Kreis 'hopeful to walk into right locker room' in return to RSL with NYC FC


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SANDY — New York City FC coach Jason Kreis’ first challenge when he makes his return to Rio Tinto Stadium Saturday with the Major League Soccer expansion club may come before the opening whistle.

Kreis knows the stadium pretty well. He was RSL’s first player signed ahead of its 2005 expansion season, and he led the club as head coach for six years, helping the team to an MLS Cup title in 2009.

But there is one part of the stadium with which he didn’t familiarize himself during his tenure in Salt Lake: the visiting locker room.

“I’m hopeful to walk into the right locker room,” Kreis joked with New York media after training. “That’s the first thing I’ve been thinking about: How different it will feel to be in the away locker room. I didn’t spend a lot of time there.

“To be at the opposing bench will be odd. To have fans yell rowdy stuff at me as they do often with opposing coaches will be new for me and maybe difficult.”

Kreis, the new coach at New York City FC (1-6-4), leads a squad that includes six former RSL players into Sandy hoping for a result out of Saturday’s match at 8 p.m.

Along with Kreis, NYC FC assistant coaches Miles Joseph and CJ Brown, head athletic trainer Kevin Christen, and players Ned Grabavoy, Chris Wingert, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Sebastian Velasquez, Josh Saunders and Mehdi Ballouchy also make a return to a club they served for varying times in their careers.

Wingert, a Long Island, New York, native who came to RSL in 2007 after two seasons with the Colorado Rapids, admitted he was looking forward to reunions with former players and staff of Real Salt Lake (3-3-5).

Real assistant coach Jeff Cassar stands as head coach Jason Kreis sits as Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids play to a 1-1 tie on March 16, 2013, in Sandy. Cassar became the next RSL head coach after Kreis left for New York City FC last year. (Tom Smart/Deseret News)
Real assistant coach Jeff Cassar stands as head coach Jason Kreis sits as Real Salt Lake and the Colorado Rapids play to a 1-1 tie on March 16, 2013, in Sandy. Cassar became the next RSL head coach after Kreis left for New York City FC last year. (Tom Smart/Deseret News)

“It’s going to be great,” said Wingert, who is one of four players with more than 200 appearances with the Utah club. “Obviously, the priority and the focus is still the match and getting a good result, but I’m excited to see a lot of people out there.”

Jeff Cassar was the head coach tasked with taking over for Kreis after the latter departed for the MLS affiliate of the English Premier League’s Manchester City FC. The former RSL goalkeeper coach under Kreis has played against former teammates and coaches in his career both on the training staff and as a player, and he admitted some things can be a little weird when facing off against a group formerly considered teammates and brothers in arms.

“I think it’s usually right before the game start when you see them in the tunnel or when you are talking to them,” Cassar said. “But once the game starts, it’s all business.

“It’s really nice to see familiar faces, especially guys who have meant so much to the club. We didn’t just create coach-player relationships; it was friendships. It’s always good to see that.”

Luis Gil owes a lot to Kreis, spending his first four seasons as a professional under the ex-RSL coach, but once the referee blows the whistle to start the match, it’s all business for him.

“I definitely feel like (Kreis) was the big guy while he was here. I had him for four years, and I learned a lot,” Gil said. “Now I’m learning a lot from Jeff, and I’m just trying to learn from and evolve with different coaches.”

Grabavoy cemented himself into the RSL midfield and his place in the team’s 4-4-2 diamond midfield formation was key to crafting the club’s identity. Now with NYC FC, the 31-year-old midfielder still holds a place in his heart for Salt Lake City as the birthplace of his children and the place he began to set down roots as a family man.

“I miss Salt Lake,” Grabavoy told ESPN 700 radio Tuesday. “(New York City) is very different, and there is a lot I miss about Salt Lake City. I think it’s a great place to live and a hidden gem in the U.S.”


I'm hopeful to walk into the right locker room. That's the first thing I've been thinking about: How different it will feel to be in the away locker room. I didn't spend a lot of time there.

–New York City FC coach and former RSL boss Jason Kreis


Most of New York City FC’s former RSL players weren’t just temporary stop-over candidates with the Salt Lake side either. Ballouchy was an RSL original, drafted by the club with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft and appearing in 32 games with the club before being sent to Colorado in exchange for current captain Kyle Beckerman. The 32-year-old midfielder has found a resurgence with the Bronx-based club, currently leading the team with three goals since he came over as the No. 12 selection of the 2014 MLS expansion draft.

Similarly, Velasquez was the No. 36 overall selection by Salt Lake in the 2012 SuperDraft, and he registered one goal and four assists with the first team in 38 appearances and was a human highlight reel in a friendly against Club Tijuana last August.

In other words, the ties to the Salt Lake Valley are strong for the New York contingent.

“I think there will be a little extra emotion,” Grabavoy said of the return to SLC. “I’ve played on some previous clubs, and gone back, and it hasn’t meant as much. I think this is different because of how long I was there and how many relationships are still at the club. I became so close with all of them.

“It will be very different walking out there as an opponent and an enemy, but it’s something I look forward to. I’m excited that it’s happening much earlier in this season than waiting for a chance to return.”

Special or not, Saturday’s contest represents three points both teams desperately need. RSL is tied for seventh in the Western Conference with 14 points, while New York City is penultimate in the East with only seven points.

“Obviously, all of those guys have been great servicemen for the club,” RSL defender Tony Beltran said. “They’ve done a tremendous amount, but this weekend isn’t going to be able that. It’s not going to be about them. It’s going to be about us.”

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