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How Michael Barrios predictably transformed how the Colorado Rapids play in transition.
June 19. TQL Stadium. The first match at FC Cincinnati’s shinny new home with a capacity crowd. The Colorado Rapids have come out in a 5-3-2, a formation Robin Fraser has been working on, with mixed results to that point.
It’s 21 minutes in and the game’s opened up. The next skill player to make a play into space is going to create a goal. Danny Wilson dribbles forward, then punts the ball into the final third.
As the camera pans left, a winger is 5 yards ahead of the last defender. He runs on goal, then has to dribble in a circle to wait for his slow teammates to catch up. Eventually, he finds Diego Rubio who smashes the ball into the net.
Colorado went on to win 2-0. That night was about more than 3 points, Concacafy Rapids Thug Life, and trolling flatlanders. It was proof of a concept:
Regardless of formation or game state, the Burgundy Boys are set up to get the ball to Michael Barrios. And he’ll reliably turn service that into goals.
The Beginning: Padraig Smith cooks so Barrios can cook
A week before the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, FC Dallas traded Barrios to the Pids for a 2021 International Roster Slot, valued at $230k in ‘21 allocation money. The clubs also swapped natural 1st round picks.
“I didn’t think that I would leave [FC Dallas] like I did. At the end of the year they told me I would continue 2021 with them and then at the beginning of the year, they called me and told me that I wouldn’t. It was hard, having to move from one place to another. Knowing the league helped me adapt more quickly to the team,” Barrios described the off-season trade.
Add Barrios to an ever growing list of players General Manager Padraig Smith has gotten for reasonable return that become bargains in hindsight.
“You’re talking about one of the elite chance creators in Major League Soccer over the last five years. When you can get it for the price we had to pay, it’s a no brainer,” Smith told me back in January.
Barrios has 5 goals and 4 assists half way through the season, first and tied for first on the team, respectively. Take 2019 Kei Kamara, who was also acquired for an Int Slot, make him a short and fast winger who speaks Spanish and isn’t petty and you’d have Mickey Barrios.
“The roster [Colorado] had for this year was really good and so thank God that things have gone well. I got accustomed to the group quickly and I’m giving my all for them,” Barrios told me last week, adding “All that I credit to my professionalism.”
He’s on pace for 17 goal contributions this regular season. In 2019, the last normal year in MLS, he had 5 G and 15 A on a midtable Dallas team that was integrating several Homegrowns. The last time a Rapids player had that many assists was Carlos Valderrama in 2002.
Now he’s on a team that’s more consistent, has depth, and has the goal of winning. In a system that suits him, surrounded by players who have chemistry, he’s thrived and so has the team.
The Player: Pace, intelligence, and skills
So, Barrios racks up assists and can also score. He’s fast. But there’s more to it than that.
Fraser: “His transition [from defense] to attack is so fast. His professionalism, his decision making are all very good. He doesn’t lose the ball. With his dribbling ability, he’s difficult to get off the ball. He’s been able to unbalance defenses by getting in good spots. On top of that, he’s a really smart player. He knows how to put himself in good positions. When he does, he’s been able to hurt teams.”
Barrios: “I’m very thankful to God for that blessing he gave me, my speed. We know that a lot of teams already know me, they try to control me but sometimes it’s hard for them. On my intelligence, one tries day by day on that. Mentally it comes when one learns and shows it to the technical staff. Thank God, until now it’s been effective.”
Rubio: “Mikey is a player that is easy to play with. It’s easy to understand him. As soon as he starts dribbling, you go to the box to wait for him. We occupy the box and set him up to score goals.”
Smith: “He has got pace that is hard to match. The combination of that pace with the ability to pick a pass, be in behind defenses, and to provide opportunities for his teammates, that is an opportunity that’s hard to turndown.”
Shinyashiki: “Mikey’s incredible. His ability to beat guys going forward is remarkable. He’s a player that we count on week in and week out. He’s a great guy in the locker room and one of my closest friends. I’m just happy to have him here.”
So a few things stand out from these quotes:
Yes, he’s fast. More so, he uses it effectively thanks to his Soccer IQ/intangibles.
He’s a catalyst for breaking down defenses AND he gets others involved.
Things are going well in the locker room. He’s a standout individual AND a part of the team.
Let’s take a look at those last two points.
