COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – With the signings of veteran defenders Maynor Figueroa and Sean St. Ledger, the Colorado Rapids added reinforcements to a defense with the second lowest goals against total in MLS this season.
The signings may have come in the eleventh hour, but they were far from rushed. Both were a result of a months-long scouting and recruitment process.
For 32-year-old Honduran defender Figueroa, it was a process which began last December.
“The Rapids were a team that has always reached out to me,” he said. “They reached out me a couple times within the past year. As a player it’s good to feel wanted.”
The timing wasn’t right in the winter, however, with Figueroa looking to finish out the 2014-15 Premier League campaign with Hull City, a side which was engaged in a fight to avoid relegation at the time. In Colorado, the defender finds himself in a similar scrap for positioning in the MLS Western Conference standings.
“Obviously the results haven’t been the best,” Figueroa said of the Rapids’ season. “But I’ll do my best to help the team get points down the road. It’s a great group of players and a great group of people.”
It was just one of multiple factors which came into play for the Honduran international, who consulted two former Rapids, Hendry Thomas and Marvin Chavez, in making the decision to move to Colorado.
“It’s a combination of a few things,” Figueroa said. “There’s a lot of Honduran players in MLS and it’s a league that’s growing.
“I’m very good friends with them, having played at the youth academy in Honduras. I spoke to both of them and they both spoke highly of MLS. The players in Europe also spoke highly of it.”
Rapids VP of soccer operations and technical director Paul Bravo offered praise for the Honduran last week, citing his Premier League experience.
“He has vast experience in one of the best leagues in the world and his versatility will be an asset to us during the second half of the season,” Bravo said.
The process was outwardly similar for St. Ledger, despite being signed by Colorado just days after being waived by Orlando City for “a serious breach of club policy”.
St. Ledger didn’t comment on the situation which led to his release, but is looking forward to a fresh start in Colorado, who had been tracking him since last year.
“It’s in the past now. What happened is what happened,” he said. “I’m concentrating on what’s happening here in Colorado. We have several more games to go and I’m looking forward to being a part of that.”
Like his new teammate, homeland ties also came into play for the Irishman, who made 15 appearances before being cut by Orlando on August 1.
“I don’t think they really had to sell me on the club,” he said. “Padraig Smith is here and I knew him from the FAI. I spoke to Kevin [Doyle], he told me it was a good setup and a good bunch of lads. Kevin couldn’t speak highly enough of the club and it’s obviously good to join another Irishman. It was a no-brainer really.”
