Price, Castillo signings signal change in approach
The transformation of the Rapids after a season of misery continued to take shape Monday with the signing of two players who will be key, not only in rebuilding the roster but changing the team’s tactical shape.
With new coach Anthony Hudson and sporting director Pádraig Smith set on fielding a 3-5-2 formation — utilizing three center backs supported by wing backs tracking back when necessary from midfield rather than the customary four-man back line — the club introduced English midfielder Jack Price and wing back Edgar Castillo, a native of Las Cruces, N.M., who has played in the top Mexican league for the past 11 years.
Price, 25, comes to Colorado from Wolverhampton of the English Championship, a second-tier league one level below the English Premier League. He played there with former Rapids striker Kevin Doyle, who retired after this past season at Colorado.
Castillo, 31, most recently played for Monterrey, which finished second in Liga MX last season. He made eight appearances for Mexico’s under-23 team and three for its senior national team before taking advantage of a new FIFA rule to join the U.S national team. He has made 18 appearances for Team USA since 2009.
Playing on the left, Castillo will complement Marlon Hairston playing the same role on the right.
Hairston was one of the team’s bright spots last year, and this week he was called up for a U.S. national team training camp.
“We feel like we’re going to have two of the best wing backs in the game,” Smith said. “When you have two good, strong attacking fullbacks, or wing backs, who can get forward, provide additional width, provide numbers in the attacking area, it’s really beneficial. We’re excited about it.”
Price also will be crucial as holding midfielder, collecting balls from the center backs and initiating attacks.
“Jack is technically and tactically an incredibly gifted player,” Smith said. “He’s somebody who really knows how to control the rhythm and tempo of a game. His vision, his passing repertoire and the skill level he possesses will be really a difference-maker for us.”
Wanting to play with a three-man back line and two strikers, Hudson needs a man who can take charge in the middle, and he believes Price suits that role well.
“I would imagine not a lot of people (in Colorado) have seen him play, but he’s a wonderful footballer,” Hudson said. “And in how we want to play, it’s a really important position to really dictate the play, to be the link all around the pitch. I’m really excited about these two signings.”
Price is a native of Shrewsbury, England, and came up through Wolverhampton’s youth system.
“I’m excited for a new challenge,” Price said. “I’ve played in England for the last five years, and I’m looking forward to playing in America. A new coach has come in, I’ve spoken to him and I like the sound of his ideas.”
Castillo said coming to Colorado, so close to his native state, feels like coming home.
“I’ve been in Mexico 11 years now, so I think it’s a good change for me,” Castillo said. “I think it (MLS) is going to become one of the good leagues in the world.”