Colorado is hitting the road for their first matchup of the season against Houston Dynamo FC, and in the booth for the Spanish broadcast will be Moises Linares. The Salvadoran American has called just about every sport in his career, whether it be hockey, football, basketball, and of course, soccer. Linares will be joined by Nacho Garcia on the Spanish broadcast for Apple TV and MLS Season Pass this weekend.
You’ve called just about every sport in your career. What is it about soccer and MLS specifically that you appreciate the most?
It's very simple, soccer is my favorite sport. That's my first love. That’s the sport that I grew up playing. I've been around since MLS started. I was a boy when 1996 came around and I was there for that first inaugural season in Los Angeles. I grew up as a Galaxy fan, and I just fell in love with the sport and with the league even further because for the first time ever, I felt that this is our league. This is ours. We didn’t have to look to Mexico or Central America or Europe. I felt like we had something that belonged to us, so that made it even bigger for me.
Growing up a Galaxy fan, you watched Chris Armas play for your club. What is it like now to see him and other former players still in the league?
I appreciate people like Chris. He's a guy that I looked up to, it's crazy to say. I was a boy watching him play for the Galaxy. I always wondered what happened when the Galaxy lost the first MLS Cup Final. It's crazy to believe that I still think about that first ever final between the Galaxy and D.C. United and what it meant to me as a kid from LA to lose that game and to feel that first real heartache of my team. From that point, moving forward, I kept an eye on everybody. Everyone who was on that team and everyone who was part of that first year in the league’s history. To see them now become coaches, assistant coaches, even team owners. It's insane for two reasons. One, it just shows that it's been that long, and then two, how much the league has evolved.
With this being the 30th season for both MLS and Colorado, how would you describe the growth that the league has seen in that span?
I know that people live off nostalgia, and you can look at footage from that first year and be like, “Wow, Carlos Valderrama, Marcelo Balboa, one of my all-time favorites Mauricio Cienfuegos, they were all so great.” But if you compare them to what we have now, it's not even fair, because those guys didn't have the technology that we have today. They didn't have the research that we have today, the facilities that we have today, and they didn’t have the same treatment. I'm sure a lot of teams did their best to accommodate the players and the entire squad, but it's day and night. What we have now is world-class. You can see when players from other leagues come play in the United States and they tell you, “I'm surprised by the league, I'm surprised by the stadiums and the facilities, a lot of leagues around the world don't have this.”
With a win, Colorado will secure their best start on the road through their first five away matches. In your opinion, how important is that for a team to have such a strong record away from home?
More than anything, watching from afar what's happening with Colorado and comparing this team to what they were a couple years back, it's amazing what Chris Armas and the entire staff have been able to do to turn things around and to make this club a playoff team. I don't believe that we're at the point where you have to win games, but if you do win, it just keeps growing your confidence. When you have a confident team, your team is very dangerous. I think that's what's being built in Colorado right now as we speak. To come out of Houston with points would reaffirm that this team is doing things the right way, which is something that the rest of the league hasn't seen from Colorado in a good minute. We've seen a couple of good seasons, but to put together consecutive seasons of a team that's competitive, it speaks volumes that things are truly changing for Colorado. We can look around the league, and I'm not going to say any names, but all you have to do is look at the standings and see teams that have been at the bottom for a very long time.
Are there any Rapids players that you believe will have added impact against Houston?
I feel that Rafael Navarro is the go-to guy. I think that, looking at Houston's numbers, this is an opportunity for him to shine and to prove the quality of player that he is. Four goals in eight matches this season, that's a pretty good number. Also, I think this is an opportunity for a guy like Kévin Cabral. He is still looking for his first goal. I think these are the games where the team is coming in on a high with a few good results under their belt. So, this is an opportunity for a guy like Kévin to break out and find his first goal. I feel that once that happens, then he's just going to look back and say, “Alright, that's where it all started.” So, I think these types of games give players that opportunity.
How do you see Saturday’s match playing out?
I think Colorado is going to come out firing on all cylinders. They can take advantage of a Houston team that's missing key players and still hasn't truly found their footing with only one win during the season. I think Colorado is going to come out and press them to take advantage of Houston weaknesses. Based on what we see when looking at the standings, Houston is a team that is not scoring a lot of goals and is allowing a lot of goals to be scored. Therefore, that brings them back to my initial point that when you look at the numbers, this is a good game for Colorado to really solidify their moment right now during the season.
