COMMERCE CITY — When Max Alves scored his first MLS regular-season goal last weekend at Charlotte, it felt like a weight lifted off his and the Colorado Rapids’ shoulder.
It’s been 15 months since he first arrived in Colorado, but the Brazilian playmaker is finally finding his groove. Alves has routinely been getting in promising positions and it paid off last weekend with his second career goal for Colorado. Now, he’s looking to build on it as the Rapids (1-3-4, 7 points) go up against MLS’ newcomers and top-of-the West St. Louis City (6-2-0, 18 points) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (TV: Apple TV) inside DSGP .
“I’ve been working very hard,” Max told The Post via a team translator after practice Thursday. “Coach Robin (Fraser), Chris Little has been helping me a lot during the practice sessions. What you do in practice, that’s what you do in the games. … They’ve been asking me to play a lot of roles, I’ve been watching videos and continue working hard.”
His English skills have progressed and it’s paid dividends in understanding communication from coaches and teammates. But what’s more noticeable this season is his on-the-field engine.
“His running is relentless, and I think as he’s spent more time here, he’s assimilated more,” Fraser said last weekend. “His understanding of English is better and I think all of that contributes to his understanding of his responsibilities on the field, which I think are so much better than they’ve been before. And we’re watching the maturation of a very, very talented young player, and it’s exciting because as he gets better, we start to see real glimpses of how good he can be.”
Eight games into his time with Colorado, Alves still understands his focus: Pouncing on chances, no matter the role he’s asked to play.
“Any team that is coming here knows how much of a challenge it is to play (at altitude),” Alves said. “Coming into this weekend’s game, we will have to be compact and good with the ball. We know they’re a very qualified team, but so are we, and we are ready for this.”
Smith on Toure
The circumstances around the release of Dantouma “Yaya” Toure became a little less murky Thursday night.
Following a Rapids Unified player signing event at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Lakewood, Rapids team president Pádraig Smith issued the following statement to The Post:
“We gave Yaya some leave of absence or time away from the club during his rehab process to deal with some personal stuff. We’ve been in communication with his representation, the League, the (Players’) Union — we’ve been in touch with everybody. (Releasing him on waivers) was the best pathway forward for Yaya and puts him in the best position.”
Smith clarified that Toure’s ACL injury had no bearing on the decision to let the 18-year-old forward and Homegrown talent go. Toure cleared waivers Thursday and was not immediately signed, but his contract within MLS is still valid and the former U.S. youth international is eligible to sign with any MLS team.
Rapids 2 off to hot start
Colorado Rapids 2 is the last undefeated team in MLS NEXT Pro and atop the table after four matches. R2 (4-0-0, 12 points) has had an electric start on offense with 10 total goals tallied by six different players. Yosuke Hanya is tied for the most goals in the league with four, while winter signing Calvin Harris has two. The team also secured back-to-back game-winning stoppage time goals to open the season.
Rapids 2 will look to remain on a roll when it faces St. Louis City 2 Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium. It is the first time the team will play at DU since last September, as the previous two home games were at DSGP while the DU men’s and women’s programs were in the midst of its spring schedules.
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