This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's pretty easy to spot Kyle Beckerman. The dreads are a dead giveaway, even when they're tucked away into a beanie. He knows it. And so does everyone else. Which is why him being spotted in downtown Salt Lake City last week was, as he admitted, a little different for this time of year. He's usually some place else. For the last four years, Beckerman's been with the U.S. national team for January camps ahead of respective friendlies and qualifiers in cities and countries around the world.
But 2015 was different from those previous Januarys. Beckerman noticed the amount of change Real Salt Lake underwent this offseason with several long-time stalwarts like Nat Borchers, Ned Grabavoy, Chris Wingert and Robbie Findley having been traded or chosen by clubs through various draft mechanisms. It continued with the departures of Carlos Salcedo, Cole Grossman, Sebastian Velasquez and general manager Garth Lagerwey. He phoned USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann and told him he felt a need to stay behind this year and stay with RSL through preseason as plenty of new faces and needed contributors will try and gel with the club as it bounces between Utah, Arizona and California prior to the March 7 season opener at Portland.
Beckerman agreed to lunch with the Tribune last Wednesday and picked the spot. The RSL captain discussed why he chose to stay with RSL and not join the USMNT, even after the achieving all he did in 2014 by starting three World Cup matches and asserting himself as part of the midfield picture moving forward. Discussions were based around RSL's offseason, how he envisions his future with the national team, his new three-year extension, how he expects the new blood to mold into the club and if RSL can contend for trophies in 2015.
(Entire 32-minute-long conversation with Beckerman below. Link to Q&A version running in print tomorrow here).
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What went into the decision process of staying back? Was it with so much turnover you had at RSL, you felt like you needed to serve as that captain role with so many new faces?
Beckerman: "When I first heard the news [of departures of Borchers, Findley, Grabavoy, Wingert], I was really surprised and shocked. It just happened so quickly. These are guys that built a foundation, some of the guys that were there in the beginning. I'm looking at it, thinking, 'These are the guys we leaned on a lot when we were gone [at the World Cup].' We'd go to national-team camps and different things, and with these guys, you didn't worry. They were going to make sure everything was the way it's supposed to be at the club. I felt a responsibility that I really needed to be there from Day 1 and set the tone and be there with the guys and make sure we're moving in the right direction throughout preseason and that we're ready to go and compete, because our fan base, they expect us to be competing for things. There were these changes, but I'm here and I expect the same things as the fans do: We want to be competing for everything. That was the main thought, and I had a great conversation with Jurgen and he understood where I was coming from. It made me feel better about the decision."
So does Jurgen think that this decision will affect your longevity with the national team?
Beckerman: "From the conversation we had, it was a good conversation. Of course, anything can happen. I also mentioned to him that, you know, part of the reason I made the team — me and Nick [Rimando] — was because of RSL and we're a good team. He respects the way we play, he respects us. I told him that. I want to be on a good team in practice and training where we're competing for everything. You never of course want to turn down a call-up, but I felt that I had a responsibility to do this."
Was this offseason one of the more tumultuous offseasons that you've seen while at RSL?
Beckerman: "It's really heartbreaking. It really is. You had so many battles with them, so many good times and tough times where you held the team up to make sure we got out of funks. The way I looked at your team last year was, there were a lot of good things, a lot of positives to take from the year. So it was not only losing really good friends, but guys that I thought that are really good for the team as well and who could help us compete for trophies again next year."
Did you expect this much turnover? Did that catch a lot of you guys off guard?
Beckerman: "Especially when you look around the league and you see … I don't know if anybody lost, maybe they lost one starter, but for us to lose like four, that seems strange. And the situation with our GM [Garth Lagerwey], is he going to be here? I definitely didn't see it coming. I wanted to come back and compete and try and do better. But you just have to … I guess you just have to move on. It's tough because we praise RSL family and then these guys are our family, but it's a business decision for them to leave."
What went into the decision to decide to re-up with RSL? Would it be hard to leave RSL at this point? Would it feel foreign to play for another club?
Beckerman: "For sure. When I was in Colorado for five years, I thought I was going to be there forever. You know, I wasn't extremely happy about everything, but when I came to Real Salt Lake, I really felt happy about the soccer and everyday going to practice, I was happy about practice and it was just fun. We would go and we would compete and play good soccer. Everything about the soccer part, and then life came after that. I really started to love the city and the state. First, soccer is what brought me, but then after I love the state, I love everything about it, I met my wife here, so for me re-upping — I did it before all these moves were made — but Real Salt Lake is a club that's going to be with me forever. When I think of Real Salt Lake, I think 20 years, 50 years, 100 years down the road, that we're going to be a team. We're the guys that have to lay that foundation for the club that's going to be seen and what we're going to be known for is good soccer and we compete for things and we're at the top of the table. To re-sign, it was a no-brainer. I want to just try to continue keep improving the club. That's the biggest thing: Just keep trying to improve. And we are on a budget, so if we can be on a budget and still compete on trophies the way we have been the last six years or so, that says a lot about our club."
