The Colorado Rapids season begins on Saturday when the team travels to Texas to take on FC Dallas. We heard from head coach Robin Fraser, captain Jack Price and former FC Dallas forward Michael Barrios ahead of the opening match.
Q: Any opening remarks?
Robin Fraser: We’re obviously excited to get going again. It’s been a long break, a longer than usually break, so we feel, coming off what was a decent year for us, somewhat disappointing finish, you have several months to think about getting ready and getting going again. It’s been great. We had a really good preseason down in Tucson, felt the team really took some strides forward and really looking forward to getting the season started.
Q: Did you see a hunger from your team down at preseason?
Fraser: No question. This is a young, hungry group. They’re always excited to play. They’ve really come back with a great attitude, based on how we finished last year, and they’ve really put in a lot of work in the preseason. It’s a group that I appreciate greatly because they do everything that you ask them to do and try to do it to the best of their abilities. They’ve put in a good six weeks at this point, and they’re excited to get going.
Q: What are the thoughts of the team going into the first game?
Jack Price: We’re excited. They’re a good team. It’s going to be a challenge for us on the road, first game. But we’ve had a good preseason, we’ve had some good results, and training has been good this week so far, so, yeah, the boys are excited.
Q: We just had the announcement that fans will return to DICK’S Sporting Goods Park, what does it mean to you to have fans return?
Price: It’s huge. It’s been a long time now since fans have been able to come in and give us their support, and we’ve missed it a lot. It’s huge for us here at home, you know, we have the altitude, but the fans are great, and they get behind us. We’ll be looking forward to seeing them and hopefully put on a good performance for them.
Watch the full interview below.
Q: What are your thoughts going into the first game and how is the team looking?
Michael Barrios: The group is feeling motivated, happy with the start of the season. We’ve trained for five weeks away from our families to return to the competition. We’ll be working the next few days in the best way and on Saturday show how hard we’ve prepared and worked during preseason. We’ll look for a good result, which is what we want. We’ll leave everything in God’s hands, do things well, be concentrated, and go for the three points.
Q: What will it mean to have fans back in the stadium after over a year?
Barrios: It’s very motivating for us to have fans in the stands. It’s that little bit extra that we need. The support is important to get results at home. The team is happy because the fans are slowly coming back, but we know it’s something to start. Next Saturday against Austin [F.C.] we hope to have them supporting us, give them a win and start in the best way we can at home.
Watch the full interview below.
