Keepin' it Real

Where RSL fans come to keep it real.

Archive for February, 2010

Real Salt Lake after former Saprissa striker Alvaro Saborio

Feb 28

Posted by kirsoccer in Rumors & Speculation | 9 Comments

Courtesy of TeamTalk

Thanks to a tip from Kurt, it seems that RSL is pursuing former Saprissa striker Alvaro Saborio.  This article indicates that the Costa Rican international is close to a loan deal with MLS, and that although the team wasn’t disclosed, they point out that RSL recently sent a camera crew to a Saprissa training.

“Sabo” is a 6’0″, 170 lb forward who turns 28 next month and he would apparently come on loan.  His rights are currently split 50/50 between Saprissa and Swiss club FC Sion where he played for the last 3 seasons scoring 36 goals in 87 appearances.  He was then sent out on loan to Bristol City, but his contract with FC Sion was recently terminated after Saborio asked to return to Costa Rica.  He cannot return to Europe and play, or play in Costa Rica because of closed transfer windows, making MLS an attractive option.

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RSL vs Colorado Preseason photos

Feb 27

Posted by truhlk in Colorado Rapids, Game Coverage, Preseason, Real Salt Lake, Rocky Mountain Cup | 1 Comment

As many of you already know Real Salt Lake wrapped up their final preseason match in sunny Arizona yesterday with a 0-0 tie against the Colorado Rapids. While neither team look too dangerous in the attacking third I’m told that the game itself was fun to watch, complete with some of the drama that seems to come up every time these two teams meet. A loyal KIR reader was in attendance and managed to take some great pictures of the fun. Like any other Pics our readers have so graciously donated to the site these can be viewed on the Contributed Pics portion of our website or you can just view them by clicking on the picture below . A big thanks goes out to Kellie Elzinga for sharing some great photos with us!

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RSL Players in the Blogosphere

Feb 26

Posted by kirsoccer in Chris Wingert, Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando | 1 Comment

Three Real Salt Lake players have joined the blogosphere in recent months.  The first was Nick Rimando a few months ago.  Kyle Beckerman joined the ranks earlier this month.  And now Chris Wingert has started his own blog.  Welcome to the club, boys!  I look forward to their insight.

Chris Wingert’s Blog
This one is the newest, and it’s a little too early to see where Wingert’s going to go with this one. He has given us some good insight today with his thoughts on Collen Warner:

“i was really impressed with collen warner (one of our rookies)- he looked very dangerous, and he is playing with more confidence every day. i have a feeling he will play a significant role for us this year in midfield.”

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MLS CBA: Who is Going to Flinch, and When?

Feb 25

Posted by kirsoccer in Collective Bargaining Agreement | 5 Comments

Players hell-bent on free agency, league unrelenting about keeping single-entity status intact – will anyone finch?

I have little insight into these labor issues, I’m just an average joe like everybody reading this.  Like many of you reading this, I was always very optimistic that this labor process would get sorted out in the late Feb, early March time-frame.  That’s looking highly unlikely at this point.

It seems to me that when I’ve seen labor disputes play themselves out in the past, it’s always a question of who is going to flinch first.  And someone inevitably does.  In many cases, there is a power differential, and you can almost predict the ultimate “winner” before the process starts, even though they still have to go through the “dance” of labor negotiations.  That power differential usually comes down to 3 aspects: public sentiment, unity of the members, and economic wherewithal to withstand a protracted dispute.

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MLS Players strike avoided (for now)

Feb 25

Posted by truhlk in Collective Bargaining Agreement | No Comments

According to American Soccer News the MLS players Union will not be calling for a strike tonight as the MLS Collective Bargaining Agreement expires. while no significant concessions have been made between the MLS and the Players Union they feel it is in their best interests to continue working toward a new CBA. The Union also doesn’t see the need to extend the current CBA beyond the deadline set for it tonight at midnight.