The Team: He suits them, they suit him
As I and other members of the media have talked about in the past, this is a really close knit team. It’s a friendly, welcoming, and diverse locker room. There’s almost no ego from 1-30 on the roster. Guys with different upbringings have genuine relationships regardless of language barriers.
“I come from Dallas, where we had something similar. Different languages, players from different countries. It’s really important because that way, we get stronger, we become more united. We’re always trying to communicate with each other so we can understand each other well on the pitch,” said Barrios.
From a team culture perspective, the 30-year-old fit in right away.
“I don’t like to not get along with anyone. It’s fun when we are all happy and no one is outside the group, that no one is sad. That would really affect the group, so the most important thing is to be united, to be like family.”
Understandably, there’s been a connection between him and the other South Americans. He doesn’t consider himself the biggest leader on the team, but he’s been a role model for Braian Galván and others. The partnership with Rubio had been effective.
“He was the first one that opened his arms to welcome me here in Colorado in the best way. He’s the person that has helped me have the first conversations with the technical staff with the language barrier,” Barrios said when asked about his relationship with Rubio.
Technically, he was also just what the team needed. He was the missing puzzle piece in terms of diversity of skillsets among the wingers. Galván and Jonathan Lewis are both still raw young players who are still learning how to use their speed effectively.
Younes Namli, when a wide player, works well in tight spaces and 1-v-1. Andre Shinyashiki and Cole Bassett press and defend well out wide, though it’s not their natural position.
Barrios plays vertically better than any of these players. He can go directly at goal himself or go to the touchline and cut back to stretch the defense as teammates catchup. His speed, skill, and smarts are the total package. Now, how does that fit in tactically?
The System(s): Different setup, same idea
Fraser’s generally had the Rapids in two postures this year. Primarily, they’ve played in a 4-3-3. Here, they’re on the front foot, prefer to have the ball, and the front six rotate interchangeably. There’s lots of off the ball movement.
In tough road games, Fraser’s deployed a pragmatic back three/five and conservative/compacted midfield. It’s hard to narrow it down to one formation. It’s complicated. Don’t overthink the objective.
The front line presses. They are willing to concede ground where they can get away with it. They give the opponent useless possession in the final third and give up numerous yet low quality chances. Then they pounce in transition and Concacaf their way to a result.
In the first case, Barrios is making a run directly into the 18 yard box with the service coming from inside the attacking half. In the second case, it’s usually a defender playing the ball 30+ yards from the defensive third.
Regardless, they’re trying to do the same thing. Switch the field and get Barrios the ball in space. Have him play off of the striker or a pushed up midfielder. OR he’ll take it to the touchline, cut inside then make a decision based on numbers and spacing in the box.
Barrios has played as an False No. 9 once or twice, almost a target winger if such a position exists.
Again, it’s the same pattern just with a different orientation, because of the objective of using his speed to get in behind. Once he has the ball at his feet, no two plays have been the same all season, because of the his situational intelligence and awareness.
Let’s look at some examples:
Colorado’s on the front foot in the 4-3-3. Barrios gets in behind, needs time for reinforcements to arrive. He puts a hopeful ball into the open space in the box. Sam Vines finishes.
Colorado’s in the pragmatic setup. There’s a long outlet ball to Barrios. He combines with Rubio to play him in on goal. Barrios scores.
Colorado’s pushing numbers into the box with Seattle sitting back up a goal. The ball gets played in from wide midfield. Barrios cuts back and scores despite how compact the backline is.
Similar to the other examples, but with the play starting wider and further from goal. Barrios has to dribble inside before making stuff happen.
The player fits the role, fits the team, fits the system.
Is it predictable? Yeah. Is it hard for the opponent to stop? Absolutely. Drop numbers back and you surrender ground to one of the best three-man midfields in the league. Play a high line, you’re give more space in behind. There aren’t five defenders in the league you could have man mark him in these situations.
No opponent has come up with a way to stop this pattern of play when Jack Price and company are executing their passes. Barrios plays the position in a way Rapids fans haven’t seen in years. It’s getting spectacular yet unsurprising results.
And that’s the point.
All quotes attributed to Barrios in this article were English translations of statements made by the player in Spanish. Lucas Casás, Colorado Rapids Communications Manager, performed the translation.
