The 2010 season is already in full swing and Real Salt Lake seems to have picked up right where they left off with their 2009 MLS Championship. Dating back to the end of last season, RSL now has a 6 game unbeaten streak in which they have outscored their opponents 11-3. Their next match will be against Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium.
Archive for March, 2010
RSL @ Houston Dynamo Preview
Mar 30
Playin’ With Some Numbers
Mar 30
Okay, so I thought I’d mess around a little and see what kind of funky possession stats I could come up with. This required my DVR and a now-worn-out “pause” button on my remote to complete the task. Here is what I wanted to know:
Once a player from either team gains possession of the ball for his team by either 1) Controlling the ball and having reasonable options; or 2) making a one touch pass (on purpose) to another teammate which gains that player’s team control of the ball, how many passes can that team connect in a row per possession? Here are the results from the San Jose game this past Saturday: Read the rest of this entry »
Not even a slight surprise, here is the press release from MLS Communications…
Real Salt Lake Midfielder Javier Morales Named MLS Player of the Week
Morales’ two goals and assist help defending MLS Cup Champions to a 3-0 win in Week One
NEW YORK (Monday, March 29, 2010) – Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales was voted Major League Soccer Player of the Week by the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) for Week 1 of the 2010 MLS season. Morales supplied two goals and recorded one assist in Salt Lake’s 3-0 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, March 27 at Buck Shaw Stadium.
Weekly Recap: March 28, 2010
Mar 28
LAST WEEK
Just a little over a week ago, two significant things occurred:
1) The League and Players Union announced that they reached a deal for a new 5-year Collective Bargaining Agreement.
2) RSL finished up an abbreviated preseason with a 1-0 victory over TFC in Charleston. This was the first preseason match in which RSL looked like they started to click together, and newcomer Alvaro Saborio netted the lone goal.
Here I sit after the game reflecting on the drubbing that Real Salt Lake handed to the Earthquakes and I keep coming back to a comment my little brother made right after the game. Only one game into this season RSL has already secured half their total regular season road wins from last season. It may not seem like a big deal after watching them start winning on the road in the playoffs but this is a huge step forward in my eyes. If Real and their fans want to be taken seriously by the rest of the league (MLS champions or not) then they need to play consistently on the road. It is what has set apart teams like Houston, Colombus, and New England. Over the last several years you have known that those teams along with a handful of others would play well on the road. That is not something you can say about the lesser teams in this league and it is something RSL needs to prove this season. Thanks to some great play by the duo from Argentina they have started out doing just that.
Some RSL Tidbits
Mar 27
These aren’t related to First Kick, which is just hours away now, but I thought you may be interested in these RSL tidbits anyway:
Saborio
- I understand that there is a buyout clause in Saborio’s loan agreement, but the purchase price is substantial.
- The team feels that Saborio will be a good fit (unlike Escalada, Deuchar) because he likes the combination play, and puts in work on both sides of the field.
- RSL first signed a discovery on Saborio about 18 months ago, but at the time he was just too expensive. His struggles at Bristol may have proven to be a good thing for RSL’s ability to bring him on board.
Real Salt Lake and KUTV2 announced plans for the regional coverage of the games for the defending champs for the 2010 season. The package will include the broadcast of 19 games, on over the air channels, which Commissioner Don Garber recently applauded RSL and a few other teams for offering to their fans. The games will be carried on KUTV 2.1/KUSG, and KUTV2 HD. All of the road games not otherwise broadcast nationally will be carried under this deal, and all but 4 of the home games. In addition, it was announced that all 6 of the CONCACAF Champions League games will be broadcast on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Espanol.
The first two games are both on the road (San Jose and Houston) and will have national coverage. The first broadcast covered by this deal will be the home opener on Saturday April 10th.
In addition, it was announced that David James and Brian Dunseth will return as the local broadcast team.
Well done by Mr. Beltran. Make sure and pass my thanks along to him.
Maybe if we could get Collen’s insight on Thursday after the Battery match?
Regards,
We have added another reporter to our stable here at KIR. Mike has been a soccer fanatic for a couple dozen years and will provide us with more tactical knowledge of the game along with some great insights. Please join us in welcoming him to the fold!!! (His first article is below)
Defending Champion Real Salt Lake kicks off its title defense against the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday at Buck Shaw Stadium in San Jose. Real is 2-3-4 all time against the Earthquakes, and only 1-2-1 in San Jose.
Both teams come into this game with something to prove. San Jose is out to prove that it is a dramatically improved team from the one that ended last season with a 7-14-9 record and last place in the Western Conference. RSL wants to show the league that their championship wasn’t just a fluke and how they have become one of the premier clubs in MLS. Read the rest of this entry »
Site Issues
Mar 24
Unfortunately we are having some issues with the website currently. External links are working fine, but internal links (such as other pages) are not functional. We are currently diagnosing this issue and hope to have it resolved soon. The site may be offline at some point as a result. We appreciate your patience with this issue.
Update – we are working with GoDaddy to discover the source of these issues. We believe we have identified the problem and are working to resolve it. If a page doesn’t load for you please wait 10-15 minutes and then try again. Thanks!!!
RSL Position Battles – 2010
Mar 23
With Preseason over and Real Salt Lake looking to begin its title defense excitement is in the air (at my house at least). The team enjoyed a shortened preseason and didn’t experience much in the way of turn around, as most of the starters from last season are back again. That doesn’t mean that last years starters should be comfortable with their spots come game time.
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