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Garth Lagerwey’s Thoughts on Luis Gil

Feb 25

Posted by kirsoccer in Garth Lagerway, Luis Gil | 4 Comments

When Real Salt Lake landed Luis Gil in a trade from the Kansas City Wizards, they acquired a player that many feel could be a significant component in the future of US Soccer.  Because Gil was able to negotiate his team preferences with the league, RSL was able to get the hot commodity for a little more than a song and a dance.  You would think the organization would be ecstatic over the result, but instead they are preaching caution to anyone who will listen.

Garth Lagerwey mentioned, “He’s a talented kid, but I think the important thing here is how is he going to adjust to being a professional?  It’s a different world. It’s a totally different environment, and we’re going to do everything we can to support him, and nurture him.  His career is going to be up to him.”

There seems to be a concerted effort to remove any pressure that may exist for Gil while he’s still a young teenager, trying to find his way in life, and in a career, “We have no expectations.  We are going to give him all of the tools that we can to help him succeed. Hopefully we can work together and develop him as a player.”

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Roster Cut-Down Approaching: RSL’s Numbers

Feb 24

Posted by kirsoccer in Preseason | 7 Comments

March 1st is typically roster cut-down day in Major League Soccer.  It’s a bit unclear how this will play out with the ongoing labor dispute, but since the league is taking a “business as usual” approach, and putting the ball in the players court, I’m assuming that we’ll see a number of cuts made when RSL returns from Casa Grande, Arizona this weekend.

This doesn’t mean that RSL won’t have some “trialists” on-board, but if there are any players currently under contract that aren’t part of the plans (El Khalifi, etc.) then they will likely be waived after this weekend.

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RSL’s International Spots

Feb 24

Posted by kirsoccer in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

With the trade for Luis Gil including Real Salt Lake sending an international slot to Kansas City, there has been a lot of confusion over this issue.  Here is some information:

The “old” system in Major League Soccer had 3 Senior International spots, and 5 Youth International spots.  These spots could be traded either on a permanent or temporary basis.  Real Salt Lake traded away 1 of these Senior International spot, and 1 of the Youth International spot for Adolpho Gregorio, and Jeff Stewart.  Unfortunately these were permanent trade, and were done at a time when these spots were less valuable.

Since then the league has done away with the youth and senior designations, and each team just has 8 international spots with RSL having 6 due to the 2 trades.  RSL currently has 5 international players on the roster: Morales, Olave, Espindola, Gonzalez, and El Khalifi.  However, with El Khalifi not currently in camp with the team it looks like his return is not likely.  So this will leave RSL with 2 of the 6 spots open before this trade.

I have verified that the trade for Gil includes an international spot for this season only.  So this would leave RSL with 1 spot for this season should they be interested in bringing in an international player, and their full complement of 6 will be at their disposal after this season.

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Luis Gil’s Arrival Brings with it Questions

Feb 23

Posted by kirsoccer in Luis Gil | 5 Comments

Now that the trade with Kansas City for 16-year old US youth national midfielder Luis Gil has sunk in, there are some natural questions that start creep up:

1) How good is he?  Is he the next Landon Donovan (Great)?  The next Freddy Adu (Good)?  The next Alex Nimo (Work-in-process)?  Or the next Nik Besagno (Bust)?

2) Why did he choose to sign with MLS when he was reportedly being chased by Arsenal (and others)?

3) What’s the plan for him?  Will he get a chance to play during the upcoming season?  Will he be loaned out?  How will RSL develop him?

4) What are his skills?  Should we be excited about him joining Real Salt Lake?

We’ll try to get some insight into these questions in the coming days.  The young player is expected to meet up with his new team next week in SLC, barring a strike.  But here is some information that may give you a glimpse into Gil and his credentials.

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Questions for Camp #2

Feb 23

Posted by kirsoccer in Preseason | 4 Comments

With all that’s been going on, I am seriously late posting this.

The first round of Questions for Camp was a rousing success in my eyes.  Please leave your questions here by 10PM tonight, and I will pick the top 5 to submit.

What do you want to know about camp?  What questions do you have for the player or coaches?