This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Lehi • Things are going to look awfully familiar to Real Salt Lake's Alvaro Saborio when he arrives in Costa Rica for the team's important CONCACAF Champions League game next week, and not simply because he grew up in that country.
He was just there, too.
Saborio scored the first goal in his country's new national stadium in San Jose last week, when he played there with his national team in international friendlies against China and powerful Argentina. Two of his teammates — midfielder Will Johnson and forward Arturo Alvarez — also spent the better part of two weeks away from RSL on international duty, missing one Major League Soccer game and only returning to training with the team for the first time Friday.
Yet nobody seems overly worried that the absences will have any effect on one of the biggest games in team history.
"I don't have any concerns," coach Jason Kreis said.
RSL plays Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday night in the second leg of the two-game Champions League semifinal series. It scored a 2-0 victory in the first leg at home last month, meaning it will advance to the championship of the important international tournament with a win or a draw in the return leg — or even a two-goal loss, so long as it scores.
That's where Saborio could enter the picture.
The 28-year-old striker has scored eight goals in Champions League games for RSL, including one in the dominant first-leg victory against Saprissa. He acknowledged that many friends and family members urged him to score for the national team last week, but they hoped he wouldn't be so lethal against his former club on Tuesday night.
He won't be playing in the same stadium, at least.
The Champions League game will be held at sold-out Saprissa Stadium, rather than the new national one, and that suggests an intimidating atmosphere for RSL, as well as an infamous artificial turf.
Still, Saborio agreed with his teammates that it's pretty easy to regain a rhythm with RSL, even after being away for a while.
"We know what Jason wants from us," he said.
While Saborio was thrilling many of the same fans who will root for Saprissa against RSL — he helped Los Ticos draw both China and Argentina, 2-2 and 0-0, respectively — Johnson and Alvarez were with their own national teams last week. Johnson took the corner kick that led to a goal that gave Canada a 1-0 win against Belarus in Turkey, while Alvarez played for El Salvador in its 1-0 victory at Cuba and 3-2 home loss to Jamaica.
"It's an easy transition coming back to the team," said Alvarez, who hasn't yet played much for RSL but said he's understanding more and more what Kreis wants from his players. "It's good to be back and looking forward to this game against Saprissa."
Johnson agreed.
"I don't think it takes time" to regain familiarity with his pro team, he said. "This group has been the same. The only thing is just getting your legs back, getting your sleeping schedule sorted out, all that stuff. That's the challenge. But getting back in with the guys, it fits perfect."
The team is scheduled to depart Sunday on a chartered flight to San Jose and will work out at Saprissa Stadium on Monday before the game. Weather forecasts call for hot and rainy conditions, but RSL is willing to just endure about anything for the chance to reach the tournament finals.
If it does, it will play either Cruz Azul or Monterrey of Mexico, which meet in the second leg of their semifinal series Wednesday. Monterrey holds a 2-1 lead after the first leg at home. The winner of the tournament advances to the Club World Cup — a World Cup for pro teams, rather than national ones — in Japan in December.
RSL at Saprissa
P At Saprissa Stadium, San Jose, Costa Rica, Tuesday, 8 p.m.
TV • Fox Soccer Channel