Revitalized Bay Area Visit – San Jose Preview

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Rapids finish their away stint at San Jose, a team very changed from the rock-bottom western squad of last year. A new head coach and new stars like Chicho Arang and Josef Martinez will prove a new and interesting challenge for Chris Armas and the Burgundy Boys. Let’s take a look at the matchup.

When: Saturday, March 15 @ 8:30 p.m. MST

Where: PayPal Park

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV

First Win at Austin:

The Rapids are coming off of their first win of the season, a 1-0 victory at Q2 Stadium. They remain undefeated in 2025 and get a much-needed clean sheet on the day. A clean sheet that referee Marcos DeOliveira II threatened with two points to the spot that were both overruled by VAR. Both were the correct decision, but some luck had to be involved for the Rapids to walk away with a win. The Pids were not the better team on the night statistically, but on the road, they did what they needed to get a result.

The Rapids scored early, with a beautifully direct passage of play that went from Bassett to Larraz, to Mihailovic, who sprayed a perfect through ball to Navarro, who finished with a chip. Each pass went forward more than the other; it was the directness that caught the Austin backline sleeping. Fast-paced play was the name of the game for Chris Armas, as we saw 90 plus minutes of high intensity play from the Rapids. 

It was interesting to see that the Rapids had continued a press, even up 1-0 late in the game, where we had seen them fall back into a low block 4-4-2 in games past. Chris Armas had said leading up to this match that they wanted to continue to play on the front foot and press the opposition. That is what we saw from the Rapids, and it would not surprise me if this is the way forward from Armas.

The Rapids got the clean sheet with a makeshift backline, which saw Ian Murphy at left-back instead of his usual position at center-back. That position was filled with the return of Andreas Maxsø, his first appearance this season. It will be interesting to see the depth on that backline against San Jose, as Ian Murphy came off with cramping, and Anderson Rosa has already had all of his allotted call up windows from Rapids 2. 

Lineup Prediction:

Steffen / Cannon, Maxso, Awaziem, Rosenberry (c), / Bassett, Larraz, Mihailović / C. Harris, Navarro, Cabral 

The injury report has thrown a wrench into the perceived lineup going into this game. If Mihailović can go, I see Armas going back to a 4-2-3-1, similar to last year. With Atencio and Ronan out, there isn’t much to go off of in the midfield for Armas. The Rapids will have to make things work with what they have available on Saturday. We could see a very different lineup on Saturday if Djordje doesn’t play.

Reggie Cannon was practicing with the team as normal and is off the injury report. No word about Ian Murphy on the injury report, so he should be good to go as well. This finally leaves Armas with some options along that backline. But for Cannon and Murphy, if one can’t go, I expect the other to step in. Maxsø seemed to win back his starting spot as soon as he was healthy, but it isn’t clear who will start at center-back if the Rapids have at least two healthy outside-backs. 

I think Armas will go to what seemed like the starting center-back pairing going into the season, with Maxsø alongside Awaziem. Andreas excelled alongside Bombito when they paired up last season, and Awaziem, to me, is a similar build at center-back as Bombito. Awaziem is strong and fast and provides the cover that Maxsø needs alongside him. The duo has the potential to replicate what Maxsø and Bombi did last season, which will allow the team to be able to attack with freedom, knowing the quality of what’s behind them. 

The New 4-3-3 Look (and What it Means for Mihailović):

Throughout most of 2024, Armas went with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Mihailović at the center of the midfield. This is what he started with against LAFC in the first leg of the CCC. Since then, he has experimented with a 4-3-3, starting with Bassett as the odd man out in the midfield, pushing him out wide. This felt like a defensive look from the Rapids, and it produced, with the Rapids only conceding once in two games, both away against St. Louis and LAFC. 

But it had its downsides, as in those two games, the Burgundy Boys did not register a shot on target. The attack was not there, and Bassett’s absence in the midfield was apparent. A change was needed, and a change was made. Bassett swapped spots with Mihailović for the game against Dallas, and it opened up the attack. The Rapids scored three times, with Mihailović playing a crucial part in two of the goals. In that game, we saw a little bit of a free-roam Mihailovic, but he mostly played as a makeshift winger against Dallas. The game against Austin was a different story.

Free roam Mihailović was in full swing and was a key part in the winning goal. Throughout the match, Mihailovic tucked in and filled the center attacking midfield role he normally would occupy, creating a diamond in midfield and a whole lotta space on the left wing. It was interesting to see Austin not follow Mihailović on the goal, with Austin right-back Mikkel Desler opting to stay out wide and mark the space Mihailović left. I think this was a mistake from Austin, but it shows what teams might have to do when a more attacking fullback than Ian Murphy is lined up on Mihailović’s side. Mihailović leaving the space out wide for Vines or Rosenberry to exploit seems like a winning formula for the Rapids and creates a whole host of problems for opposition teams.

San Jose’s Rebuild:

San Jose was firmly the worst team in the league last year and was in need of change for 2025. And rebuild they did. They started by bringing in head coach Bruce Arena, an MLS veteran coach who most recently brought New England Revolution from a league afterthought to the promised land of a supporters shield win. They loaded up on MLS veterans, signing former MLS MVP Josef Martinez and star Chicho Arango to bolster an attack already featuring Cristian Espinoza, Hernan Lopez, and Amahl Pellegrino. They should help what was the second worst attack in the Western Conference last year.

This was evident in their first game of the season, beating RSL 4-0 in their home opener. The new guys didn’t make their mark on the score sheet, but the team made their mark on RSL and put the rest of the league on notice. They followed this up with a win at Sporting KC, despite a red card for Hernan Lopez early in the second half. They hit their first roadblock at home against Minnesota, but six points out of nine possible to start 2025 is very good for the team that finished with only 21 points in 2024.

San Jose plays with a formation not used as much anymore with a 3-5-2, but they have flexibility within this formation to become more attacking or more defensive. The two wingers from San Jose could not be more different. On one side, you have left-back Jamar Ricketts, who provides defense on the left side, and on the other side, you have winger Cristian Espinoza, who is more of an attacking threat on the right side. San Jose seems to have too many weapons in the attack and not enough space, with Espinoza having to fall back more and Pellegrino not even making the starting eleven in most games.

No matter the personnel the Rapids will face, Minnesota laid out the blueprint to beat this San Jose team. Minnesota was strong defensively, giving up 17 shots but only one on target throughout the game, and they took their chance when it came. A familiar formula that the Rapids showed they are capable of with the 1-0 win away to Austin. If the Rapids can have a similar performance against San Jose, they’ll put themselves in a good spot to snatch a result away from home.

Prediction: The Rapids recreate the performance against Austin and remain strong defensively. But they can’t hold forever, leading to a 1-1 tie and a point to bring back to Colorado.

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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