Real Salt Lake

There’s an unwritten code in the laws of the American sports landscape: not paying attention to an event or team, unless they perform well.  

It could be a nice way of saying we’re a nation of bandwagons, fair weather fans, or in terms of soccer, the Eurosnob.

But thanks to Real Salt Lake and their unprecedented run in the revamped CONCACAF Champions League, RSL has now put themselves on the map in the North American soccer landscape, proving how they are the flagship franchise of Major League Soccer and the premier club of the United States. And with their run, they have finally put the Champions League on the map. 

Well before then, their run to MLS Cup 2009 was ruled out as a fluke, consequently leading to harsh criticism that the problem is not the format of the playoffs, it is the fact that we have playoffs to determine champions that only the MLS front office calls “league champions.” 

This past year, Salt Lake has proven to everyone that their MLS Cup run was no chain of good luck, and that they could play consistently. Heck, they probably play some of the most attractive football in MLS. That’s great for the sake of the U.S. and Canada, but this run to the Champions League finals has proven that Salt Lake is a phenomenal team, perhaps the best since the late-90’s D.C. United. 

Yet, as Greg Lalas over at MLSSoccer.com said, should RSL defeat the mighty Monterrey this organization could go down as a legendary club. They’ll win the hearts of the North American soccer fans, and make the American soccer niche proud.  

To win the hearts of the European and South American fans, as well as our fake soccer fans in our bag year (ahem, ignorant Eurosnobs), they’ll need to not only make it to the Club World Cup, but be pitted against the toughest opposition and win.  

Such a instant credible score to MLS could be accomplished in a mere matter of months, and it starts tonight.

One of the biggest playoff series this country has ever seen begins on Wednesday night, and very few people are talking about it, or even know what it is. While it features some of the world's greatest athletes, and will be more exciting than a first round NBA playoff game, the majority of sports fans don't even care that it is going on.

I am not talking about anything to do with the Heat or the Lakers, the NFL has not started and Major League Baseball did not shorten its season.

The event that I am talking about comes from the relatively unpopular (only in the United States) sport of soccer.

Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake begins a two-game playoff with Mexican club team Monterrey to determine the winner of the CONCACAF Champions League for this year.

CONCACAF is the governing body for soccer that spans North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Teams contending for this title are taken from the winners of various club leagues across 20 nations.

The prize for the winner is to move to the prestigious FIFA Club World Cup that will be held in Japan later this year. The Club World Cup is a tournament that matches the six winners of continental confederations, and a team from the host nation together to determine the World Club champion.

Real Salt Lake has already made history by becoming the first Major League soccer team to reach the finals. They originally qualified by virtue of their MLS championship in 2009. They now sit as one of the two teams from the 205 possible in this region that can still represent the region in Japan.

To put that into perspective, the Super Bowl champion is one of only 32 teams, the NBA champs and World Series winners are only one of 30 teams each. The 205 teams that Real Salt Lake could represent come from only one of the world's six regions.

The first leg of this historic match will be held on Wednesday night in Monterrey Mexico. The second part of the playoff will be held one week later at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. The winner will be determined by the total number of goals scored in the two matches, with goals scored on the road being the first tiebreaker.

Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts described the match as "an opportunity to stamp Real Salt Lake’s presence on the entire world of soccer.” Head coach Jason Kreis added that if the team were to advance to the Club World Cup it would “easily be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

The team from Monterrey, known as the "Rayados," is a club that enjoys a long history of success. Since their beginnings in 1945, they have consistently been one of the top teams in the Mexican first division and have won multiple titles.

Led by 29-year-old Chilean striker Humberto Suazo, this is an aggressive team that brings a relentless attack. They are very proficient in creating scoring chances and putting the ball in the back of the net. In his 45 international appearances, Suazo has scored 18 goals.

Many soccer experts see a lot of similarities between the two teams. Both like to attack the goal, keep possession in the midfield, and have a stifling defense.

Real Salt Lake defender Nat Borchers noticed, “Their style of play is similar to ours...They’re going to match up with our diamond midfield and they’re going to match up with us on top as well. It’s going to be difficult. They’re a very athletic and technically gifted team, so we’re going to have to very aware of the counterattack, of their buildup.”

Judging from the style of play that both of these now elite teams play, these matches have the potential to be high scoring. Real Salt Lake features a strong scoring presence of their own in Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio and although he may not play due to injury, Brazilian newcomer Paulo Jr. They have a strong midfield, and last season's defensive player of the year in Jamison Olave.

