Shkëlzen Gashi strode into Casa Grande, Ariz., last month like the sheriff in an old Western movie, ready for heads to turn. The Rapids’ once and, he hopes, future scoring star wanted to make his presence felt.

“They said, ‘You look so good,'” Gashi recalled his teammates saying. He shot back: “‘There was a lot of work behind this amazing body.’ It was a joke. But it was nice to hear because I put so much work into it.”

After a lost 2017 season strung together with a consistent thread of injuries, Gashi suddenly found himself on the hotseat. Rapids’ general manager Padraig Smith called out Gashi for his fitness, saying “We’ve been very disappointed with Gashi … He came into camp out of shape.”

It was a notable pronouncement from Rapids brass. Gashi is their centerpiece field player, an attacking midfielder and forward who broke out in his first MLS season with 9 goals and four assists, helping lead the Rapids to the second-best record in the league into the semifinals of the MLS Cup. The Rapids thought they were getting their money’s worth after the first year of Gashi’s four-year contract that last season paid him $1.67 million.

His second season, though, went south. And he played in just 17 games with two goals and an assist. Gashi cratered.

“I lost maybe five months and you can never come back in shape,” Gashi said this week by phone from Tucson, Ariz. “You train. Off two weeks, then back. I was always behind on fitness. This season, I told myself, ‘you have to go crazy working out.’ It was very beautiful seeing the results.”

This is the player who tore up the Swiss Super League over three seasons with Grasshopper Club Zürich and FC Basel, to the tune of 44 goals and two Golden Boot awards. That is what drew the Rapids attention to Gashi in the first place and it’s why they made him a designated player signing two years ago.

“Everybody saw in 2016 what an impact a fit-and-firing Gashi can have,” Smith said. “He is a hugely talented and impactful player.”

When he is healthy, that is. So after Smith called him out publicly and spoke to his star enganche about committing, in full, to an offseason training regimen, and after the Rapids finished with the second-worst record in MLS last season, the frustration was boiling over.

So the Rapids overhauled their front office, coaching staff and roster, and Smith hired New Zealand national team veteran Anthony Hudson as the club’s new coach. At the same time, Gashi rededicated himself, following the orders of his boss while training in Switzerland.

“He’s the boss,” Gashi said of Smith. “He has a right to say what he thinks. We have to fall in line with him. He understands my situation. We talked about my quality and what is in his head. He told me I’m a part of the club with my experience. We were on the same page.”

Gashi is suddenly an old hat with the Rapids. Along with goalkeeper Tim Howard, he is the highest-profile player remaining from the streaky season that put them on the cusp of an MLS championship in 2016. He will remain crucial to their chances of returning some semblance of a threat in a deep Western Conference after missing the playoffs in three of the past four seasons. Related Articles Bassett, Lewis goals lift Colorado Rapids past LA Galaxy 2-0

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“We’re not going to shy away from things here,” Smith said. “We have high expectations. To do that, we need our best players on the field. And there’s no doubt, Gashi is the kind of player we need.”

His skill has been proven. Gashi’s curler of a free-kick off the turf at Vancouver on Sept. 24 two seasons ago stymied a four-man wall and earned him the MLS goal of the year award, a highlight-reel strike that he topped for drama less than two months later in the playoffs against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

But the Rapids need more than flash from Gashi. They need consistency. A calf strain in the preseason is already nagging him. But after an offseason rededication, Gashi said he is ready to find his form.

“I said to myself, ‘I have to work harder and get in shape,'” Gashi said. “I’ve worked very hard. I hope I can give my best this year. When you’re all together on the same page, it’s going to be great.”