Sam Cronin and Marc Burch have had less than a week to get to know their new Minnesota United teammates, coaches and supporters, so the Pioneer Press turned to Denver Post reporter Daniel Boniface to share his thoughts on the former Colorado Rapids pair.

The defensive-minded veteran players were acquired from the Rapids on Friday and could be inserted into Minnesota’s starting lineup when the Loons (1-3-1) face Dallas (2-1-0) in Frisco, Texas, at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Boniface has regularly covered the Rapids for the Post since 2014, which spans all of Cronin’s and Burch’s tenures in Colorado. Here’s his full interview with the Pioneer Press.

How have you seen Cronin’s leadership?

That’s definitely one of the hallmarks of his game. He’s sort of alpha male of the team when he’s out there. He’s the kind of guy that can take the team by the scruff of the neck. He’s worn the captain’s armband the last two seasons. He was really (coach) Pablo (Mastroeni’s) guy, and I was surprised to see them trade him because his game is really similar to Pablo’s game (a former Rapids’ MVP at midfielder). … (Cronin) was the guy that I would always go to, you know, to take the pulse of the team.”

How have you seen Burch’s grit and feistiness?

He is the kind of guy that will be matched up on the left side, on the other team’s winger, and he will get in some battles over there. It’s almost like he takes it personally. I remember interviewing him after the playoff game in Seattle last year and he had been called for the penalty that led to their goal (in the Sounders’ 2-1 win over Colorado in the first leg of the Western Conference finals series in November). He was irate about it (and later accused Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro of “flopping.”) You could just tell that he takes everything really personally. It’s incredibly important to him. Related Articles Minnesota United’s injury list won’t shrink much in near future

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United has been high on Burch’s left foot. Do you remember a key play that he made using it?

The one that sticks out in my mind is a free kick that he took against the L.A. Galaxy (in 2014) that he scored on. He’s just got a rocket left foot, and he can play it in if you are looking for crosses or service into the box. I think he will be really good at providing that service for Christian Ramirez.

How would you describe the role Cronin and Burch had for the Rapids in 2016 in allowing an MLS-low 32 goals in 34 games en route to the West finals?

Absolutely critical. These were two of the biggest pieces on that defense. You look at defensive player of the year, and they only nominate defenders, and I almost feel like Sam Cronin should be in that conversation because he did such a great job of protecting that back line. He blocks a lot of shots. He’s just really focused and gets into lanes where guys are trying to take shots. One of the things the Rapids did so well was preventing shots on target, and he was a big reason for that.

Burch, he gets up the field and into the attack, and he’s a hard worker and will get back on defense. Same with Cronin; he will cover. The Rapids like to push their fullbacks up into the attack, and he’s really good at tracking back and covering for those guys on the (outside).

I saw some reaction from Colorado supporters wondering if the trade was an April Fool’s Day joke a day early. How did you feel supporters took the news?

That’s absolutely right on. I don’t think people believed it to be true that they were getting rid of two starters. You look at it and I don’t have a great base of knowledge on the two guys that (Colorado got in midfielders Mohammed Saeid and Josh Gatt), so I don’t know totally if they got enough in return, but it seemed that it was a lopsided deal in Minnesota’s favor.

Even still, people are kind of in shock a little bit, but now that the Rapids have sort of explained their thinking in it — it freed up cap space for them. Everybody is sort of waiting to see what the Rapids do with this cap space before they judge the deal. I think it’s part of a series of moves potentially.