COMMERCE CITY — Steven Beitashour spent most of his soccer career being counted out.
Thus, it felt almost true to form that within days of the Rapids defender reaching a significant milestone by appearing in his 300th MLS game, his accomplishment was quickly set aside by another player in his mid-30s stealing the league’s headlines.
Still, on the same week Lionel Messi announced his intention to play in MLS this summer, the Rapids made sure to shower the 36-year-old veteran with praise.
“‘All of the defenders in our locker room should realize what a gem they have in him. ‘Beita’, to me, has some of the best defending instincts of anyone I’ve ever seen. He knows how to smell danger before it even happens and because of that, he’s made this fantastic career,” said head coach Robin Fraser, an MLS lifer who’s been part of the league since its inception and coached him for seven seasons.
“… If you can teach Beita’s mentality, that’s a real gift. If Beita can somehow get kids to approach things the way he does, then he will be really valuable for an organization after he’s done playing.”
Twice during an interview with The Post after Thursday’s practice wrapped, Beitashour was interrupted by coaches and colleagues alike to make sure their admiration for the Iranian-American was shared as he described going from San Diego State walk-on to MLS iron man.
Beitashour grew up in the middle the soccer hot bed that is the Bay Area in San Jose, Calif. When it came time to navigate the downright dizzying American youth soccer landscape with his parents who immigrated from Iran, the roadmap was impossible to read.
“It’s a tough system for kids (and parents) to pay all that money just to get seen,” Beitashour said. “They could be talented but a lot of people, they fall through the cracks. … Fortunately I had a couple of connections and did work hard, so when my time came I had some luck — I know I had some luck, I needed it.”
Beitashour played for one youth club growing up, Fremont Fury, which stayed local rather than travel to national tournaments. It kept affordability front-of-mind — something Beitashour is still passionate about — but it meant not getting seen by Division I coaches. While some then-Pac-10 schools showed interest late in his prep career, rosters were filled and he walked on to the Aztecs. Out of 10 freshmen his first year, nine were on scholarship. Beitashour was the only player to make it as a pro.
“I just had a chip on my shoulder and that was my whole story even going into the pros,” he said.
No MLS teams appeared interested, either. By happenstance a family friend’s club coach rang up Frank Yallop, the coach of the San Jose Earthquakes, and said he had to see Beitashour, which resulted in a summer trial. He was drafted by San Jose in the second round of the 2010 draft but as MLS legend has it, after his name was called, the production or broadcast team didn’t have notes on him and stayed silent.
Beitashour poured his work ethic into his fitness and nutrition and kept his nose to the grindstone. Now 13 seasons later, the husband and father of two is the most-decorated player on Colorado’s roster with nine trophies across five teams. He was instrumental during the 2017 treble run with Toronto FC as it became the first MLS team to win three trophies in a calendar year, including MLS Cup. Internationally, he played for the Iranian national team, making six total appearances and the country’s 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“The work that you put in when nobody’s watching, that’s the stuff that really counts,” he said. “The fans get to enjoy it on the weekends to see what you’ve done throughout the week to train for that, but it’s the stuff that people can’t see that I really embrace.”
Beitashour will look for No. 301 with a 5:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Orlando City, but Thursday, his teammate had something to say regarding No. 300.
“He’s a legend, a legend!” Defender Lalas Abubakar exclaimed as he walked back to the locker room.
Beitashour replied even louder, “Love you, Lalas!”
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