Real Salt Lake has NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira to thank for its dynamic attacking midfielder, at least in part.
“It wasn’t just me,” said Albert Rusnák, who played for Vieira when he was in charge of the Manchester City Elite Development Squad. “It was all the players from around that age group. Many players are playing in Europe regularly for teams, and obviously I’m here. Overall you don’t see it a lot of times where from an age group a lot of players actually do make it to the top level. … I think one of the reasons why most of us are playing professional soccer is we had him as a coach.”
Rusnák and Vieira will meet again this weekend at Yankee Stadium, with NYC FC (4-0-1) on the best run of any team in the league, and RSL (2-2-1) coming off a win — and a short rest.
“They play in the style of soccer that Man City wants to play,” Rusnák said, “but even when [Vieira] played in his career, he played with the top coaches and top clubs in Europe, so his knowledge of soccer is on a different level. And the people who he’s got around him I think they have the same kind of vision about soccer, so to be honest it’s as simple as that. His qualities are there, and he’s got the players to do it.”
RSL AT NYC FC<br>When • Wednesday, 5 p.m.<br>TV • KMYU
Vieira’s playing career included stints with Man City, Arsenal and Inter Milan. He began his coaching career at Man City, where he coached Rusnák for three years. He took over at NYC FC after the club fired Jason Kreis in 2015.
Vieira and Rusnák’s history fed into ESPN to report in February that Vieira wanted to sign Rusnák, but the likelihood of that actually coming to fruition was quickly and broadly dismissed.
Rusnák, after a few loans during his time at Manchester City, landed at FC Groningen in the Netherlands’ top flight for three seasons. He transferred to RSL ahead of last season.
Since then, he’s become a centerpiece in RSL’s attack and won the club’s 2017 golden boot award.
This year, RSL has yet to match the attacking strength it displayed in the second half of last season, scoring multiple goals in just last week’s 2-1 win over Vancouver.
“I was one of the players who wasn’t happy with the way we played,” Rusnák said of RSL’s offensive performance this season, “but the more I thought about it ... there were a few games when we weren’t playing our best and we ended up winning. ... So that’s the positive to take out of all of that.”
Less than RSL’s best likely won’t be enough to take a point or three at NYC FC, however.
It is one of two teams that remains undefeated. The other team is Dallas, which has only claimed one win.
“[Vieira has] just had a little bit of time now since he’s taken over that he can slowly build up his roster and get the players he wants in,” RSL coach Mike Petke said. “Couple that with his feel of the game and his demanding presence I think that they’re reaching a point now that the last couple of years are paying dividends.”
Real Salt Lake at New York City FC<br>At Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.<br>Kickoff » 5 p.m.<br>TV<br>KMYU <br>Radio » 700 AM<br>Records » RSL 2-2-1, NYC FC 4-0-1<br>Last meeting » RSL 2, NYC FC 1 (May 17 at Rio Tinto Stadium) <br>About NYC FC » It tops the Eastern Conference, and the league, with 13 points … The club enters the match undefeated through five matches this season. … Kwame Awuah is out with a knee injury. … Alex Ring (knee) and David Villa (lower body) are listed as questionable.<br> About RSL » … Defenders Tony Beltran, Jordan Allen and Taylor Peay remain out with knee injuries. … Midfielder Luke Mulholland and defender Shawn Barry are listed as questionable for the match due to hamstring injuries. … Marcelo Silva (groin) and Demar Phillips (ankle) are listed as questionable after suffering injuries in Saturday’s match. … Joao Plata sustained an undisclosed injury in training Sunday and is out.