Clik here to view.
Jeff Larentowicz’s trade from the Rapids to the Chicago Fire in January was startling. His departure came less than nine months after he signed a contract extension with Colorado.
Larentowicz’s sudden end with the Rapids came after what seemed to be a frustrating season for him in Oscar Pareja’s first year at the coaching helm.
“He told us at the end of the season that he would like to leave,” Rapids president Tim Hinchey said. “So we accommodated him.”
But the Rapids, with technical director Paul Bravo looking for a landing spot for Larentowicz, felt they owed Larentowicz for his time with Colorado. He had been among the team’s best players since arriving from New England in 2010.
In the deal, the Rapids got the No. 11 pick in the MLS draft, which they used to get Dillon Powers from Notre Dame. As it turns out, Chicago wasn’t the only team willing to trade for Larentowicz, according to Hinchey.
“We had better offers than Chicago’s offer. But I think we did the right thing,” Hinchey said.
He added: “Part of our philosophy is that players who do well for us, we’ll find a place for them where they want to go.”
One team willing to trade for Larentowicz appears to be the Columbus Crew. The Rapids, Hinchey said, had an offer for the rights to winger Robbie Rogers, a U.S. national team player who last appeared for Gary Smith’s Stevenage side in England’s third division.
Clik here to view.
Rogers’ MLS rights belong to Columbus, although he had a contract with Leeds United in England’s second division.
The Rapids’ decision to send Larentowicz to Chicago, which he apparently preferred over Columbus, may have been fortunate. One month after Larentowicz’s trade, Rogers announced he was retiring from the game after revealing he is gay.
Hinchey explained the Larentowicz trade on Thursday:
Q. At what point did things change for Jeff Larentowicz in Colorado?
Jeff is a very cerebral player. I thought perhaps, I think we all thought, that he would embrace the leadership position on the pitch. And it just didn’t come to fruition.
He told us at the end of the season that he would like to leave. So we accommodated him.
Q. I asked Pareja about that. He said it was two-ways. He might have wanted the trade too.
I can’t speak to what happened in the locker room. But I did meet with Jeff, he was one of the few players I met with after the season. We told him flat-out, he’s the last player we want to get rid of. But I think he and Oscar may have just had a miscommunication or just some kind of difference. It happens. So we accommodated him.
And I give credit to Paul, because part of our philosophy is that players who do well for us, we’ll find a place for them where they want to go.
We had better offers than Chicago’s offer. But I think we did the right thing.
I got a personal ‘thank you’ from Jeff. And that’s part of my approach. My No. 1 goal was to make our club more professional in all aspects. So how we bring people in, how we move people on, there’s a right way to do it. And I’m taking great pride in how Paul and Oscar and how we’re conducting ourselves through the league, through other teams, internally. I think we’ve grown a lot as a more professional organization.
Q. Which is nice and I would appreciate that if I was a player. But were the other, better deals for Larentowicz significantly better for the Rapids?
I don’t think they were significantly better by any means. But they were better. To be honest, I challenged Paul. He said ‘Let’s take the human interest.’ I said, ‘I agree. I care about people and I get it. But at the same time, you’re making the decisions. I’m just the devil’s advocate when it comes to soccer operations. Are we doing everything we’re talking about? Are we consistent to our plan? Are we maintaining those things? If we are, I support you. You’re going to make the decision.’
And he did. And I supported it. And actually, now it’s not as bad. Because one of the players whose rights we were going to get is retired. At 25 years old. So in hindsight it worked out great for both parties.
Q. How would that have worked out?
Robbie Rogers. We would have gotten the rights to him. Gives you a sense of the team we were talking to.
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