Real Salt Lake has been busy this offseason in hopes of improving last year’s record of 6-15-9. Training began on Sunday and will continue until March 29, when RSL hosts the Chicago Fire at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
No changes have been made to the goalkeeping lineup.As Nick Rimando will be starting between the pipes for RSL this season. Chris Seitz, the backup netminder, is training with the Under-23 Men’s National Team in hopes of qualifying for the upcoming 2008 Olympics.
After losing veteran Eddie Pope, RSL snagged for several defenders in the offseason to beef up the backline. Perhaps the biggest signing for RSL was defender Ian Joy. Joy is a San Diego native and has played in Scotland, England and Germany. Joy transferred from St. Pauli in Germany and, RSL head coach Jason Kreis said, will be a starter this season.
Newcomers David Horst and Tony Beltran will also challenge for starting roles. Horst is a 6-foot-4 defender who “can jump through the ceiling,” Kreis said. Argentine Matias Mantilla will most likely start for RSL after playing 10 games for the squad last year. Willis Forko, Ritchie Kotschau and Chris Wingert all saw equal playing time last year and look to beat out the newcomers for starting defensive roles.
Although the midfield has basically remained unchanged since last season, RSL was able to obtain Kevin Reiman in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft. Reiman played for Michigan State and had key assists in big games for the Spartans. Reiman will most likely remain on the reserve squad to develop further.
Look for Kyle Beckerman and Carey Talley to hold starting positions this season. Beckerman will not be in the RSL training camp because he will be working out with the USA national team prior to its match against Mexico on Feb. 6.
Javier Morales, Andy Williams and Nathan Sturgis hope to fill the other two starting jobs with Kenny Cutler and Nikolas Besagno providing valuable substitute minutes. Fan-favorite Jamie Watson was released by RSL last week and will likely end up in his hometown of Dallas, according to RSL’s website.
After trading forward Alecko Eskandarian to Chivas USA, RSL went into the draft and picked up two young strikers in Tino Nunez and Kenechukwe “Kenny” Anaba.
Robbie Findley, Kyle Brown, Fabian Espindola and Yura Movsisyan will be fighting for starting jobs this season. Findley has the strongest résumé, having led the team in goals last year with six. He was also responsible for scoring the game-winning goal against rival Colorado, which clinched the Rocky Mountain Cup.
Originally printed in The Daily Utah Chronicle on Janurary 29, 2008.
