NFL
By Keith Richards
Meet Rafael Navarro. The Colorado Rapids are off and running in the 2023 Summer Transfer Window. Last Wednesday, the Rapids acquired defender Andrew Gutman from Atlanta United FC. Gutman would go on to have a stellar performance, playing the full 90 minutes in his first appearance for Colorado. Left back was a position of need, but the Rapids still have holes to fill. Yesterday, Colorado filled its need for a 9 with the Brazilian Striker.
Rafael Navarro is a 23-year-old Brazilian striker who comes with loads of experience. Rafael comes to the Rapids on a 12-month loan from SE Palmeiras of Brazil’s Serie A league, which is the top division of Brazil. SE Palmeiras is also the most successful team in the history of Serie A. In 2022, Rafael Navarro would help Palmeiras win the league title as well as the 2022 Recopa Sudamericana. The question everyone wants the answer to? Just how good is Navarro?
The answer is that he’s pretty damn good. For Botafogo in 2020-21 (of Serie A and B), Rafael scored 18 goals (with 10 assists) across all competitions in 63 appearances. In 2022, he would move to Palmeiras. While with the storied Serie A club, across all competitions in 65 appearances, Rafael tallied 11 goals and four assists. Navarro’s four goals across all competitions this season would place him tied for first with the Rapids.
When asked about Rafael, team president Padraig Smith said, “We’re thrilled to add a striker of Rafael’s quality to our roster as we continue to push to get back into the playoff race. Rafael is a talented and tenacious player who will bring a goalscoring threat and experience at the highest levels in South America to the club. We believe he can immediately improve our attacking core and look forward to welcoming him to Colorado.”
When it comes to Smith’s belief in Rafael, the team is putting their money where their mouth is. The 12-month loan from SE Palmeiras is $500,000. At the end of the loan, the Rapids have a purchase option for Navarro, which is $4.5 million. Yes, you read that correctly. $4.5 million. If Colorado does decide to move forward with the purchase of Rafael’s services, it would be a team record total (loan and purchase) of $5 million; assuming the deal is not renegotiated. So, yes, they are placing a lot of faith in the young man.
As another sign of the Rapids’ faith and hopes for Navarro, the team adds Rafael Navarro as a designated player. For those unfamiliar, an MLS team can sign up to three designated players, which allows them to exceed the Maximum Salary Budget Charge for the total compensation and acquisition costs of those players. The move makes the Brazilian striker the third designated player for the Rapids; the other two being Andreas Maxso and Kevin Cabral.
Newly minted Colorado Rapids Gallery of Honor member Drew Moor said, “A number 9 is a position the Rapids needed to address. Not being able to score as many goals as we would have liked up to this point of this year. You’re missing Diego Rubio for big chunks of time. Darren Yapi still not quite being able to get his first goal; although the chances have been there…anytime you have an opportunity to bring in a striker from Brazil who has proven can score at a high level, Rafael Navarro I feel like is going to be an important signing.”
And the film backs up Moor’s beliefs. Navarro has great height and frame for a striker at 6’0” tall and 185 pounds. Personally, from watching his film, I can see he has a knack for knowing where to be to score goals. Rafael is good with both feet and is an excellent header of the ball. Rafael Navarro should be an excellent addition to the Colorado Rapids. The team and the fans have high hopes for him.
When Navarro will be ready for action is still up in the air. The best-case scenario would be Saturday but, as a betting man, I wouldn’t bet a significant amount of money on that. Team NBS will keep you posted on the situation as best we can. In the meantime, be on the lookout for Gutman and Navarro kits to welcome them to the Rapids family.
