Bermuda defender Kevin Richards is eager to show his worth when the Colorado Rapids come to town later this week.

The MLS side drafted him while he was still in university in 2004.

But he never got a chance to play in the Colorado club's first team.

The Rapids, beaten finalists in the '97 MLS Cup and '99 US Open Cup finals, will be on the Island to play Bermuda on Friday at the National Sports Centre (NSC).

Both teams are looking at the game as preparation for their upcoming fixtures with Bermuda involved in World Cup qualifying, and the Rapids getting ready for the MLS season.

Richards, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, said it would be great to see his former team again.

"It will be a great experience to play against them", said Richards yesterday. "The more MLS teams that come here, the better our players will get, and in return our reputation to play quality MLS opposition in their pre-season will improve."

The friendly will provide Bermuda a chance to see where they are ahead of the second leg World Cup qualifier against Cayman just weeks away. The first leg ended in a 1-1 draw.

Richards, a 2004 Major League Soccer (MLS) Superdraft fourth-round pick, is almost certain to play.

"I think it is pretty cool that we are playing the same team who played Arsenal, which is my favourite team, and Ipswich just last week", stated the defender. "What it means is that they are further along in their pre-season as say the Revs were, so they should be a tougher proposition for us.

"I only knew the current coach and Pablo Mastroeni from my time there, but no others.

"They have very fast and skillful players from Latin America and Africa from what I have seen from them on television, so it should be interesting to see what happens."

And with vivid memories of being drafted to the Rapids, he remembers his time at that level as if it was yesterday.

"I was drafted in my final semester of university but unfortunately I picked up an achilles injury during my trial in 2004," Richards added. "I was recalled from the UK for another trial in 2005, but the coach had already signed a few veterans, as well as some foreign players.

"So my second trial was not what I was hoping for but I am thankful for being given the opportunity."

Richards had been whipping himself into shape at Notre Dame University in preparation for another shot at making the grade and landing a contract to play for the Western Conference side.

The PHC defender has since put his Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Political Science to good use, landing a job at insurance giant ACE on the Island where he is employed as an assistant underwriter for the Excess Liability department.

However, he doesn't have any regrets about how the whole experience played out.

"It was just one of those things where I was unlucky during my original trial as I decided to represent my country during my trial and got injured against Trinidad", he explained.

"I was desperate to play for Bermuda at the time as we were preparing for our World Cup game against El Salvador, so I would not do anything different."