Atlanta United vs. Colorado Rapids preview: Three questions with Burgundy Wave

Only nine matches remain for Atlanta United in what’s been a massively disappointing 2025 season. There have been a few signs of improvement, though, and hopefully those culminate in Atlanta’s first away win of the year and first since last Decision Day at Orlando City.

Next up on the schedule is the Colorado Rapids. Matt Pollard, the managing editor of Burgundy Wave, provided us with the latest updates on what’s happening with MLS’s original clubs as they’re undergoing a bit of a transition.

Obviously, the big news surrounding the Rapids is the trade of Djordje Mihailović to Toronto. From what it sounds like, he wasn’t too pleased with the direction of the club. Why now for the Rapids, especially amid a playoff chase?

I wrote about this last week, but the answer is obvious. It was about the money and the winning. Say what you will about the current state of Toronto FC, they spend big and they’ve rebuilt before. They bought out two DPs this summer to make room to sign Djordje as a DP. Colorado waived Kévin Cabral hoping someone else would sign him to free up his DP slot. Indications are they won’t buy him out before the window closes.

We all know where the Rapids are in the MLS hierarchy. They’re bottom 10 in net spend. They haven’t won a playoff game since 2016. Mihailović wasn’t going to compete for trophies here. Give TFC a year or two, it seems plausible. Colorado got TFC to overpay. It made sense on paper even if it hurts the team and hurts the feelings of the fans to be confronted with that reality by a player who seemed to thrive and be happy here. 

Where do the Rapids go from here? Of course, they have Rafa Navarro in their attack and young players like Cole Bassett in the fold, but what’s the direction of the club with Mihailovic now gone (opening up a DP slot) and a sale of Chido Awaziem to Ligue 1 materializing earlier in the year?

I’ll start with what’s next on the field. Chris Armas and the first team have already moved on from the Djordje Mihailović news. The result on Sunday was massive. Colorado has one of the easier schedules the rest of the way in the Western Conference. Of their 8 games remaining, only 2 opponents are above them in the table. Can they grind their way into the playoffs? Absolutely. Are they likely to advance more than a round at best with their best player gone? Probably not. 

From the board room, the Rapids are in uncharted waters. They have never had this much money to play with. The Secondary Transfer Window also closes next Thursday. Alexis Manyoma is official, granted he was a target before Djordje decided he wanted to be at a bigger club. Can they sign another winger or a 10 before the window closes? Pádraig Smith said as of last Friday they had four official offers out. The rumor mill has been quiet for Tommy Scoops and company. We’ll see. I want to be optimistic the team can replace Mihailović in the aggregate, if not this window, in the winter. Plenty of Rapids fans are concerned cheap Stan Kroenke is pocketing some of that $8 million. 

Direction of the club – It’s a really good question. Smith has said the club won’t spend all the profit on Mihailović on one player. I would hope stylistically they go out and get another 10. Ted Ku-DiPietro has been a good pick up. He’s a winger but played centrally at times in the D.C. United academy. They need a chance creator who’s also good at pressing to fit the Chris Armas game model. This team has still been at their best in the 4-2-3-1 with Cole Bassett in a double pivot. Armas has tried the Red Bulls 4-2-2-2. Results have been mixed. They’ve got injuries to midfielders Josh Atencio and Connor Ronan. That’s a nice “let’s try it sometimes when it makes sense” formation. It’s not something for right now or every game. 

Regarding the back line – Colorado knew before the window opened that Chido’s family situation was a deal breaker. They had time to plan what they were going to do at center back. They got beat out for Stav Lemkin which was unfortunate. Getting Rob Holding on an 18-month deal and a free transfer from Crystal Palace is good business. They’ve got a good center back pipeline now with Ian Murphy, the recently signed Lucas Herrington, and the loaned Noah Cobb. The defense needs to settle in and be better at dealing with counter attacks. I think they can do that now, especially given the schedule. 

Who’s a player on the Rapids that might be a little under the radar that Atlanta United needs to keep an eye on?

If you had asked me this question last week, I would have said Darren Yapi. The 20-year-old homegrown is having a breakout season. Every goal he scores is more technically impressive and significant. He’s become a big game player. 

To answer the question directly, I’ll go with Calvin Harris. He’s mostly a right winger, but he’ll play on both sides. He loves to dribble and take on defenders. He’s got some flash to his game. Generation Adidas Luiz Araújo with an English accent. He’s got 4 goals, 2 assists in 7 starts, not even 900 minutes played. He’s a really good and creative third attacker. Given Atlanta’s habit of mental mistakes at the back, Saturday could be a Calvin Harris game.