Real Salt Lake would like nothing more than a victory or a high scoring draw in Mexico. They would even settle for a one goal loss if they could score at least one on the road. That would set them up well for the second leg at home in Utah where it seems they can not lose. 

Real Salt Lake already has gained the support of soccer fans and players on other Major League Soccer teams. It is rare in sports that fans band together to cheer on a division or conference rival for any event. Just ask how many Red Sox fans are ever happy when the Yankees make it to the World Series.

Nonetheless, support is pouring in from all over the soccer community. The Philadelphia Union was willing to reschedule a match originally set for April 23 to allow more time for Real Salt Lake to focus on the finals, and the league has started an #MLS4RSL campaign on twitter. Over the last few weeks, many current and former MLS players have added support to the cause.

It seems that anyone who knows soccer, knows that this is the biggest series in the history of Major League Soccer. A Real Salt Lake victory would help them and the United States to gain respect and notoriety among the soccer elite. 

Let's just hope that Real Salt Lake can come out victorious and represent the United States and Major League Soccer on club soccer's biggest stage.

Major League Soccer showcased it's best rivalry Wednesday night as the last two MLS Cup Champions met in the first leg of the battle for the Rocky Mountain Cup.

The Cup, given annually to the winner of rivalry between Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids, may be staying in Utah for another year.

In what is becoming the norm for these fierce rivals, the two teams battled hard and held each other scoreless until the game was won with a little bit of last minute drama. 

It wasn't until stoppage time that the first and only goal of the match was scored. In a somewhat desperate effort to put a goal in, RSL players worked in front of the goal when the ball popped out and defender Jamison Olave was able to draw a foul just outside the box.

On the ensuing free kick, Javier Morales bent a nearly perfect strike around the defensive wall that hit the near post. In the scramble for the ball, second half substitution Paulo Jr. collected the rebound just in front of the goal.

Before he could fire a shot, his teammate Fabian Espindola slid into the ball and kicked it into the back of the net.

His goal came in the 93' minute.

This game winning goal marked the fifth time in the last seven meetings that a goal that determined the outcome of the game was scored in the 88' minute or later. 

The Rocky Mountain Cup has found a bit of a permanent home in Utah. After Colorado won the cup the first two years, Real Salt Lake has gotten the better of the Rapids for the last four.

So far, it appears that it may stay in Utah this year as well.

With the win RSL has not lost at home in 37 straight competitions. They are 4-0-0 on this season and lead the league with 12 points.

The second leg of the Rocky Mountain Cup is not until late in the season on October 14 at Dicks' Sporting Goods Park in Colorado.

The next match for Real Salt Lake will be next Wednesday against Mexican super club Monterrey in the first leg of the CONCACAF finals. Monterrey is one of the best teams in this region, but they enter the match dealing with some injury problems.

The first leg will be in Mexico and the second and deciding leg will be in Utah.

Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis knew that his reserve players were good, but did he know they were this good?

Starting a line up of primarily reserve players worked out very well on Saturday night when Real Salt Lake met the New England Revolution at Gillette stadium. The result was a dominating 2-0 victory for the visiting team.

Following an emotional win in the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal on Tuesday night, and with another MLS game coming up Wednesday, it was the perfect time to give the reserve players some game experience.

Real Salt Lake did well to keep possession and limit opportunities for the Revolution. The game was scoreless until the 27th minute when Ned Grabavoy fired a strike that beat the goalkeeper, but not the near post. A Revolution defender cleared the ball out of bounds and Real Salt Lake lined up for a corner kick.

Collen Warner sent a good ball just in front of the net that found the head of defender Chris Schuler, who got just enough of the ball to put it in the back of the net for 1-0 lead.

After the game, Schuler discussed his goal with the KUTV broadcast team and said, “I don’t know how I got free, but I just saw where Collen was looking and I tried to go where I thought he was going to play the ball...he did, and I got the goal.”

The second half started much like the first ended. Real Salt Lake continued to play well and added their second goal in the 47th minute when speedy Brazilian forward Paulo Araujo, Jr. got in front of the defense and slipped a one on one goal just past the goalkeeper for his second of the season.

In the minutes that followed the second goal, a clearly frustrated Revolution team began falling apart emotionally with unnecessary challenges and play that resulted in two of their players being sent off.

Shalrie Joseph was sent off for touching and pushing the face of Kyle Beckerman in frustration, and Pat Phelan left for a two footed sliding challenge that was a reckless play. In the chaos that ensued, Real Salt Lake midfielder Will Johnson was also sent off for getting his second yellow card of the match.

