It was the exclamation mark on the Colorado Rapids’ club-worst seven-game losing streak, and for the young team and their first-year head coach, the soul-searching is fully underway at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
After a 6-0 loss on Friday night at the LA Galaxy – the heaviest defeat in club history – the Rapids’ free-fall hit dates back to late July. Yet Pablo Mastroeni, the Rapids’ notoriously philosophical head coach, continues to be consistent in his message that only time and introspection will cure the Rapids’ ails.
“For a really young group, there are a lot of guys that are seeking answers,” Mastroeni said after Friday’s loss. “The secret about life is that the answer comes from within. There is no guru that will give you the answer. There is a lot of reflection, self-analyzing, and then someone in that group stepping up and putting the team on their back. That’s the only way you ever come to terms with situations like this.”
“There is no secret. There is no guy you can bring in that’s going to change the landscape of everything.”
Mastroeni loves to use philosophical anecdotes and often focuses on mentality over tactics and skill when devising lineups and game plans. Now the 38-year-old is standing by his preferred philosophical method of handling adversity, and he is not the only one. Veteran striker Edson Buddle had some encouraging words of his own for the team’s younger players after their latest setback.
“First-year players, second-year players are a little bit harder on themselves right now, but I’m here to let them know that it’s not the end of the road; it’s only one game,” Buddle said. “We have tomorrow and next week to get better. I’ve been here before, and there were better days ahead. I think it’s not the worst thing that ever could happen. It’s not a playoff game where we’re eliminated from something, but we have something to work toward. I’m positive going forward.”
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While the Rapids remain just five points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Mastroeni’s focus appears to be shifting more toward learning from the Rapids’ specific woes. In particular, the Rapids intend to learn from their inability to get a handle on Friday's game after being reduced to 10 men in the first minute, then apply those lessons moving forward.
“What I’ve learned [is] it’s not what happens to you but how you react to it, and I think there is a lot of learning to be done as to how we now deal with playing a man down, regardless of who we’re playing against, where we’re playing,” Mastroeni said. “That’s going to be the part that I really contemplate and revisit and prepare the group for the next situation where we’re a man down.”
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