Have you been able to digest 2014 and everything that happened with the USMNT and RSL?
Beckerman: "Obviously, I don't look at the year in one game or one loss. I think there's a lot of factors in that. I look at we had a really good regular season and the World Cup was a blast. The year went by like that [snaps fingers] — it went by extremely fast. The end of the year, it was tough to know that we're going to be without those guys, for sure, but I think I look at it and would say it was a fun year, it had some ups and had some downs. More ups than downs. In years to come, I'll even look back on it more as a lot of good memories. These guys are my friends for life and I'm going to keep in touch with them. A lot of them are in really good situations for themselves and I'm really excited for them — I just want to be really excited for them on our team. For the most part, it's a lot of positives. I'll look back in years to come, and I'm sure there will be more positives than negatives to remember."
Are you surprised as to how fast MLS is growing and with big-name players returning to the league?
Beckerman: "Not really. All this stuff happening throughout this past year, I think MLS grows double each World Cup cycle, it kind of doubles the growth. I think this summer we saw a glimpse of what is to come with soccer in this country. We didn't really see that coming, really. But soccer is going to be a top sport in the country, our league is going to be one of the top in the world, it's just a matter of time. How far away that is? We don't know. As we're getting there, these little things will start happening, like the World Cup and with these Americans coming back each off-season. That's just going to continue. Eventually, it's going to be really cool to see where Major League Soccer — and just soccer in general — is in this country."
What do you feel like you need to do this preseason to, like you mentioned earlier, to set the tone?
Beckerman: "We'll see. There's going to be new guys that I need to meet, as well. I don't know who they are, if they're going to make the team, because preseason is kind of a process. But it's important that the camaraderie you create in preseason is huge. Just the things on the field, there's little things you can really build on and set that foundation upon, because you've got to get that brotherness, that I'll run through a wall for you and you'll do the same for me and that trust. A lot of times, that happens in preseason. In terms of the new guys, I'm sure that's going to be the same. They're going to want to come and be linked into the team and be part of the team as quick as possible. Everybody that's here already on the team, you can respect anybody that comes with a good attitude and comes to work everyday, gives it everything they've got, is a team player and then off the field, they're a good guy. In the past, those are the guys we get. It should be easy to really get that camaraderie. I'm excited. I'm looking forward to that, because it's been a while since I've been in a preseason with Salt Lake."
Defensively, you lose Nat and Chris, but you get Jamison Olave back, how will your role defensively change with some new faces?
Beckerman: "I think there's going to be a competition on that left side … Hopefully we'll get most of the wrinkles out in preseason, but the basics are still there. It really is a simple game and the best teams really do the simple stuff faster, better and make better decisions."
If theoretically RSL explores adopting other formations, how would a potential change affect the team? Would a change in formation be a shock to the first team?
Beckerman: "I think we're open to it. There's no reason why we can't be a team that plays a couple different formations. I think there's times we can still use the diamond, I think there's time we can use a 4-3-3, 4-5-1, whatever you want to call it. I like love the diamond. It took me a little bit of getting used to … I played [the 4-5-1] a lot in 2006 in Colorado. It's fun. You got that big man up top, but it's also tough because sometimes you only have that one forward … We're definitely open to it and we definitely think it's a positive for us to know a couple different formations. I think this year it could be something that maybe we could switch on the fly — on the road, at home, no matter what — and hopefully that'll make us dangerous."
This club obviously rose under the diamond, but do you think the good teams in this league know how to play you guys well because the diamond is kind of a predictable style of play offensively?
Beckerman: "We've played L.A. where we've played them off the park in the diamond, but there's times when we lose too, sure, but these teams are good. They're good teams and they have great players. It's tough to say, because part of it's like, why don't you just keep going on with it and fine-tune it? Just keep getting better, because you know when it's working, it works. L.A. or Seattle lose to us, do we figure them out because they're doing the same thing? When it's clicking, you just hope that when you match those teams, you're clicking, too. You hope the diamond wins. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you dominate, sometimes you don't. I think something we can work on this year is times when things aren't going our way for the diamond, we can boom, switch to this and get our breath. But we've always been a club that's been really aggressive. We don't go anywhere and say hey, we're going to sit in because pretty much we're always going to go and try and score and be the aggressor in the beginning of the game, and a lot of teams aren't like that. But, you know, there's times that maybe we need to be smarter, maybe we need to think differently."
