Three years ago, during Real Salt Lake's inaugural 2005 season, Clint Mathis arrived with high expectations, both for himself and for his team. When that tenure lasted for 27 games, and didn't end under the best of circumstances, the thought of Mathis returning to RSL seemed far-fetched at best.

But apparently, it wasn't as far-fetched as some would've thought, as RSL on Thursday acquired Mathis from the Las Angeles Galaxy, the team that held his rights while he played the bulk of this season for Ergotelis FC of the Greek Super League.

Today is different from 2005 in the mind of Mathis, as well as RSL management. Today, Mathis is seen as a piece of the puzzle, a glue guy that can add veteran leadership to a team fighting for its first-ever playoff berth. He's no longer seen as a potential star, or the guy who scored a league record five goals in one game. And that is a good thing for head coach Jason Kreis.

"I guess I have a short memory," Kreis said. "Clint didn't hurt his reputation when he was here. He was a great guy in the locker room, and I don't feel like he did anything bad. I think the main problem for Clint is that people were expecting so much out of him, and frankly the team around him wasn't good enough for him to be a star."

To acquire Mathis, RSL surrendered a conditional fourth round selection in the 2010 SuperDraft. In that light, the risk is relatively minimal, while the reward could be substantial.

tjones@sltrib.com

Clint Mathis file

* Has played 10 seasons professionally

* Was the sixth overall selection of the 1998 MLS SuperDraft by the Las Angeles Galaxy

* Played for Real Salt Lake during the inaugural 2005 season.

* Is a former teammate of head coach Jason Kreis