This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A few weeks back, during another preseason stint together, Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman got to talking. Not about this year, or last year. Not about the offseason. Not about their return to the CONCACAF Champions League knockout stage.
In this conversation, the Real Salt Lake stars discussed time.
It has flown by.
They spoke of all the days and months and years lumped together at the franchise they, along with goalkeeper Nick Rimando, helped lift from the floor-mat of Major League Soccer so long ago. Morales, who a few weeks prior turned 36, shook his head reminiscing on that chat with Beckerman.
"It was too quick," said the Argentine midfielder. "I can't believe it."
Believe it. The RSL triumvirate enter their 10th season in Utah. Together, they've shocked the league and continent with their individual abilities and overall success. Together, they've aged. Here they've welcomed children. Here they've found spouses. It's where each decided to lay down their roots off the pitch after finally finding a home on it. And together, they've walked off the pitch despondent, finishing runners-up in three respective Cup finals.
Now staring Beckerman (33), Rimando (36), Morales (36) and RSL in the face is one of the best clubs in North America in the defending Liga MX champions, Tigres UANL. The two-leg Champions League series starts Wednesday night in the Estadio Universitario in Monterrey, Mexico.
It'll be a fitting and formidable test in what is very likely the trio's final shot at the trophy they were 90 minutes away from nearly five years ago.
As the championship window is closing, their legacy together at RSL is cemented.
"It's pretty cool to be that something when someone thinks of a club, they think of us three," Beckerman said. "It's like, 'I know those three players.' It wasn't something I guess we planned. It just happened."
Each acquisition was its own individual gamble. But RSL had nowhere to go but up in 2007.
So it took a shot on an MLS Cup-winning goalkeeper coming off reconstructive knee surgery, dealing for Rimando twice within a two-month window. That summer, they went across the Rocky Mountains to find their future captain, trading for a feisty defensive midfielder who'd already seen his fair share of RSL-Colorado tussles. A couple months later, after then-coach Jason Kreis had lunch with Morales in Buenos Aires and made his best sales pitch, RSL landed its maestro.
RSL and MLS followers know the rest. A mere two seasons after their arrival, they hoisted an MLS Cup trophy. Between the three, they've been named MLS All-Stars a combined 15 times.
Rimando became one of the league's premier goalkeepers, eventually breaking the regular-season shutouts record. Last year, Beckerman broke the record for most appearances by a field player. Morales has experienced a personal renaissance that has kept him atop the list for most potent offensive players in MLS, even now at 36.
"I think the greatest compliment of any player is how long you play," said ESPN analyst Taylor Twellman. "Because it means: 1. You stayed healthy and did a great job of taking care of your body and 2. You made it easy for coaches to still call your number. All three guys should be applauded in that sense."
Season No. 10 at RSL is a topic many have already broached with Rimando. Like Morales, his answer is somewhere between amazed and dumbfounded. "I had no idea how many years I've played here," he said laughing.
"Any soccer player or athlete that is somewhere for a long, long time in their career, it means they're doing something right," Rimando continued. "The fans, I obviously have built a good relationship with them and the club trusts you and thinks you can bring something to the club."
The three have the last nine seasons. They'll be leaned upon heavily again to ensure the 10th is better than the one prior. Unlike the previous seven straight seasons, RSL watched the MLS postseason from the couch. The example of stability within the league during its playoff streak, RSL's front office and roster was turned over heavily the past two offseasons. Time, again, sprung its head forcing the trio to adjust to new circumstances.
"All three of us take it personally, because we three really built this club up to be competitive and be consistent," Rimando said. "Last year was a frustrating year. This year, not just because it's our 10th year, we want to get it back to where it was and needs to be."
The core — a few years older now — remains.
Rushing back suddenly are the memories of the club's last ride into the Champions League knockout stages. Accompanying them is the lasting feeling. The toughest one. The one they've tried to forget the past five years, but couldn't: Watching Monterrey celebrate on the field inside a chock-full Rio Tinto Stadium, the newly-minted CONCACAF Champions League winners.
To Twellman, RSL and its fans need to start embracing the idea that life without Beckerman, Rimando and Morales is closer than they want to admit— which, he said, puts a massive weight on this two-leg series starting tonight in Estadio Universitario.
"To get three guys to be the pillars of a franchise and also to perform at a high level over the age of 33, I think that's rare," Twellman said. "I really do."
When describing what the previous nine seasons meant to him, Morales said he prefers to focus on Beckerman and Rimando. He can talk about them and how they were the two who helped him adapt quickly in late 2007. Beckerman was the first player to greet Morales when he arrived that August. The way they communicated at first was through the Spanish soccer phrase "toca," which means to touch on or pass.
Beckerman screamed that at Morales in every practice that first year.
"I've said before, without Kyle or Nick's mentality, they like to win — all the time — they're the reason," Morales said. "We only get one trophy, but we couldn't get more. We were close."
The aging RSL trio inches a bit closer, once again underdogs, still chasing that second trophy that's always eluded them.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Real Salt Lake at Tigres UANL
P Leg 1, CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals
At Estadio Universitario, Nuevo León, Monterrey, Mexico
Kickoff • Wednesday, 6 p.m.
TV • FOX Sports 2, Univision Deportes
Radio • 700 AM
History • First meeting
About RSL • Last visit to Mexico was the 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Champions League final against Monterrey in 2011. … RSL has six holdovers on its roster from preview Champions League runs. … Striker Yura Movsisyan, who helped RSL qualify for CCL in 2009, will get his first taste of the tournament after returning to RSL in January. … Midfielder Luke Mulholland (quad) is questionable. … New signing Sunday Stephen Obayan is the odds-on starter alongside Kyle Beckerman in RSL's 4-3-3 formation.
About Tigres • News broke Tuesday morning that winger Javier Aquino will miss the first leg of the series with RSL due to injury. … Tigres is the reigning Liga MX champions and finished second in the Copa Libertadores final a year ago. … French forward André-Pierre Gignac has taken Liga MX by storm, scoring 22 goals in 27 league appearances. … American midfielder Jose Francisco Torres has been at Tigres since 2013. … Former RSL midfielder Luis Silva signed with Tigres this offseason, but is ineligible to play in Champions League after being Cup-tied to RSL. —
About Beckerman, Rimando, Morales
RSL arrival • All in 2007
MLS All-Star honors • 15 total
Regular-season games played • 691 total: Beckerman (231), Rimando (249), Morales (211)
Playoff appearances • 62 total: Beckerman (21), Rimando (21), Morales (20)