Before you moved to the diamond, do you think another formation would have showcased your abilities as much as this one has?
Beckerman: "It's a good question, but I talk about this sometimes with just friends. Things are a lot different with the national team and media the way they are now than the way they were back then playing in a 4-4-2. It was strange. It used to be, the national team was a lot older. Bruce [Arena] had his group, then Bob [Bradley] came and switched that up. The national team has a lot to do with being noticed in your club form, especially in a small-market team. We're not on TV a lot, so maybe the only time some people see me is playing with the national team. My role with Salt Lake and the national team — there's a lot of similarities, sure — but a lot of differences as well."
Do you have an idea of how much longer you want to be involved in that national-team conversation? As long as it takes?
Beckerman: "I think so. I think that's what you're supposed to do is play as long as you can with the national team until they stop calling you. The experiences that you get, some of the experiences that I've got since 2011 have been unreal. Some of the friendlies, obviously the World Cup, then winning the Gold Cup, those are some really special moments. When I look back, I've played a lot of games in Major League Soccer and with the national team? It's maybe 30-something. If you get a buddy to go to one of those games, it's cool. I think your main concern is, get in with your club, make sure everything is going well there and if we're consistent and continue what we do and what we're about and play good soccer the way we are and constantly in the conversation in the Supporter's Shield, Open Cup, playoffs, then hopefully the call-ups will continue to come. I think it's a better chance than if we're in the cellar."
Do you think this club can contend for trophies this season?
Beckerman: "Yeah, I think so. For sure. Absolutely. It depends on a lot of things, for sure. Health, but we've got guys in there that know what's going on and know how to win. Hopefully the newcomers, they're winners. That's important, making sure you're getting winners, guys who know how to win in this league as well. It's just like different times of the season, if you can get hot in spots and your defeats aren't long and stringed out, then it's usually a fun locker room … I can't imagine what some of the teams went through. That's another thing, when you think of us losing all those guys, you're thinking how many other teams in the league would love to have our exact team the way it was from last year."
Do you need the younger players to again step up and fill their capacities in order to contend with some of the bigger clubs?
Beckerman: "We need that and we need the Luke Mulhollands, the guys we didn't expect. You need that to be pushing, because that's going to make us better with competition at spots. Luis [Gil] has showed us some brilliance with how long he's been here, there's been spots of it and he continues to grow. He's still young. We'll see what happens this year. I think this could be a big year for a bunch of people. We could see a different and more dangerous Real Salt Lake, or more stingy defensively, and I hope that comes with some big years. [Joao] Plata, we didn't see that. Hopefully we can get Devon [Sandoval] back scoring … with the Supporter's Shield [contenders], you're going to need two in double digits and two-to-three other guys in the 5-to-10 range."
Do you think you have those guys this year?
Beckerman: "Yeah, I really think we do. I think [Alvaro] Saborio has shown that he can score and be at 10-to-15, Plata has and Olmes [Garcia] right now has shown us in that first year he can be that 5-to-10. Devon showed us that. Sebastian [Jaime], we'll see. Hopefully he can be in the talk of 10-to-15, but hopefully 5-to-10 and then all these guys can have joy. That would be great. If all those guys are having goal joy and the midfield is pitching in their duty, then it could be a really exciting year."
If you had to tell one story regarding your time with the national team, what would that be?
Beckerman: "The highlights would be my first game. I came in for Pablo [Mastroeni], I guy I looked up to and my first goal, this ball popped out and and my eyes just got big and I caught this ball just perfectly. Just talking about it, I still get goosebumps. My parents were in the stands with my brother and sister-in-law. The World Cup was great. The Gold Cup was great, because it had been a while since I won something and that was great to hold a trophy again. The Gold Cup was really cool because it was like a tour, like a rock band. You'd go San Diego, Portland, Salt Lake, Baltimore, Dallas, so that was neat. Then playing in the Stade de France against France, Arsene Wenger is in the crowd and Gerard Houllier and names that I just remember watching on TV and admiring. That was a game I'll never forget. The first game in Brazil. The national anthem to the first goal. Everything is a big question mark, like, 'How are we going to do?' I always tell myself, whenever I play a national-team game to remember that this could be your last so go enjoy it, play the best you can, you're fit, so I always kept that mindset, especially at World Cup."
-Chris Kamrani
Twitter: @chriskamrani