Chris Armas is Rapids-ly headed to The Centennial State.
The Colorado Rapids have hired the 51-year-old Puerto Rican professional soccer coach and former player to be their next manager, according to ESPN.
Armas replaces Robin Fraser, who was dismissed in September with the Rapids languishing at the bottom of the Western Conference.
Chris Little, who was also a finalist, took over on an interim basis, leading the club to a 2-4-2 mark.
That wasn’t enough to move the Rapids off the bottom of the table, as Colorado finished the season with 27 points and a record of 5-17-12.
Sources tell ESPN that Charlotte FC assistant Pa Modou Ka was also a finalist, as were two unnamed foreign managers.
Armas had the most managerial experience of any of the confirmed candidates.
Starting in 2015, he served as an assistant with the New York Red Bulls under Jesse Marsch, and took over as manager following Marsch’s departure midway through the 2018 campaign, leading the Red Bulls to that year’s Supporters Shield.
Armas struggled thereafter, however. He was let go by the Red Bulls midway through the 2020 season, and lasted less than a year as manager of Toronto FC as the team failed to produce results in 2021.
Armas later served as an assistant at Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick, and had a short stint with Leeds United where he was briefly reunited with Marsch.
As a player, Armas spent time in MLS with the LA Galaxy and Chicago Fire, the latter of which he won an MLS Cup with in 1998.
Armas also made 66 appearances with the U.S. men’s national team.
