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SANDY - "Winning changes everything," according to Real Salt Lake owner Dave Checketts.
What does Checketts mean by change?
In order to accurately understand what changes have taken place, one must be reminded of the evolution of RSL and the impressive odds the club has overcome to get to its current status.
It's not by accident that Real is the talk of the league and representing United States soccer as a whole. What they have been able to accomplish was something that didn't seem possible only six years ago. Believe it or not, but at one point, Real Salt Lake was looked at as a disaster.
2005 was the first year the club took the field. Late in the season, RSL had only 4 wins and most of their opponents were taking them to the woodshed almost every game. They fought hard, but weren't able to take control of any match. My fellow colleagues at ESPN told me what a disaster it was to have RSL in MLS as an expansion club and that the situation would never be worth anything.
Over the next three years we saw similar results - high hopes near the start of each season, marred by disappointing finishes. The product on the field was not going well and neither were the stadium negotiations.
In the early part of the third year, Checketts knew things had to be mixed up and plans that he wanted to put in place a few years down the road had to be accelerated. Jason Kreis retired as a player and was named the head coach. Garth Lagerwey was hired as the team's senior vice president and general manager.
Lagerwey and Kreis immediately came up with a plan. Half the team was turned over in a month with trades and new signings. By the end of the season RSL had nearly replaced every player except Andy Williams. The pieces were starting to fit into place, but the general consensus was the same - soccer in Salt Lake City will never work.
Then 2008 came, bringing changes that turned the struggling franchise around. The results on the field during that season were still mixed, but improving. Coach Kreis had the team he wanted to mold and shape into what he knew would work. With new players Javier Morales and Fabian Espindola settling in, RSL managed an exciting, heart stopping tie against rival Colorado in the last game of the season to send them to the MLS playoffs for the first time.
Still, no one thought Real could do anything in the playoffs, and many still doubted their success as a franchise. The best way to silence critics? Win. And that is just what RSL did, beating Chivas USA in the first round series.
RSL went on to host the Western Conference Championship against the New York Red Bulls in the one-month-old Rio Tinto Stadium. And, although Salt Lake could not muster a win in that game, the seeds were planted. This team could win and compete, even in the smallest market in MLS.
2009 did not go as planned. With injuries and bad luck, RSL found themselves in a must win situation at the end of the season. They had to win by 3 goals against their hated rivals Colorado and needed two other teams to lose to make the playoffs. Impossible would be a good word to pick for such a situation, but the result of that day was just what RSL needed. They were in.
Facing the Supporters Shield (best record in the regular season) winner Columbus Crew was the reward for making the playoffs. No one gave RSL a realistic chance to win.
Playing with a chip on their shoulder, RSL won game one. After falling behind 2-0 in game two, RSL exploded for 3 goals to beat the defending champions.
Still the doubters came out. Salt Lake was still viewed as a nobody. The next match ended in a shootout, and as goalie Nick Rimando knocked down three of Chicago's penalty shots, it became clear Real knew their strengths. They had made it to the finals.
Could RSL win the championships against David Beckham, Landon Donavan and the L.A. Galaxy? Highly unlikely, right? Just don't tell that to RSL. Once again, Rimando came up big for RSL in a shootout, making stop after stop, and Robbie Russell was able to put the final ball past the keeper to give MLS their first championship trophy. Respect for Major Leagues Soccer's smallest team was finally starting to show up, although there were still a few doubters.
Entering 2010, Real management and coaches looked to shut the critics up once and for all. It didn't start in the early part of the season, as RSL started off with a losing record. All but one game was played on the road, and until May, Salt Lake looked anything but spectacular.
Boy, did that change fast. Welcome to what has turned into the greatest run by any MLS team ever. RSL rolled off 5 straight wins and didn't lose until July when playing at FC Dallas. A 10 game unbeaten streak was surpassed by a 14 game unbeaten streak, with miracle wins or ties and dominating performances, showing the league that RSL was no push over on the field.
Unfortunately the playoffs didn't go as planned and the eventual runner up (FC Dallas) knocked Real out for the season, but the league was on notice that the "winning" had brought "change".
But there was something else brewing.
Now that RSL had the league respect, they found out the Mexican and Central American teams did not respect American soccer. There was only one way to prove that this team knew what the beautiful game should look like - beat them at it.
Oh how the tables have turned for Real Salt Lake. Once the laughing stock of American soccer, they are now one win or low scoring tie away from winning the CONCACAF Cup.
Even with the exciting result from last Wednesday, RSL was still getting little respect from a veteran Mexican coach who has better players and more money then any MLS team has ever had.
RSL Head Coach Jason Kreis was very specific in his response, "We will let the results on the field do the talking."
Email: bschroeder@ksl.com
