Fraser finds striker in Zardes

COMMERCE CITY » Gyasi Zardes’ old coach Caleb Porter of the Columbus Crew had plenty to say earlier this week when discussing the blockbuster trade that brought the 30-year-old striker to Colorado.

In surprisingly frank comments to reporters, Porter suggested Zardes’ play has begun to deteriorate.

But on the other side of the country, Rapids coach Robin Fraser sounded eager to prove a fellow member of the coaching fraternity wrong, and get Zardes, a 2020 MLS Cup winner, back to his highly-productive self.

After calling Zardes “a Colorado Rapids player through and through” shortly after his Colorado debut last Saturday, Fraser doubled down on his support in the wake of Porter’s comments.

“Gyasi is a guy who works so hard that you can’t help but get dragged along with it,” Fraser said Thursday. “His influence on us is going to be more than his ability to score goals. It’s just more professionalism and experience. Younger players looking at older players and how they handle and conduct themselves, he’s a really good role model for that.”

Back in Ohio, Porter wasn’t so complementary.

When Porter spoke to reporters this week, he explained why he felt Zardes, third all-time in goals scored for Columbus, had to move on. From the Crew’s perspective it came down to his contract (Colorado paid the Crew $300,000 in 2022 General Allocation Money, with another $1.1 million in GAM on the table) but also doubt.

“I just started seeing him miss chances that maybe normally he would make,” Porter said. “He’s going to keep scoring goals, it’s not like he’s not going to go there and score goals. But we need a 15-20 goal scorer, minimum. We need that.

“He’s not on the up,” Porter continued. “I’d say he’s not falling off a cliff like some players do, but slowly he’s going to start going down because of his age, and again, we just need a little bit more.”

While Porter did say he and the team respected Zardes’ legacy in Columbus, the Crew concluded it would be better for Zardes to prove he’s still got the “it” factor elsewhere.

Zardes, meanwhile, believes he’s got plenty left in the tank, with a track record of 101 goals and 31 assists in 276 total appearances across all competitions backing up that confidence. He is hoping to fight for his place to earn a call-up with the USMNT again.

“As a striker, you have to be playing games, you have to catch form, you have to be scoring goals to even get a sniff at representing your country,” he said last week.

Fraser said fellow forwards are already taking notes on Zardes’ movement and clinical finishing ability in his first week in Commerce City.

Darren Yapi, the 17-yearold Denverite, practiced with the first team Thursday. He will get to see firsthand how “one of the best strikers in the country” operates, Fraser said.

“It’s really an unbeatable opportunity to get up close to someone who has been doing it at a high level for a long time and can learn from him. You can see (Zardes) already has an impact on training, and we hope to see it in games moving forward.”