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This offseason, UZ will give a short review on the play of all Colorado Rapids players who received a decent amount of time on the pitch during the season along with a season grade. Starting with Goalkeepers and then moving up the field as necessary from defenders to forwards, today we'll go with Julien Baudet.
Name: Julien Baudet
Number: 21
Appearances: 14 (4)
Stats: 11 shots, 1 goal via penalty shot, 1 Red Card
Beast! Beast! Beast!
The french Beast had a hot and cold year, the hots fortunately outweighing the colds by the time it was over. At his best, he was the perfect prototypical big, disruptive central defender. His vocality - that's a word - on the field was unmatched on the Rapids defense and his presence seemed to make everyone else play better when he was at his best.
His worst points came in the middle of the season, when his appearances turned from fantastic into lackadaisical at best. His terrible own goal against FC Dallas robbed the Rapids of what would have been a great result in the middle of their winless streak during the season. Fortunately he managed to turn himself around near the end of the season and began to play like, well, a beast. His game against Columbus in the playoffs turned out to be one of his best of the year, playing fantastic defense in the center of a 3-5-2 formation and scoring his only 'goal' of the season in the ensuing penalty shootout.
Baudet will be missed, his size, field presence and ability are great commodities that will be hard to replace. He wasn't a starter on the fantastic Rapids defense near the end of the season and his late season role of "size off the bench late" probably didn't fit his style as he'd like so we wish him the best of luck at getting a starting role in Seattle. Godspeed, Beast!
PLAYER RATING: 6.5