Colorado Rapids have acquired midfielder Marco Pappa from Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for general allocation money. Per MLS and club policy terms of the deal were not being disclosed.

Pappa arrives in Colorado after spending the last two seasons with Seattle Sounders FC. The 28-year-old midfielder played an instrumental role in his first season with the club, helping Seattle win their first ever Supporters’ Shield and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophies. In total, Pappa saw action in 49 games (41 starts) for the Sounders FC, scoring nine goals and notching 11 assists.

This is Pappa’s second stint in Major League Soccer, after spending five seasons (2008-2012) with the Chicago Fire before signing with Dutch side SC Heerenveen. Pappa played in 102 regular season matches for the Fire, logging 8,431 minutes. In 2010, Pappa earned AT&T MLS Goal of the Year honors and was in the starting lineup of the MLS All-Star Game against Manchester United. Two seasons later, he earned another All-Star selection after finishing the season with six goals and five assists.

During his time with SC Heerenveen of the Dutch Eredivisie, Pappa played in 11 matches and recorded two assists. He appeared in eight matches for the team’s reserve squad in the Beloften Divisie A, scoring one goal.

Pappa has 49 caps with 11 goals and three assists for Guatemala. In the 2014 Copa Centroamericana, he earned the Golden Boot with four goals and the Golden Ball for best player of the tournament. This past summer, Pappa participated in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup seeing action in all three group stage matches.

“We are delighted to acquire a player of the caliber of Marco,” said Paul Bravo, VP of Soccer of Operations and Technical Director.

“The departure of Vicente Sánchez left a gap for a chief creator and we believe Marco can step in to that vital role. He is a seasoned international with European experience and has been part of high-quality Seattle side in recent years.

“It is no secret we need to increase our attacking output. We are confident Marco will add a creative element to our attack which will benefit everyone on the field.”



Name: Marco Pappa

Position: Midfielder

Citizenship: Guatemalan

Birth date: November 15, 1987

Previous Club: Seattle Sounders FC

Acquired: On December 15, 2015 in exchange for general allocation money