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SALT LAKE CITY — It's hard to believe that this is supposed to be a rebuilding year for Real Salt Lake.
The club has 11 wins after 20 games, two more than any other team in Major League Soccer. They have a four-point lead in the race for the supporter's shield, which is awarded to the team with the most points in the standings at the end of the season. They have an 11-game unbeaten streak over all competitions, including both MLS and Open Cup play.
"If you asked me at the beginning of the year about expectations, I think if everyone remembers my answer it was that I didn't have any," said head coach Jason Kreis. "I just wanted this team to improve. I thought that we had enough potential to be a very, very good team by the end of the season. I think we've proven over the last month or so that we're a pretty good team right now."
Somehow they've accomplished this after cutting payroll in the offseason by parting ways with talented and popular players like Will Johnson, Jamison Olave and Fabian Espindola.
Who knew rebuilding was so easy. The Utah Jazz may want to take some notes.
The truth is, turning this team into one of the best in MLS hasn't been easy.
"It's interesting that we're having good results with as much adversity as we've been facing," Kreis said.
RSL started the season winning just five of their first 12 games. Four of their best players — Nick Rimando, Kyle Beckerman, Alvaro Saborio and Tony Beltran — have missed several games this season after being called up to national team duty. Four players have been lost for the season due to injury, and a number of others have missed time with assorted ailments. Just this week they lost center back Carlos Salcedo to gallbladder surgery.
If you asked me at the beginning of the year about expectations, I think if everyone remembers my answer it was that I didn't have any.
–Jason Kreis
Despite all the setbacks, the team continues to roll along.
So how has Real Salt Lake built itself into a consistent winner and the class of the league? It starts at the top.
Real Salt Lake is the only club in MLS with a front office and coaching staff that consists entirely of former MLS players with at least five years of playing experience in the league.
"To me, if you're going to open a bakery you should hire bakers," said Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerwey.
Lagerwey and Kreis, former college and pro teammates, know the league better than anyone and have been through a rebuild before. After Lagerwey was hired as GM in September 2007, they turned over three-quarters of the roster after a disastrous 2007 season, and did so under a philosophy that has become the identity of the franchise.
"We decided that the team was going to be the star," Lagerwey said. "We've applied that concept not just on the field but off the field. Our front office believes that is how we allocate our salary cap and that's how we carry out our relationship with the community. It's who RSL is."
While some MLS teams turned to expensive, big name european players past their prime, RSL scouted Latin America and found diamonds in the rough, like Javier Morales and Alvaro Saborio, among others to compliment home grown talent like Beckerman and Rimando.
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The franchise has not missed the playoffs ever since and won the 2009 MLS cup. It doesn't mean the team is short on star players. Rimando, Beckerman and Tony Beltran were all named to the 2013 MLS All-Star team and are members of the US Soccer team. You can make a case for Morales and others on the roster that they should have been selected. Credit has to be given to these star players for buying into the team philosophy, which leads to the next key factor in RSL's success this season: team chemistry.
"It's important, team chemistry, and we have that," said Ned Grabavoy. "I can't say since I've been here that there's been a closer group in my five years, which I like going forward."
Players like the three All-Stars, Nat Borchers, Morales and other veterans have meshed well with young up and comers like Olmes Garcia, Carlos Salcedo and Devon Sandoval. The return of Robbie Findley and the addition of Joao Plata have turned out to be shrewd front office moves that have helped turn the RSL offense into the highest scoring in the league.
When a player goes down with an injury, like backup keeper Josh Saunders did in Dallas last Saturday, a young player like Jeff Attinella seems to step in and perform at a high level.
"I think we've got a lot of young, hungry guys that are competing for spots, and a lot of veterans who have really helped us keep the culture we have had under the previous group." Lagerwey said.
It's all come together for Real Salt Lake quicker than anyone could have imagined. They are forcing the rest of the league to take notice that they are a legitimate championship contender. Lagerwey and Kreis believe this team has the potential to get even better.
"There's still room for improvement, a lot of room for improvement," Kreis said about his young team. "I'm still looking forward to just trying to push this group along and get better every single week."
Real Salt Lake getting even better this season is a scary thought for the rest of Major League Soccer.
