The Colorado Rapids like to press the ball and force their way up the field – we’ve seen that through the first 19 games of this historic season – but Pablo Mastroeni’s reasoning for this style of play may surprise you.
Tuesday morning at training, Mastroeni laid out a “generic” but fascinating statistic.
“Most of the quality chances that come in this league,” Mastroeni said, “and I’m saying 90 percent, don’t come from possession. They come from taking advantage of turnovers and winning the ball higher up the field.”
The Rapids have ridden this wave this season and used this common situation as a backdrop for a number of goals, including Marco Pappa’s game winner against Chicago on June 18.
The Fire had just leveled the match in the 81st minute, but Mastroeni’s noted fact about turnovers held true that night.
Sam Cronin recovered possession in the 88th minute, and, one minute later, the Rapids were ahead 2-1 by way of Marco Pappa’s foot. It was a game-winner, a grand return to the pitch for Pappa, but more importantly, it was a testament to the formula’s effectiveness when used for goal-scoring purposes.
Mastroeni’s logic is this: press the ball, trap the opponent, force turnovers and then score off of them. It’s a simple yet effective formula that’s helped propel Colorado to Major League Soccer’s highest pedestal in 2016.
Unfortunately, this formula has also burned the Rapids on occasion.
“Possession could be your friend,” Mastroeni said, “but it could also be your greatest enemy. As we’ve learned this year as well, some of our opponents’ best chances came from us turning the ball over in bad areas.”
Still, Mastroeni’s philosophy on being able to “control the game by allowing the other team to have the ball in certain areas” has brought them plenty of success that should continue to benefit them down the stretch.
