Kellyn Acosta Talks Adversity in Coming to Colorado Rapids, Favorite Trophy, and Chicago Fire

Editorial – You’d be hard-pressed to find a current MLS player who’s made as significant an impact in as many different clubs as Kellyn Acosta.

Born and raised in Plano, TX, Acosta joined FC Dallas’ academy in 2009 and quickly ascended the ranks at the club and international level, playing in the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Mexico and the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Türkiye. It’s why he decided to renege on his commitment to the University of Maryland and instead pen a homegrown deal with Dallas. Acosta emerged as an indispensable figure for Dallas at both the fullback and central midfield positions, helping them end a 19-year trophy drought with the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as well as their first-ever Supporters’ Shield in that same year. After a superb journey in Texas that saw him score 13 goals and nine assists in 139 appearances for Dallas and earn praise from leading MLS pundits like Taylor Twellman and Kevin Egan, Acosta was traded to Colorado Rapids on July 23, 2018 in exchange for Dominique Badji. For the first time in his life, Acosta was going to be living outside of the Dallas metropolitan area, and he was going to be doing so whilst raising a newborn son.

“I’ve had to deal with some major adversities like being out of the national team for a couple of years, which was really challenging off the field, and being traded in the middle of the 2018 season. I had a son as well during the time that I was getting traded from Dallas to Colorado, and him being in Dallas at the time was not easy…I was juggling a lot of different factors,” stated Acosta in an exclusive Burgundy Wave interview. “ The year before, I had a major knee injury and was forced to undergo surgery, which kind of set me back a bit….I’ve had a bunch of different things happen to me along the way. I think every athlete goes through a period of difficulty, and I’ve certainly had my fair share of challenges.”

Acosta got off to a sensational start in Colorado, scoring in his first two matches vs. D.C. United and LA Galaxy followed by an assist vs. San Jose Earthquakes, and emerged as one of the first names on the team sheet under Anthony Hudson and later Robin Fraser. At the time, Colorado were one of the worst teams in MLS, finishing with the third-worst record in MLS in 2017 and 2018, before bouncing back in 2019 by coming within inches of the postseason. 2020 would prove even more fruitful, with Colorado finishing fifth in the Western Conference (10th overall) and returning to the playoffs after four years, where they lost 3-0 to Minnesota United in the first round.

He continued his elite form in 2021 by guiding Colorado to the best record in the West (2nd in the Supporters’ Shield), only for his Rapids to come up empty after losing to Portland Timbers in the first round. Little did he know it, but that would be the 82nd and final appearance of his Rapids career after being traded to LAFC in January 2022 for $1.1 million in General Allocation Money.

Prior to that, Acosta signed an extension with Colorado in 2019 that included team options for 2022 and 2023. Sources tell Burgundy Wave that Colorado had negotiated option years with raises that the Front Office was not comfortable paying Acosta. They felt it was an over pay for the value bring even as he grew into the team. There was some tension between leadership and Acosta’s representation. Perhaps both parties felt he would leave the club in 2022 and that sparked the player’s vocal interest in getting to Europe.

Once again, Acosta was able to enjoy a seamless transition to his new surroundings, helping the Black and Gold win the Supporters’ Shield title before making it all the way to the MLS Cup Final, where he opened the scoring and proved integral in LA’s historic victory against Philadelphia.

“It’s difficult to say what my best trophy was…I think they’re all very hard in their own regard. Winning the U.S. Open Cup is very difficult, because you’re traveling for some of these games and playing in different environments. I think we played at a couple of colleges, and those aren’t the easiest games to get up for, and you’ll often have to play with a rotated team as it’s often midweek, so winning that is very difficult. The Supporters’ Shield is one of those things where you can kind of see by the middle of the year who’s really in contention of winning it, and I think one of those things is changing your focus of, ‘Okay, we’re going to win the Supporters’ Shield to secure homefield advantage, whereas winning the MLS Cup is its own beast.”

“You almost divide the season into 2-3 seasons where you’ve got the regular season plus whatever tournament, and then you have the postseason, which is like its own season. The postseason is difficult, especially with the change of format. It’s not an easy thing to achieve, and I think even the best teams like Miami and Philadelphia are seeing that now, whilst winning the Gold Cup and Concacaf Nations League also isn’t easy either. I don’t know which one stands out to me the most, but I’d probably say MLS Cup is the biggest. This is not necessarily a trophy, but in Colorado, when we won the Western Conference, that seemed so far out of reach. For us, as a group, especially with how much other teams were investing and, you know, where we were as a club the previous year, so us winning the Western Conference was pretty crazy to be honest.”

After a sensational 2022 that saw him win the MLS Cup and compete in the FIFA World Cup, Acosta continued his progression as a vital cog in LA’s midfield, helping them reach the MLS Cup Final and Concacaf Champions Cup Final, only to come up empty-handed on both attempts. He then called it quits on his LA tenure after 79 appearances, packing his bags for the Windy City and joining Chicago Fire. Acosta became an essential leader in the middle of the pitch, making 36 appearances across all competitions in the 2024 season. And with Gregg Berhalter taking charge ahead of the 2025 season, all signs pointed to him having an even better year in Chicago. After all, it was under Berhalter that he returned to the US Men’s National Team after two years and became a regular in midfield. Instead, Acosta has dropped to the bench in the final months of the campaign, playing just four minutes across the last five matches of the season.

At 30 years of age, Kellyn Acosta may no longer be the slim chicken that lit up Dallas and transformed Colorado and LA’s fortunes, but he still has plenty of oil left in the tank, and he isn’t giving up hope of reinserting himself into Berhalter’s XI, earning a contract extension past its current expiry date of December 2026, and making another long-awaited return to the national team.

“You don’t want to prove the doubters and naysayers wrong, you want to prove it to yourself that you’re worth it. I got in this position because of everything that I’ve done up until this point, and I want to reward myself with a successful year. If I do the things that I’m supposed to do, then the rest will fall into place. As far as contracts and stuff goes, obviously, I can’t say that I don’t think about it, but I’m more focused on being present in the moment and putting my best foot forward each and every day. I know that if I can be better than the previous day, I’ll be in good shape for what’s to come in the future.”

Thank you for reading Burgundy Wave. Support us via our Patreon starting at $5/month. We’re always looking for new talent. Let us know if you’re interested in covering Colorado Soccer.