TUCSON - Real Salt Lake officially began its final preseason training stint Monday as the team arrived in Tucson to participate in the 2014 Desert Diamond Cup. This will be RSL’s third-straight appearance in the round-robin tournament. Real Salt Lake will take on the New England Revolution on Feb. 19, Colorado Rapids on Feb. 22 and FC Tucson on Feb. 26. The Championship and Consolation games will be held on March 1.
The majority of the RSL squad trained today at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson. Defender Tony Beltran made his first return to the training field since RSL’s initial preseason camp in Casa Grande, Ariz. The only Claret-and-Cobalt players absent were Captain Kyle Beckerman and forward Alvaro Saborio - who are participating in an MLS media tour - and forward Robbie Findley, who is still recovering from knee surgery. Beckerman and Saborio are expected to rejoin the team midweek.
Monday’s training session was a light one with a focus on possession drills and small-sided games. RSL Head Coach Jeff Cassar stressed the importance of getting the players back on their feet and having some fun, but made it clear that the training sessions will begin to intensify throughout the week as the squad begins Desert Diamond Cup play on Wednesday.
Real Salt Lake will have a training session Tuesday morning and then take on New England Revolution on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. MT at Kino Sports Complex. RealSaltLake.com’s
Preseason Central
will provide a recap and highlights of Wednesday’s match along with further training coverage. The Claret-and-Cobalt’s matches against Colorado Rapids on Feb. 22 and FC Tucson on Feb. 26 will be streamed live on
RealSaltLake.com
.