This game marked the third time in as many years that Real Salt Lake has embarrassed the Revolution. Two years ago in Utah, the home team won by a score of 6-0. Last year's game ended 5-0, and tonight they got shut out by the second team.

Next up for Real Salt Lake is a Wednesday night home match against the defending champion Colorado Rapids. Thanks to the second team, they should be prepared and well rested.

Real Salt Lake may have lost the battle, but they won the war.

In what was one of the biggest soccer matches in the history of soccer in the United States, Real Salt Lake lost 2-1 to the home club, Deportivo Saprissa, in San Juan, Costa Rica Tuesday night.

Real Salt Lake could not have been happier with the loss because it allows them to move on to the CONCACAF Champions League finals where they will face the winner of the series between Mexican clubs Monterrey and Cruz Azul later this month.

For the casual soccer fan, this score does not make sense. How does a team lose a game in a tournament and move on?

The games are played on a home and home basis and the total number of goals from both games are tallied to determine the winner.

Real Salt Lake won the game at home in Utah by a score of 2-0. That meant that Saprissa would have had to win by at least three goals to make up the difference. The aggregate score for both matches was 3-2 for Real Salt Lake which helped them become the first Major League Soccer team to reach the finals.

The game, which was scoreless at the half, ended in a 2-1 result for the home team. The scoring began just after halftime when Saprissa midfielder Luis Cordero took a high shot from the top of the box that raced past Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando and found the back of the net.

Following the goal, the full house of fans in the stadium known as the "Monster's Cave" woke up and began chanting and singing in hopes that their team could tie the aggregate score.

The excitement did not last long as Real Salt Lake defender Jamison Olave put home an amazing goal to tie the score on the night 1-1. His goal came on a rebound of a set piece from the corner that was served in by Javier Morales and headed toward goal by fellow defender Nat Borchers. Olave got on the end of the rebound and hooked it high into the goal.

Late in the match, Alonso Solis hit a penalty kick goal for Saprissa following a foul committed in the box by Ned Grabavoy to make the score 2-1 on the night.

Real Salt Lake defended well the rest of the way and earned the right to move on to the final set of games by an aggregate score of 3-2.

Prior to the game, Real Salt Lake had the support of many Major League Soccer players and fans who have never seen a club team from the United States make it to the finals.

A former MLS player posted on his Twitter account, "Today I woke up a Real Salt Lake fan...Today they will represent all of us MLS contingent and move onto the CCL final."

New York Red Bull player Dwayne DeRosario also tweeted, "Wishing Real Salt Lake all the best in their decisive second-leg showdown against Deportivo Saprissa."

CONCACAF, which stands for Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football, is a tournament that is held yearly with the tournament champion moving on to play in the FIFA Club World Cup that will be held in Japan later this year.

Club teams such as Manchester United, Barcelona and Boca Juniors are teams that have been in the seven-team FIFA tournament in the past.

The first leg of the finals will be held in Mexico at the home of either Monterrey or Cruz Azul. The second and deciding leg will be held at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on April 26, 2011.

Los Angeles and New York get a lot of the glitz and glamour, but is there a better team, a team more well-rounded than Real Salt Lake?

The team was unsuccessful in defending its MLS Cup championship, but as a team, they looked as dangerous as ever.

Finishing second in the Western Conference, Salt Lake had the Newcomer of the Year award winner, surrendered the fewest goals in the league (20) and had the best goal differential (plus-25).

The best thing to like about the 2011 version of this club? It returns practically everyone from the core of last year’s team; actually, an impact player was added to its roster.

An elite team with continuity from year-to-year is very dangerous.

Alvaro Saborio made a huge impact on the team in his debut season in MLS, scoring 12 goals and winning the Newcomer of the Year award. He was rewarded for his efforts with a new Designated Player contract. He’ll need to be just as strong this year, with Robbie Findley leaving and trying his hand in Europe.

Findley wasn’t a major contributor last year, struggling with form and injuries and missing time because of his inclusion on the World Cup squad. But when he was around teams still had to think about him.

Now, however, it’s all up to Saborio.

He’ll have plenty of support in the midfield, though. Javier Morales is the stand-out of this unit. He’s a playmaker in the center of the midfielder who can both get his own shot off and create for others. He’s also aided by Andy Williams, a playmaker himself with good pace and newcomer Arturo Alvarez.

Alvarez is an offensive-minded player who many think will thrive with this club. He’s a bit temperamental at times, but he has been a prominent player on all his teams while in MLS and will only improve RSL.

Backing them up is midfielder and team captain Kyle Beckerman. He is a tenacious player who always goes in hard in his challenges on the ball and he is a good leader.

