Drew Moor. (The Denver Post)
Drew Moor watched this offseason as the Colorado Rapids dismantled most of the middle of the field in its lineup. Strikers Conor Casey and Omar Cummings and defensive midfielder Jeff Larentowicz all departed Commerce City.
But Moor remains. Does that mean he fits in Oscar Pareja’s possession-and-attacking style more than those three did?
“I hope I do. I think I do,” Moor said last week. “I think I fit in the system well, communicate well, keep guys in front of me organized, which is important in an attacking style.
“Oscar certainly wants his style of play here. And it’s an attacking style. And we want to score goals. We did score a lot of goals last year. But on the other hand, we gave up too many goals. And that’s somewhere where we didn’t expect to be.”
Drew Moor and Steward Ceus, left and center, at a Kroenke Sports Charities benefit on Jan. 21 in Denver. (The Denver Post)
Moor finds himself adapting to new players around him, including fellow defender Diego Calderon, who likely will start next to Moor at central back.
“I’m definitely excited with some of the new guys coming in,” Moor said. “One thing we want to be better at is simple: allowing fewer goals. Allowing 50 goals last season was way too many. It doesn’t give yourself an opportunity to win games.”
But Moor’s trying not to look back.
“As a professional athlete, as a member of this squad, you have to look forward. You can’t look back,” he said.
“The championship season is over. Last season is over. The coaching change is over. Now we’re looking positive, we’re looking forward.”
But one question remains for Moor in the preseason: Will he give back the captaincy to Pablo Mastroeni?