This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • Real Salt Lake's re-make, remodel or needed revitalizing, which might be the most appropriate term, is in its latest evolution.
It began years ago, when the miles started to show on the legs of RSL's legendary players. It started with homegrown players being signed, teenagers being told to watch how it's done, how to win, to listen. It's continued now with more academy products, with a 22-year-old attacking midfielder in Albert Rusnák being asked to fill the shoes of a midfield magician 15 years his senior.
RSL is still on the elder side of the spectrum compard to the other 21 teams in MLS, the fifth-oldest roster (average of 27.01 years old) in the league entering 2017. This year, however, will be a year unlike any other in the last decade, in large part to the absence of the most-productive playmaker in club history, Javier Morales, now with FC Dallas.
"[The offseason] kind of holds together this model that we're drawing," RSL general manager Craig Waibel said recently, "to make sure we're continuing to move forward, continuing trying to win today, but definitely, without a doubt, we had to do some rebuilding within the core of the roster."
The dust finally has settled in Sandy. And it was a doozy of an offseason. Morales wanted the final say in his leaving town, holding his own news conference in downtown Salt Lake City, stating to the media and RSL faithful that he never wanted to leave.
Soon after, Burrito Martinez was out, too, having asked the RSL front office to release him from his Designated Player deal because of family reasons. He later told the Argentine media he needed to get back to Argentina to take care of his dog, which had cancer.
Meanwhile, RSL coach Jeff Cassar was brought back on a one-year deal, and RSL chased American superstar Landon Donovan to join the club's makeover — to score goals, to teach the young U.S. attackers on the RSL roster how to handle the rigors of MLS. That chase fell short.
Jamison Olave retired. Jeff Attinella was chosen in the MLS Expansion Draft. Depth pieces Olmes Garcia, John Stertzer and Devon Sandoval were not renewed.
RSL went out and found new players to rely upon in journeyman forward Chad Barrett (31 years old) and veteran center back David Horst (31). In came two more homegrown players to the growing tally by signing midfielder Jose Hernandez out of UCLA and bringing back 19-year-old Brooks Lennon on a one-year loan from Liverpool FC. Park City's Sebastian Saucedo returned to the fold after spending a year on loan in Mexico at Veracruz.
What's to make of RSL in 2017? Easy to say a work in progress. But the truth is, despite returning nine of 11 starters from last year's team, the unknown will be prevalent early on and perhaps seep into summer. Rusnák's adjustment period must be quick, the homegrown core — now eight players on the first-team roster — must be called upon to deliver in spot-starts or crucial minutes off the bench.
"They've been learning from all those guys because they're from our academy," Cassar said. "These are guys we've brought up. They're not strangers to each other, they're not strangers to our stadium, they're not strangers to how we play, and you're starting to see a connection with them. And there's already a connection off the field to our players. It's almost being able to fast-forward the process."
The infusion of youth, speed and athleticism will change the way RSL plays in 2017. Maybe not from the first whistle, but players and coaches have spoken at length this preseason about how it can press the opposition, force turnovers in the offensive third of the field, rely on speed from Jordan Allen, Joao Plata and Yura Movsisyan to try to catch back lines napping more often.
Right back Tony Beltran is in his 10th year at RSL. Four or five years ago, he said, he'd sprint into the tunnel after a home match in which RSL dominated time of possession to see how many passes the club strung together in its old patented diamond-midfield formation.
"I think the league is different," Beltran said. "RSL is different, and our new style of play, it's not that conducive to that [approach], but like I said, we're just so fast on the counter-attack, it's being threatening in a different way, whereas we used to kill teams just by passing it, now I think we're going to kill them with our speed in our front half."
Movsisyan vouched for the youngsters on his team, the ones who will need to step into the limelight in 2017, saying that being an academy product should make you a veteran at a much earlier age. It's up to the prominent names and faces at RSL to help acclimate the 10 new players on the roster, he added, and it's up to the next-generation wave of players to rise.
"You have to have those special players on the field to make a difference, that can create goals out of nothing," he said. "That's what you pay for, that's what the fans love, that's what the fans come to see and fans respect hard-working players on the field. That's when you have a complete team. That's how you get the fans to love you."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
2017 RSL preview
Key offseason additions • Midfielder Albert Rusnák, forward Chad Barrett, defender David Horst, midfielder Luis Silva, winger Brooks Lennon (on loan from Liverpool), winger Sebastian Saucedo (returned from loan at Veracruz), goalkeeper Matt Van Oekel, midfielder Jose Hernandez (homegrown signing), defender Reagan Dunk (MLS SuperDraft pick), defender Justin Schmidt (MLS SuperDraft pick)
Key offseason losses • Midfielder Javier Morales, forward Burrito Martinez, defender Jamison Olave, goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, forward Olmes Garcia, forward Devon Sandoval, midfielder John Stertzer, forward Emery Welshman, defender Phanuel Kavita, defender Boyd Okwuounu
2017 RSL roster numbers
• Eight homegrown players from RSL academy
• Thirteen players 25 or younger
• Seven players 30 years or older
Toronto FC st RSL
2017 MLS season-opener
Where • Rio Tinto Stadium
When • 2:30 p.m. Saturday
TV • KMYU