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Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura
Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura was the man of the match on Saturday against Dallas. His goal late in the second half was the deciding moment in Colorado’s 1-0 victory, but his energetic play throughout the game was a key component in the team’s plan to keep the Hoops on their heels. Kimura took some time to talk about his attacking style of play against FC Dallas and the state of the Rapids’ back line. I was struck by his lack of selfishness when talking about the possibility of having less playing time in the near future. His focus was not on himself; he became an advocate, stressing that the team is in good hands when any of its defenders is on the pitch.
Is that your responsibility? To attack from the right side of the defense?
Nowadays, you’ve got to attack as a defender, especially right, left back. That’s a strength, you know? No defenders defends all the time. If you go to the European countries, better teams over there in the European countries, you see right back and left back, they attack all the time. That gives the team strength, constant attacking, more depth. And it makes confusion for them. That’s why I’ve been watching some of the good players from the European countries and learning all the time to be aggressive all the time. If you attack all the time, say like (against Dallas), they have to go back and defend me all the time, their left wing. They lose their energy when they go up against me. That’s my mentality, and Gary (Smith, Rapids coach) knows that. And especially at home, we’ve got to get going. This is our game, and the altitude helps us, too. We’ve got to use that.
There was a highlight play in the first half where you came up through the midfield and juked Dax McCarty …
Yeah, I was going to take a shot, but I saw Nick making a run, and i just … I don’t know. I lost control and just passed it.
But the crowd liked that. I see Colin Clark working on moves like that all the time in training. Are you doing that?
Me and Jake (Peterson) … most of the young guys … Omar (Cummings) and me, Mehdi (Ballouchy), Nick (LaBrocca), Jake, Colin, we do that all the time to get confident on the ball. Attack and attack. That’s where the goal comes from. You have to be aggressive. You cannot stay and be passive and move the ball side to side. You’ve got to break the defender beyond that. That’s how you attack. Otherwise, the goal never comes.
The defense is getting a little bit crowded with the signing of Julien Baudet. Will you find yourself with less playing time soon?
I don’t know. That’s a good question. We have really, really high competition. We have some good defenders, and we’ve got a new guy from France who’s a great player, too. No matter who plays, I have faith in everybody on this team. And coach has faith in everybody. All I’ve got to do is keep working hard.
Have they spoken to you about playing more in midfield?
Maybe when the time comes. When I score, I play right wing. Coach may switch it up. “Hey, Kosuke, go play right wing.” I’ll just keep working hard and take the chance when it comes.
When your play brings such cheering from the fans, how does that affect you as a player?
Oh, it feels great. I get pumped up easy. I get so excited so quick, so that’s great. I like that. It’s what you play for, right?
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