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Carlos Salazar Rumor/Will Johnson Comments

kirsoccer — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 14:28:40 +0000

Two recent stories have raised some eyebrows in RSL-land. Turns out that neither are worth getting too worked up about.

MLSSoccer made a brief mention that Real Salt Lake has been pursuing Columbian left-sided midfielder Carlos Salazar. Salazar trialed with RSL prior to the 2009 season, before rejoining Huila who he was under contract with at the time. According to team General Manager Garth Lagerwey the team has not had any contact with Salazar or his reps in “over a year.”

Another news item also on MLSSoccer regarded Will Johnson. The story led to some speculation that Will was looking to jump ship, or was in the midst of contract negotiations.

Johnson likes playing in Salt Lake City and being part of MLS, but is open to playing in Europe again. He hasn’t received a good enough offer to commit to RSL, so is keeping his options open. Wherever he goes, he hopes to return to his attacking roots.

“I see myself in the future going back to being more of an attacking player,” he said, “but right now at Salt Lake, I’m kind of just a two-way guy and I’d like to get forward and be more attacking-minded. But at the same time I’ll do whatever I have to do to help my team win.”

Will is actually under contract through 2011. I’m not sure what was meant by that first paragraph above, but since it’s in the writers words and not a quote I’m assuming that this may not reflect Will’s feelings correctly. Will has stated since he arrived here that his goal would be to one day get back to Europe, so in a way it’s not all that surprising other than the insinuation that he’s been negotiating with RSL and hasn’t received a compelling offer.

RSL’s U-17 PK Magic Comes to End

kirsoccer — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:53:01 +0000

Unfortunately, Real Salt Lake’s penalty kick prowess did not come through on Thurday morning as DC United goalkeeper Dakota Niedermeier put in a phenomenal performance in the penalty phase to allow DC to win its second consecutive SUM Cup title. Not only did Niedermeier stop five PK’s in a row, but he also stepped up to the spot and put in the winner lifting DC to a 5-4 win in the penalty rounds after a 0-0 tie in regulation. You can find more details HERE.

Collen Warner Joins Chris Schuler…in St. Louis

kirsoccer — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:47:56 +0000

In case you haven’t noticed there is an ongoing theme with RSL this month. General Manager Garth Lagerwey has been hard at work trying to get some playing time for some of the younger players. Goalkeeper Kyle Reynish has been in Charleston for a couple weeks now and is set to return next week. Defender Chris Schuler went on loan with AC St. Louis last week, and will also be returning next week. Now it looks like midfielder Collen Warner will be joining him.

The rookie out of Portland will only be gone until Monday as he catches up with Schuler in St. Louis for the rest of the week, however, according to a team spokesman it will ”get him a couple of games.” St. Louis plays two games at home this week: tonight against Portland and against Minnesota on Sunday. Those games are important at this time of the season, as all three of those players will likely play a significant role once RSL begins Champions League play on August 18th. It’s likely that RSL will play a mixture of established vets and younger players in both Champions League action and league play during the busy stretch which extends from mid-August through mid-October.

RSL U-17′s Continue Tradition of PK Magic

kirsoccer — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 04:09:52 +0000

Just like the RSL first team did last fall on their way to an MLS Cup victory after a run through the playoffs, the RSL U-17 entry seems to be making their way through the SUM Cup tournament on the strength of Penalty Kicks. They had one victory in group play against the LA Galaxy that they won on PK’s, and now they upset hometown favorite Houston by winning in PK’s by a 5-4 margin after a 1-1 draw in regulation.

The victory allows RSL to move on and face DC United for the Cup final on Thursday morning. This will give RSL a chance to repeat their performance of two years ago, with their SUM Cup victory allowing them to play in Madrid last summer against top youth clubs from around the world.

It took an own goal in this match in the 4th minute to get the 1-1 regulation draw. Read about the details here.

They’re Movin’ On…

kirsoccer — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 07:50:58 +0000

Real Salt Lake’s U-17 entry in the SUM Cup is movin’ on to the semifinals after winning their group with a 2-0 victory over Kansas City on Monday night. Here is a brief recap of the nights action.

Also movin’ on is RSL Florida’s U-16 entry. The team will be facing off against Slammers FC for the US Youth Soccer National Championship on Friday. According to Soccer America, RSL Florida beat the slammers last Friday 1-0.

Real Salt Lake U-17′s Begin SUM Cup Action

kirsoccer — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 00:34:42 +0000

Real Salt Lake’s U-17 entry begins their play tonight in the SUM Cup. They kickoff against the New York Red Bulls at 7 PM. You can follow all of the coverage of the SUM Cup on this page. Below is the schedule, as well as the roster for RSL.

Real Salt Lake 2010 SUM U-17 Cup Schedule

Friday, July 23: RSL v. New York Red Bulls – 7:00 p.m. MT

Saturday, July 24: RSL v. LA Galaxy – 5:30 p.m. MT

Sunday, July 25: Off Day

Monday, July 26: RSL v. Kansas City Wizards – 5:30 p.m. MT

Tuesday, July 27: Semifinals OR Placement Game (5:30 p.m./7:00 p.m.)

