Never before in the league's twelve seasons has an established club looked overseas for so much help to supplement, or in RSL's case, overhaul a starting lineup.

As many as seven players who played outside the United States last spring could start for RSL when the 2008 season kicks off at month's end.

In other words, don't pull out your old MLS DVDs to find highlights of many RSL starters. Instead, you'd have to watch soccer from Argentina (Matias Cordoba), Colombia (Jamison Olave), Germany (Ian Joy), Scotland (Kenny Deuchar) and Norway (Nat Borchers).

The trend started late last summer when a trio of Argentines (Matias Mantilla, Fabian Espindola and Javier Morales) came to RSL on non-guaranteed contracts. When all three performed well, general manager Garth Lagerwey picked up the players' options and then went shopping "duty-free" again this winter.

Although Borchers and Joy are Americans, RSL is still taking full advantage of a rule change that now allows teams to have eight or more international players - the highest number in league history.

The only other MLS team even close to taking full advantage of the rule change is perennial favorite and four-time champion D.C. United, which has imported six players from South America since this time last year.

Historically, the international investment has paid off for D.C. United. At least four of the team's imports - Bolivians Jamie Moreno and Marco Etcheverry, Brazilian Luciano Emilio and Argentine Christian Gomez - earned "Best XI" distinction.

RSL hasn't been so successful. The team did not actively pursue first-division players in Argentina or Brazil until last summer. Rather, the organization was focused on finding very young prospects. Trialists and young signees from France, Costa Rica, Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay and Panama - among others - never panned out.

But clearly, the "internationalization" of RSL suggests that current management felt the only way to get better, fast enough, was to import talent. After all, there were plenty of all-league-caliber players switching MLS teams this winter. RSL could have made a play for Carlos Ruiz, Christian Gomez, Bobby Boswell and Chris Albright.

But the significant difference is that the teams that traded for Ruiz and Co. gave up high draft picks, bundles of cash (allocation money) and rising prospects to get them. In contrast, RSL surrendered just one allocation to acquire five new attacking players and three new defenders in seven months.

Of all of them, Deuchar and Borchers might be the biggest coups. At 6-foot-3, Deuchar gives the team a bruising stand-up forward who recalls Jeff Cunningham's single-minded purpose - "I just score goals."

Borchers came gift-wrapped on Valentine's Day via a weighted lottery used to reassign returning U.S. national team players.

Although he is just 26 years old, Borchers will be one of RSL's most experienced defenders.

Plus, he answers my biggest question since the end of last season: "Who will fill the shoes of Eddie Pope?"

Former RSL GM STEVE PASTORINO contributes regularly to The Tribune on soccer. He welcomes your comments at pastorinosoccer@comcast.net.