COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – It’s been a long wait for Jermaine Jones.
Acquired by the Colorado Rapids in last month’s sign and trade deal with New England, Jones has had to play spectator while serving a six-game suspension. With the suspension concluded, Jones is aching to return to the field when Colorado hosts the New York Bulls this Saturday (9 pm ET, MLS Live), which will mark his first competitive match in over 170 days.
“It’s been almost four and a half months since I’ve played for a club,” Jones told MLSsoccer.com. “It was not easy. We’re not talking about sitting out one game or two games, it was six games. Sitting out of the two [US] national team games [was tough]. It’s always tough to see your guys playing and know you can’t help them. I’m excited to get back on the field and play a regular season game tomorrow.”
Jones isn’t the only one feeling the excitement for his Rapids debut; his coach and teammates have also been eagerly anticipating the 34-year-old’s return to the pitch.
“He’s excited to get out on the field and finally get some game minutes, so we’re all looking forward to having him on the field,” Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “I think he’s been a great addition to the group.”
Despite having not played a match for Colorado, he’s been praised as a key contributor in the locker room and on the training pitch.
“He’s brought a great deal of leadership,” Mastroeni explained. “He leads by example which is important and the way he carries himself on the field has been fabulous.”
As a veteran of multiple leagues around the world and the US national team, Jones has quickly gravitated to the role of mentor, offering to both push and guide the team’s young core.
“When I step on the field, I’m a guy who hates to lose,” he explained. “I’m a guy who likes to push my team, especially here because we have a young team. With my experience and the games that I’ve played in, I think I can help them.”
One of the players Jones has already taken under his wing is newly signed Swiss-Albanian Designated PlayerShkelzen Gashi. With Jones and Gashi sharing the common tongue of German, Jones has aided the 27-year-old Gashi in his adjustment to a new team, league, culture and language.
“I would say sharing the same language helped him,” Jones said. “I told Gashi to do the best he can do. It’s been really easy because all of the guys have welcomed us with open arms.”
Saturday will also mark Jones’ first competitive match played at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park since the infamous Snow Clasico of 2013, but despite weather forecasts predicting 3-7 inches of snow accumulation in the Denver area on Saturday night, Jones is hoping that the conditions won’t be quite as bad as the match three years ago.
“We’ve talked a lot about that snow game, but I think tomorrow, everyone hopes the snow won’t be that bad,” he said.
He’s instead focused on helping Colorado continue their strong start to 2016, which has included wins in both of the Rapids home matches thus far and continued with a win over Sporting KC on Wednesday.
“I think I’m confident with the whole situation. We won in Kansas City so we’re in good shape,” Jones said. “It won’t really be about me on Saturday, it’s about the team and I feel really comfortable.”
