This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Sandy • Alone on the east side of America First Field on Monday, Javier Morales gathered as many of the stray soccer balls as he could and placed them in a flat line. Morales took a few simple steps back before nailing each ball into the back of the net from a few yards away.
One by one, he went down the line he formed to just pound shots into center of the goal. RSL's lone training session before jetting off to Vancouver to face the Whitecaps on Wednesday night just ended, but Morales wanted to see the ball meet twine.
Once he finished, he turned and lofted a long ball, aiming for defender Justen Glad — bull's-eye. Fellow Argentine Burrito Martinez was mid-stretch near Glad when he noticed a ball barely bounce over his head. Martinez looked up to see a grinning Morales.
The 36-year-old midfielder in his 10th season with RSL is still up to his same old tricks. It's his role that's a noticeably different. For the last decade, RSL's attack flourished through the vision and skill of Morales. The revamped RSL front line of Martinez, Yura Movsisyan and Joao Plata has changed the amount of impact Morales needs to have on each game.
By glancing at the statistics this year, it's obvious.
Movsisyan, Martinez and Plata have combined for 18 goals and nine assists in RSL's first 18 regular-season matches. Morales, he of age-defying quality, has seen his numbers dip significantly. In 11 starts this year, Morales has one goal and two assists. The goal was a penalty kick at L.A. on April 23. He didn't notch his first assist until RSL's 3-1 win at Sporting Kansas City on May 21. In 14 appearances, he has just three shots on goal.
No, it's certainly not last year when midfielder Luke Mulholland would make Kobe Bryant analogies when Morales willed an anemic RSL attack to tallies on the scoreboard. The last three seasons combined, Morales had 25 goals and 34 assists.
But RSL general manager Craig Waibel warns that stats always tell only a portion of the story.
"You can spin numbers however you want, but he's combining with more people more consistently than in years past," Waibel said. "It's clearly a confidence play to stay central and distribute, as a opposed to feeling that pressure to go forward and change the game."
Morales isn't off the ball. In fact, he's on it maybe more than ever when it matters most. According to Opta Sports, Morales is tops in Major League Soccer for completed passes in the opposing team's half. In RSL's 1-1 draw against Montreal last weekend, he had 64 successful passes in the attacking half — the most in a game by any player in the league all season.
"I don't feel that I don't touch the ball enough," Morales said. "If you see the statistics in the last game, I touched the ball a lot, but it's in a different part of the field."
It's the location of where Morales finds the ball that is evolving. No longer is he camped out 30 yards from goal, waiting to lift his head and pick out a forward. The three-man midfield playing beneath RSL's front line can't take unmitigated risks. Morales has more obligations to defend if numbers are pushed. A year ago, Morales led MLS with most scoring chances created by a single player with 84. He averaged over three scoring chances created per game.
The chances created this year have dipped, but not enough for Morales to fall out too far. He ranks No. 10 in goal-scoring chances per game in 2016.
"I think this role has helped him extend his effectiveness in years played," Waibel said. "It's certainly a different job. I think the pieces around him now are a lot more adequate in the way we're trying to play."
RSL coach Jeff Cassar said Morales' position in this formation is the most tactical of any in the team's lineup.
"I think we're able to move him around and then we can also move our wingers around," he said. "I think that really can throw the other team off a little bit when they can't zero in on exactly where [Morales is] going to be at all times."
Has the onetime centerpiece become a complementary one? It's clear that the Movsisyan-Martinez-Plata trio can not only hold its but create on its own. Which puts Morales in a unique spot. One of the league's most potent playmakers in history no longer has to run the show on his own. He's adapting.
"It's changed a little bit with Plata, Yura and Burrito out there," he said.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
About Javier Morales
Age • 36 Position • Attacking midfielder
Hometown • Lomas de Zamora, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Pro career • Real Salt Lake (2007-present), UD Vecindario (Spain, second division, 2006-07), Instituto (Argentina, 2006), Arsenal de Sarandi (Argentina, 2004-05), Newell's Old Boys (Argentina, 2004), Lanus (Argentina, 2003), Arsenal de Sarandi (Argentina, 2000-03), Lanus (Argentina, 1998-2000).
Odometer • 225 games played, 205 games started, 18,129 minutes logged
Stats • 46 goals and 79 assists in MLS play
With RSL • Signed on Aug. 17, 2007.
—
Real Salt Lake at Vancouver Whitecaps
P Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., MDT
TV • KMYU —
Real Salt Lake at Vancouver Whitecaps
P At BC Place, Vancouver, B.C.
Kickoff • 8:30 p.m.
TV • KMYU
Radio • 700 AM
Records • RSL 8-5-5, Vancouver 7-8-4
Last meeting • RSL 1, Vancouver 0 (April 16 at Rio Tinto Stadium)
About RSL • Captain Kyle Beckerman will miss the match due to yellow card accumulation. … Forward Joao Plata (hamstring) is questionable. … Center back Jamison Olave (calf) is doubtful. … Midfielder Sunday Stephen (facial fractures) remains out 6 to 8 weeks after undergoing surgery two weeks ago. … Rookie forward Emery Welshman (hip) underwent the first of two surgeries to correct hip issues that hampered his first year with RSL. … Left back Demar Phillips was named to the MLS Team of the Week. … RSL is 3-5-2 on the road so far in 2016.
About Vancouver • The Whitecaps have allowed the most goals amongst Western Conference teams with 33 in 19 games. … Vancouver announced two signings this week by adding Canadian international defenders David Edgar and Marcel de Jong. … Forward Kekuta Manneh suffered an ankle injury in Vancouver's 2-2 draw against Colorado and is not expected to be available for RSL. … The Whitecaps transferred forward Octavio Rivero to Chile's Colo-Colo on July 6. … Rivero had 12 goals and three assists in 39 career starts with the Whitecaps.