MLS Season Preview: Real Salt Lake

By: Bob | April 6th, 2007

The 2007 MLS season begins this weekend and we can hardly wait. For the past two weeks our fearless bloggers have been dishing out the goods on the teams with their season previews. Today we finish things up by taking a sneak peek at Real Salt Lake. Shedding light on the team from the Beehive State is Ian. You can find his words on both the Real Salt Lake Offside and the Scotland Offside. His season preview is after the jump.

Nuts and Bolts

Real Salt Lake is perhaps, next to the expansion Toronto F.C., the biggest question mark in MLS 2007. With the addition of some star power, they have themselves firmly on the playoff radar screen for this season, but their preseason has seen lackluster performances and missed chances. Owner Dave Checketts claims that the new players are settling in and getting their confidence together, but after the slow start to last season, the fans will believe success is possible only when they start to see it. John Ellinger is the only head coach in the three-year history of Real, and survived last year’s disappointing season largely due to a late, hope-inspiring run, but this year, he has the players, and he is expected to produce results.

The stars and the newcomers

This team is built around the young and frighteningly talented Freddy Adu, still only 17 years old. Jeff Cunningham is the other main scoring threat, and on the other side of the pitch, Nick Rimando is new and looking very good between the posts for Real after the retirement of star keeper Scott Garlick. The biggest remaining player from last season is Mehdi Ballouchy, one of the most athletic and talented midfielders in the league. If Ballouchy and Adu can play well together, not only will the results come, but the “Mehdi and Freddy Show” will basically market itself.

Keep an eye on

Kyle Brown. He may be the sleeper of the Western Conference. His speed and athleticism makes him a threat at both midfielder and forward. He never got his pace quite right at New York, and he could be the come-from-nowhere rising star of the team. Ellinger and his coaching staff have liked Brown all along, and are looking to make the Red Bulls regret giving him away for a mere supplemental draft pick.

We’ll win the league if…..

Winning the league is a little much to ask, but we’ll make the playoffs if we can start strong. Last season, it took seven games for Real to get a win. If that weak start is repeated, we will not be able to climb out of the hole, especially given that four out of the first five matches are at home. If we can get at least three of those five as wins, I’ll feel good about our chances.

Biggest Rivals

Without a doubt, the team Real is most focused on beating are the Colorado Rapids. Quickly developing into one of the fiercest rivalries in the young league, these are two teams that just plain do not like each other. They played to a scoreless draw just last weekend, but when the “CRapids” come to Salt Lake on April 30th (and again in September), the fans will be looking for no less than a win.

You might not know

- Salt Lake City is the smallest market in the MLS

- Owner Dave Checketts is one of the most experienced sports executives in the country, having acted as president of the Utah Jazz, the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden.

- After being awarded the MVP of an under-14 tournament in Italy, Freddy Adu’s mother had to get an unlisted phone number because of all the offers coming in from European teams. He was 10, and it would only be four more years before he became the youngest professional player in American sports history.

You can follow the team all season long on the Real Salt Lake Offside.

The RSL kits are pretty cool and so is some of the other Real Salt Lake soccer gear.