Real Salt Lake Continues Preps as Strike Looms

Real Salt Lake Coach Jason Kreis

Real Salt Lake continues pre-season preparation in sunny Arizona with the threat of a player strike looming. Regardless of how the player and league negotiations go, soccer-life goes on. Real is away from the Utah snow getting the rookies and veteran players as ready as they can be for their away opener in San Jose on the 27th of March. In the first pre-season match of this trip, Real went down to the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 in its exhibition game. Coach Kreis was not pleased with the team’s play in the first half but believed the second half went better. Preseason is the time to see what new players can do, so there was a nearly wholesale switch of players at the half.

“I was displeased in general with the first half performance. I don’t think they showed the amount of commitment necessary to play the way that we want to play, the way that we need to play,” said Kreis. “The second half was a complete flip-flop – I thought the effort was very good, the commitment was very good, the defending methodology – everything was good. And that group won their half, so hats off to them.”

Of course, Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando and Robbie Findley are not with the team in Arizona but remain on duty with the US Men’s National Team. Kyle, Nick and Robbie will get their chance to vie for a coveted position on the World Cup Squad when they take on El Salvador this Wednesday in Tampa Florida. I made it to the last USMNT game in LA against Honduras and Rimando was the only substitute not used in the match. The team could have used Rimando’s penalty stopping experience in that game, and I have a feeling that Rimando will be the starter in Wednesday’s match. Bob Bradley has most of the team he is planning on for South Africa penciled in most likely, but there is definitely room for three or four players to book a spot.

Negotiations between the league and players continue and no one is making a prediction about whether or not the season will kick off as planned.

Category: MLS, RSL, Real Salt Lake, Team News