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SANDY — By the time the 2012 season ended last fall, Real Salt Lake had delivered a record season. The club won more games in a single season in 2012 than during any other year in franchise history.
It was no small feat.
But RSL came up short in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs against Seattle, and players and coaches walked out of Rio Tinto Stadium after the final game with an unexpected feeling.
“I think all of us felt as if we had failed,” said RSL head coach Jason Kreis.
Without advancing to the next round of the CONCACAF Champions League or winning MLS Cup in 2012, Real Salt Lake knew significant roster changes were necessary for 2013.
So we see this as a tremendous challenge. We see having new players, young players in our system as a challenge. Can we do it all over again?
–RSL head coach Jason Kreis
“We’re in a system where you can’t keep your team together forever,” said Kreis. “I love Will Johnson. I love Fabian Espindola. I love Jamison Olave. I feel like they’re all part of my family, but we’re in a system where we know — and we knew going into the offseason — that if we didn’t advance in CONCACAF that we were going to have to replace three players at the very least.
"So then it’s about making choices. Unfortunately those choices meant that those players had to leave, but there was always going to be three starting-level, high-salary players that had to leave.”
Despite saying goodbye to three guys that contributed mightily to RSL, Kreis is hopeful that the Salt Lake club has built a roster that will prove itself during the challenging season ahead.
“The coaching staff and myself are very excited actually,” said Kreis. “We’re excited to have some new faces, some fresh blood in the group. We’re excited to be coaching our system again, whereas, the past couple of years there hasn’t been a lot of really breaking it down and coaching our system to players. It’s just been kind of like refreshers for everybody.
"So we see this as a tremendous challenge. We see having new players, young players in our system as a challenge. Can we do it all over again?”
That remains to be seen.
RSL will try to do it all over again with two familiar faces. Star midfielder Javier Morales re-signed with the club and star forward Robbie Findley returned to the club after an unsuccessful spell in Europe.
Both are clearly hungry.
“In our prior experiences when we bring players to our team that have something to prove and are hungry for something, those players have done particularly well,” said Kreis.
RSL's boss says both Findley, who came back to RSL following a stint with Nottingham Forest, and Morales, who returned to the pitch from a serious injury, have something to prove.
“I think (Findley’s) in the exact right position for success right now because he’s also a player that hasn’t done well over the past year and a half since he’s left us,” said Kreis. “Lets be frank and honest, I think there’s no reason to shy away from that: He has not succeeded in his latest endeavor, so he comes back to us with something to prove.”
Morales left Rio Tinto following the 2012 season as a free agent and decided ultimately to stay with the club, despite getting offers elsewhere.
“We had a lot of anxiety about whether or not we were going to be able to get (Morales) back,” said Kreis. “Now that he’s back we’re extremely happy about that situation and in my estimation, again, a player that hasn’t lived up to other people’s expectations of him over the past year and a half. So he comes back, I believe, with something to prove — very, very hungry player even though he’s been here the whole time.”
The Salt Lake club is currently in Casa Grande, Ariz., in its first week of training for the 2013 season. The club will undertake a second week of training in early February in California before returning to Arizona to participate in the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup, Feb. 13-23.
Kira Terry is a sports writer covering Real Salt Lake for KSL.com. Follow her on Twitter, @kiraterry.