Final: Wednesday, July 28 at 3:00 p.m. MT at Reliant Stadium OR Thursday, July 29 (Time/Location TBD)

Real Salt Lake 2010 SUM U-17 Cup Roster

GOALKEEPERS: Carson Elliot (RSL-UT; Bountiful, UT), Tyler Wilson (RSL-AZ; Tucson, AZ)

DEFENDERS: Julio Alcaron (RSL-AZ; El Paso, TX), Eric Christensen (RSL-UT; Layton, UT), Tanner Clay (RSL-AZ; Gilbert, AZ), Austin Jex (RSL-UT, West Haven, UT), Phanuel Kavita (RSL-UT; SLC, UT), Rayshawn Washington (RSL-FL; St. Petersburg, FL)

MIDFIELDERS: Aaron Caprio (RSL-UT; Lehi, UT), Lucas Cawley (RSL-UT; Centerville, UT), Joseph Metzger (RSL-FL; Tampa, FL), Antonio Murillo (RSL-AZ; Las Vegas, NV), Cole Nagy (RSL-AZ; Scottsdale, AZ), Alexander Rados (RSL-FL; Tampa, FL), Nick Semintendi (RSL-AZ; Phoenix, AZ), John Taylor (RSL-UT; Kaysville, UT), Richard Velasco (RSL-AZ; Tuscon, AZ),

FORWARDS: Alejandro Espinoza (RSL-UT; Park City, UT), Matt Gay (RSL-UT; Orem, UT), Richard Haddock (RSL-UT; Bountiful, UT), Junior Jbopau (RSL-AZ; Tuscon, AZ), Maikon Orellana (RSL-UT; Provo, UT)

Technical Director: Miles Joseph

Head Coach: Greg Maas (RSL-UT)

Assistant Coach: Patrick Rennie (RSL-UT)

Assistant Coach: Greg Vanney (RSL-AZ)

Trainer: Paul Lombardo

Team Administrator: Teresa Nelson

Announcement PDF: SUM U-17 Cup 2010

Ricchetti Training with RSL: Could be Emergency Option

kirsoccer — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:09:03 +0000

Former FC Dallas midfielder Pablo Ricchetti has been training with Real Salt Lake, and could be the emergency option for RSL should Kyle Beckerman continue to struggle to get back to health.

However, it appears that Beckerman is planning to be available for selection this week according to both player and coach. The pain that had been hampering him has apparently subsided.

Exhibition with Puntarenas Sign of a Costa Rican Pipeline?

kirsoccer — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 04:39:50 +0000

On Saturday night, Real Salt Lake will be taking on Puntarenas from the Costa Rican league in an exhibition match to help keep players fresh during the World Cup break, and to give some youngsters some additional time on the pitch. Of course one player, Alvaro Saborio, may be familiar with Puntarenas from his time at Deportivo Saprissa. The Costa Rican striker may give RSL a bit of a scouting advantage over the club from his homeland, but his presence here with RSL and the friendly with Puntarenas may be signs of something more important than the midseason friendly encounter.

This may be completely off-base, but I see some parallels with RSL’s recent forays into Costa Rica to what has developed as a bit of an Argentine pipeline over the last few years. If you remember back to 2007, Real Salt Lake hosted famed Argentine club Boca Juniors in July, and later that year welcomed Fabian Espindola, Matias Mantilla, and Javier Morales into the fold. The three signees came through a relationship developed with agent Alejandro Taraciuk. Since then we have seen Nelson Gonzalez and Luis Escalada join the club from Argentina. In addition, we heard of interest by RSL in at least a couple of young strikers from Quilmes. We also heard that River Plate made an offer for Jamison Olave.

So how does that relate to Puntarenas?

Well, we know that last year Real Salt Lake tried to bring young striker Jean Carlos Solorzano from Alajuelense but the player backed out at the last minute. Of course, we know the story behind the team bringing in Alvaro Saborio who is a Costa Rican national. But we also know that Jason Kreis had visited Puntarenas in the offseason and had listed defender Dario Delgado as a discovery claim. In the end they traded the rights to the player to Chivas, probably because of the emergence of a deal with Saborio. And now we see a friendly scheduled with the same Puntarenas.

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m seeing some similarities between the two situations. If so, this Costa Rican “pipeline” could be a valuable development for the club in the near future. So you may want to venture out to Rio Tinto Stadium for the match. Who knows, you could be seeing a future Real Salt Lake player or two playing for the opposition.

RSL’s Visit to the White House

kirsoccer — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:04:24 +0000

G-Reimer Fotos & Frames/RSL Communications

Generally speaking an Open Cup loss to DC United, and a draw in league play against the same DC United was not the most satisfying of results for Real Salt Lake’s trip to Washington DC last week. However, there was a huge bright spot to the team’s week in the Nations capitol – their visit to the White House where President Barrack Obama recognized their 2009 MLS Cup Championship.

RSL welcomed back players Yura Movsisyan and Raphael Cox, along with former assistant coach Brian Johnson and former team administrator Ray Trifari for the event.

Here are a couple of video clips of the event courtesy of Lee Burrows/MLSsoccer.com:

060410RSLattheWhiteHouseBeckermanENG

060410RSLattheWhiteHouseRimandoENG

Lagerwey: Another Move is Possible

kirsoccer — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:10:56 +0000

Although David Horst’s recent loan to the Puerto Rico Islanders technically opens up a roster spot, it doesn’t provide salary cap relief. However, Real Salt Lake GM Garth Lagerwey mentioned that “another move is possible” ahead of the April 15th close of the MLS transfer window.

: Ats Purje

With this fact in mind, the team had Estonian National Team striker Ats Purje in training as a trialist for today’s scrimmage against BYU. The 5’10″ striker appeared to use his body well, and had a decent touch in the 30 minutes of action that he saw today.

Purje is believed to be currently out of contract, after completing a two-year deal with FC Inter Turku in the highest league in Finland. He notched 11 goals there in 40 appearances, after having scored 33 goals in 86 matches while playing for FC Levadia in his hometown of Tallinn in Estonia.

But before you rush to find out more about this player, realize that it’s likely a longshot. As Lagerwey put it, “it’s going to have to be a player that’s clearly better than what we have.” And not only do they have to be a better player on the field, but they have to be a good fit for the group, “We’re also going to be mindful of team chemistry.”