2011 Colorado Rapids season

Updated on Jan 17, 2024

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Owner Stan Kroenke Major League Soccer 6th U.S. Open Cup Qualification Round 2		Coach Gary Smith CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage MLS Cup Conference semi-finals

The 2011 Colorado Rapids season was the club's seventeenth year of existence, as well as its sixteenth season in Major League Soccer, and its sixteenth consecutive season in the top-flight of American soccer.

The Rapids will be entered the season as the defending MLS Cup champions.

Background

The Colorado Rapids are coming off a season, where the club's success was highlighted by winning the MLS Cup, their first postseason title in the process. It was the first time in 17 years that a soccer club based in Colorado won any league/cup title, the last being the Colorado Foxes of the APSL.

In MLS regular season play, the Rapids finished in 7th place overall. The club was eliminated during the top-tier qualification propers of U.S. Open Cup, losing 3–0 to Red Bull New York in the fifth round play-in match.

In the Rocky Mountain Cup derby series against cross-mountain rivals, Real Salt Lake, the clubs tied one another 3–3 in season play. Because of this, the Cup was retained by Salt Lake for the third-consecutive year.

Roster

As of September 11, 2011.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Conference standings

Updated to matches played on October 22, 2011. Source: MLSSoccer.com
Notation Key:

(SS) = Supporters Shield winner (W1) = Western Conference champion

^Note 1 - The top three clubs in each conference are guaranteed spots in the 2011 MLS Cup Conference Semifinals. The other four clubs in the playoffs enter via wild card entrees, regardless of their conference, based on their overall standings in a single table.

Overall standings

Updated to matches played on October 22, 2011 (NER v TFC). Source: MLSSoccer.com
Notation Key:

(SS) = Supporters Shield winner (E1) = Eastern Conference champion (W1) = Western Conference champion

^Note 1 Teams qualify for the MLS Cup Conference Semifinals by finishing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their respective conferences.

^Note 2 Since the LA Galaxy won both the 2011 MLS Supporters' Shield and the 2011 MLS Cup, a place in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League became available. The Seattle Sounders, the 2011 MLS Supporters' Shield runner-up, had already qualified as they also won the 2011 U.S. Open Cup. Therefore, the CCL place went to Real Salt Lake, the 2011 MLS Supporters' Shield third place. Houston Dynamo, the 2011 MLS Cup runner-up, also qualified for the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League. All four teams directly enter the Group Stage as the Preliminary Round has been eliminated from CCL.

^Note 3 Toronto FC qualified for the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League as winners of the 2011 Canadian Championship.

Results summary

Last updated: November 13, 2011
Source: MLSSoccer.com
Pld = Matches played; Pts = Points; W = Matches won; T = Matches tied; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference

Results by round

Last updated: August 13, 2011.
Source: MLS Results & League table
Ground: A = Away; H = Home. Result: T = Tie; L = Loss; W = Win; P = Postponed.

Regular season

All times Mountain Daylight Time.

Last updated: October 22, 2011
Source: Colorado Rapids

MLS Cup Playoffs

Last updated: November 2, 2011
Source: Colorado Rapids

CONCACAF Champions League

By winning the 2010 MLS Cup final, Colorado Rapids have qualified directly into Group Stage for the 2011-12 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League. It will be Colorado's debut in the Champions League and their first time participating in a CONCACAF club competition since 1997.

Group Stage – Group B

All times Mountain Daylight Time.

Last updated: October 19, 2011
Source: Colorado Rapids

U.S. Open Cup

Last updated: March 30, 2011
Source: Colorado Rapids

Allocation ranking

Colorado is in the #12 position in the MLS Allocation Ranking. The allocation ranking is the mechanism used to determine which MLS club has first priority to acquire a U.S. National Team player who signs with MLS after playing abroad, or a former MLS player who returns to the league after having gone to a club abroad for a transfer fee. A ranking can be traded, provided that part of the compensation received in return is another club’s ranking.

International roster spots

Colorado has 7 international roster spots. Each club in Major League Soccer is allocated 8 international roster spots, which can be traded. Colorado dealt a spot to Vancouver on 24 November 2010. Press reports did not indicate if or when this roster spot is to revert to Colorado. The club also traded a spot to New York Red Bulls on 14 September 2010 in the Macoumba Kandji trade. The trade of this spot was not included in the press release and it is not known when this spot reverts to Colorado. The club acquired a spot permanently from Real Salt Lake on 29 June 2005.

There is no limit on the number of international slots on each club’s roster. The remaining roster slots must belong to domestic players. For clubs based in the United States, a domestic player is either a U.S. citizen, a permanent resident (green card holder) or the holder of other special status (e.g., refugee or asylum status).

Future draft pick trades

Future picks acquired: 2013 SuperDraft Round 4 pick acquired from Houston Dynamo.
Future picks traded: 2012 SuperDraft Round 2 pick traded to San Jose Earthquakes; 2012 SuperDraft Round 3 pick traded to Toronto FC; 2012 SuperDraft conditional pick traded to FC Dallas; 2013 Supplemental Draft Round 3 pick traded to Toronto FC.

References

2011 Colorado Rapids season Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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