This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Alvaro Saborio is expected to return to the lineup for Real Salt Lake when it plays the expansion Vancouver Whitecaps on the road in Major League Soccer on Saturday, but that hardly answers all the questions his behavior has raised during the past week.
Quite the contrary.
In a way, it only reopens the debate about his attitude and temperament that arose after his bizarre departure from the field last weekend, when he was replaced late in a game at Rio Tinto Stadium. Seemingly angry at being taken off, the Costa Rican striker stalked past the sideline while exchanging words with coach Jason Kreis — normally, players spend the rest of the game with their teammates on the bench — and headed straight to the locker room.
He departed the stadium quickly and hasn't uttered a public word since.
Team officials effectively suspended Saborio by leaving him home from their game at FC Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday, a grave decision considering that RSL needed to win that game — at a stadium where it had never won — to advance in the tournament.
Instead, it lost with a lethargic performance so troubling that Kreis held a lengthy closed-door meeting after the game.
So where does Saborio go from here?
"We'll see," Kreis said. "I think he has the answers to that. I'm quite certain that we've gotten what we wanted out of that situation. We all make mistakes. We're all emotional people. We all want to win. We all want to compete, we all want to do the best for ourselves and our team. So a mistake was made. Sabo held up his hand and accepted responsibility and accountability for it. We tell our players as long as we can do that, we'll move forward and move forward together."
Team officials walked a fine line in trying to discipline Saborio — he had been warned after acting similarly at least once before — while remembering that it's going to need its best striker working in harness if it's going to contend for the Supporters Shield regular-season title and MLS Cup championship.
His teammates surely know it, too.
While many of them were disturbed to see Saborio effectively blow them off, they also said they understood that every player gets frustrated sometimes — and they seemed to almost go out of their way to mention how much they need him.
"Sabo's a big part of this team, I think he knows that," goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "He's a team player, but sometimes, competitive players have that competitiveness about them that they want to be out on that field the whole time."
Saborio has always been something of an enigma for RSL, a powerful player and lethal finisher on the field who's equally cool and distant off it. He tends to keep to himself and strikes some of his teammates as aloof, even in private.
His controversial departure was equally puzzling.
Although his teammates said they presumed he was frustrated at not having scored in the game, Saborio had played well and his team held the lead in the 87th minute — hardly the time of an embarrassing early substitution — en route to a 2-0 victory.
What's more, Saborio had been in fine form since returning from playing for Costa Rica in the Gold Cup tournament, scoring his first three goals of the season in his previous two games.
"You don't want to see it," midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. But "really, it seems more disrespectful than it probably is. I don't think Sabo meant any disrespect to any of the players or the coach, but that's the way it comes off. Really, he was probably just frustrated he didn't score. So it was more, I think, just him. … He's mad at himself for no reason, and it looks a little worse than it is."
Some wonder if there's a cultural difference at work, such that Saborio feels threatened or disrespected to be removed anytime at all. He also has had to cope recently with the death of a national team colleague in a car accident — and his own missed penalty kicks that kept Costa Rica from advancing in the Gold Cup.
But midfielder Will Johnson agreed with Beckerman that sometimes passionate players simply get caught up in the game and "lose the plot," so that even they are surprised when looking back on it later.
"As a fan and media, you look at that and you say, 'Wow, this guy's out of control,' " Johnson said. "But, really, you get caught up in the emotions of the game like that and it's not as big a deal as it's sometimes made out to be, which I think is the case this time. It's been dealt with, and I think you'll see a very motivated Saborio on Saturday."
What does Saborio think?
Hard to say.
He declined interview requests Thursday before silently walking away alone, to board the team flight to Vancouver.
Twitter: @RSLTrib —
Real Salt Lake at Vancouver
P At Empire Field, Vancouver, B.C.
Kickoff • 2 p.m.
TV • KMYU 2.2 / Comcast 22 / Dish 12
Radio • 700 AM, 1600 AM, 106.1 FM
Records • RSL 8-3-6, Vancouver 2-10-8
All-time series • RSL leads, 1-0
Last meeting • RSL, 2-0 (June 9)
About RSL • Riding a six-game unbeaten streak, it's making its first visit to Empire Field. … Forward Fabian Espindola leads the team with six goals, including five in his past seven games.
About the Whitecaps • Suffering a four-game losing streak, they're the worst team in Major League Soccer, with just 14 points. … Forward Eric Hassli is expected to play after missing their visit to RSL while serving a suspension. Hassli shares the team scoring lead with forward Camilo Sanvezzo. Each has six goals.