| ROLE | Central Defender |
| SQUAD STATUS | Departed |
| KEY 2019 STATS | 434 min, 6.5 clearances/90; 1.7 tackles/90 |
| OVERALL GRADE | D- |
Season in a Sentence
Axel Sjöberg’s season went downhill from the moment he was sent off for handling in the box during Snow Clasico 3.
Performance Review
After five seasons of playing at least a thousand league minutes for the Rapids, Colorado’s 2015 SuperDraft acquisition couldn’t manage to find the field in the conference’s second-most-leaky defense. Unfortunately, if something bad was happening during his brief stints in defense, Sjöberg usually shared the blame. The center back recorded a red card, an own goal, and put up the worst passing numbers of his MLS career in 2019.
Future Expectations
Sjöberg was released by Colorado and Columbus Crew S.C. selected him off waivers, meaning the Rapids won’t need to pay out the final year of the Swede’s contract. It’s an inauspicious end to a fan favorite’s career with the club, but there’s reason to believe Colorado’s defense is headed in the right direction.
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