did in 2013, when the club made the playoffs under coach Oscar Pareja.
“This wasn’t Oscar’s style of play,” Bravo said. “This was what we wanted to implement, and Oscar fit the philosophy. And so we’ve had to go through a little bit of a transition with that. And Pablo is putting his own fingerprints on tweaking that a little bit, and bringing in certain types of players to help us get to where we want to be with that.”
The Rapids struggled in 2012, Pareja’s first season, but after a massive roster turnover in 2013, the club made the playoffs playing in this style. After one of their worst seasons in franchise history, the Rapids are hopeful they can bounce back in a competitive Western Conference that’s added Houston Dynamo and Sporting Kansas City in 2015.
“At the end of the day, we want people to come here and know exactly what they’re going to see, week in and week out,” Bravo said. “And that’s important for us.”
Daniel Boniface: 303-954-1104, dboniface@denverpost.com or twitter.com/danielboniface