The stingy defense is led by goalkeeper Nick Rimando. His quick reflexes helped him post the second best goals against average in the league (0.67) and the most shutouts (14). He also finished third in save percentage (78 percent).

In front of him is as solid a group as any, headed by Jamison Olave—the centerback is the best player on the backline. He is joined by Nat Borchers, Robbie Russell and Chris Wingert.

Like any team, avoiding injury will be the biggest issue this team has. It will be a little more difficult to do with so many games.

There are MLS matches and US Open Cup matches. The team also qualified for Superliga and is currently in the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Depth and overwork will test this team.

A second strike partner will need to be found to support Saborio. Cody Arnoux came to the team in a special draft and he impressed Everton enough to earn a one-year contract with Everton in 2009.

Fabian Espindola had a goal and an assist in the team’s recent 2-0 victory over Saprissa in the Champions League, so options are there.

This is a very dangerous team with talent, key players signed to long-term contracts and youth to develop.

They won the 2009 MLS Cup as a heavy underdog, but now this club will aim to become a dynasty and win another trophy, this time as a legitimate threat.

Ten days from now, Real Salt Lake will begin its preseason training, perhaps a bit earlier than most Major League Soccer clubs. 

While most MLS clubs are either focusing on rebuilding from last year (ahem, D.C.), or thinking about long-term plans to nab the MLS Cup title, Salt Lake is putting its focus on one thing right now: its quarterfinal fixture in the CONCACAF Champions League. 

Dormant for nearly three months, the Champions League will resume play at the tail end of February, and Salt Lake opens up the knockout stage, when the Royals will take on fellow domestic club, Columbus Crew, the Group B runners-up. 

Given, the fact that Columbus has completely gutted out its roster, and seems to be starting from scratch, while RSL has practically the same squad assembled (minus Robbie Findley), it seems to be a no-brainer that RSL will have a huge advantage over the Crew. 

Still, with MLS having a parity-ridden track record, and Los Angeles' embarrassing loss against Puerto Rico, one cannot presume that Salt Lake will have a cakewalk to the finals, even if RSL has most realistic chance of a non-Mexican club to win the Champions League.

Even with such a humble outlook, Salt Lake will be racing out to Columbus and kicking off 2011 with one goal in mind: to win the CONCACAF Champions League. And, if Real Salt Lake hasn't shown it already in Group Stage, the team may put a scare to the Mexican finalist should it have to play Salt Lake in the Champions League finals. 

The perfect example has to come from Cruz Azul, the Mexican powerhouse that found itself trailing RSL 3-1...70 minutes into the match...in its home arena. Ultimately, RSL would lose 5-4, but the club's efforts on the road, and its undefeated record at Rio Tinto made it a scary squad to go up against. Perhaps its resilience can explain why Real won its Group. 

This attitude has also made Real go into each match vying for a win, and not think that each win is an easy victory, because, in all honesty, things could have gone south for Salt Lake, and the team members could have been scratching their heads at the end of the Cruz Azul match last October...wondering what had happened.

But that attitude, that mentality, the players believing that if they go out and put forth effort and play collectively as a team they would accomplish great things has been very beneficial. Thus far in its Champions League campaign, Salt Lake has scored a staggering 17 goals in six matches. Nine different players have contributed to those 17 goals, making it extremely difficult for the opposition to solely watch one person, with numerous different attacking weapons on an off the bench.

That scoring ability should play to Salt Lake's advantage in its quarterfinal leg against Columbus, and if it pays off, there's no reason why it shouldn't in the semifinals against either Olimpia or Saprissa. From there, anything can happen.

The spokesperson for CONCACAF, Benjamin Spencer, has told an interviewer from the newspaper Panama America that the association is investigating a possible match-fixing scheme to influence the results between Real Salt Lake and Arabe Unido during their  game in the CONCACAF Champions League group play.

The investigation comes in the wake of Real Salt Lake's 2-1 victory over Arabe Unido in the Group A game. Football clubs Toronto FC and Cruz Azul are also part of Group A but are not involved in the investigation.

While there have been no reports of match fixing by the players, the CONCACAF is still investigating what they consider "third parties" in this situation. CONCACAF is already in the first phase of the inquiry.

They announced that there will be a second phase of the investigation after videos showed "people entering a hotel, although no players were present."

While the CONCACAF spokesperson has announced that they will do everything to maintain the integrity of soccer, I am asking myself where the proof is besides people entering a hotel room?

Who are the "third parties" committing the match fixing?

The only thing that I can think of is that this is a breaking news story with more evidence forthcoming.