Font ResizeSeattle » Winning the MLS Cup championship will be worth a nice financial bonus to the victorious players.
But it's nothing outrageous.
The winning team will split a bonus pot of about $150,000 among its players, with the losers sharing $50,000. Defender Nat Borchers said RSL plans to split its pot into full shares for each of its 25 players, and partial shares for other non-coaching members of their staff, such as trainers and the team administrator.
That means maybe a few thousand dollars per player, if RSL beats the Los Angeles Galaxy at Qwest Field on Sunday.
"Whatever," Borchers said. "The Cup is what we care about."
Just do your thing
Midfielder Kyle Beckerman said RSL isn't changing its tactics to try to close down space around the Galaxy's David Beckham .
"No, not at all," he said. "We're just going to try to dominate the midfield and push him out. It seems like when it gets tough in there, he goes back and gets the ball off the back four to get that space. ... If we're doing our thing, if we're working the ball well, controlling it, then his free kicks, his long passes, won't affect us."
Injury report
Defender Tony Beltran is healthy and available, having recovered from a quadriceps strain that had slowed him, and defender Chris Wingert said the
Beltran was actually healthy last week, but did not start because the coaching staff was not impressed with his week of training.
Mental toughness
Coach Jason Kreis elaborated on how midfielder Javier Morales had to adjust this season, after a rough start that saw him become a target for other teams looking to disrupt RSL's attack.
"It's mostly a mental approach," Kreis said. "It's mostly saying, 'OK, I'm going to get knocked around. The referees aren't going to call stuff every time I fall down, so I have to deal with it. I have to be a little stronger on the ball and if I do get knocked down, I have to get up quickly and move on.' "
