If Javier Morales is in the twilight of his career, Father Time forgot to tell him.
The 35-year-old Argentine midfielder played as well as he ever has in 2014, his eighth season with Real Salt Lake, netting nine goals and 12 assists in 30 matches. Those marked career highs in goals, games and minutes played and his assist total was the second best total in his career.
"I feel proud. I'm getting older every year and that was my best season in numbers. That's pretty good," said Morales with the wide grin that has become synonymous with his dynamic play in RSL's midfield. "I worked hard every day, in every training, to do that, so I'm very happy."
Morales may be happy now, but it hasn't come without some trials and tribulations along the way. Originally signed by RSL in August of 2007 after one season in Spain's second division with UD Vecindario, Morales was 27 years old and hoping for a short stint in the league to boost his profile.
In his first months in Utah, he was alone - his wife and seven-month-old baby back home in Argentina because they couldn't get visas right away. In his first match he played in front of an empty set of bleachers against a college opponent.
On the field, he was producing, finishing the 2008 season with six goals and 15 assists in 29 matches despite his distaste in his home playing surface at the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium. However, he was a bit disenchanted with his experience.
"In the beginning when I came here, the league wasn't as professional as right now. We were training in Rice-Eccles. We didn't have our own field or our own locker room and we were playing on turf. I didn't know if I wanted to stay," Morales said. "But every year it has been improving. We have our own facilities. The league is growing up. Now, I think I'm in a place where I want to be."
Quickly, many of his issues were remedied. RSL moved into Rio Tinto Stadium at the end of the 2008 season and started training at its own training facilities. It was building its own identity and Morales was a central figure to that transformation along with mainstays Nick Rimando and Kyle Beckerman.
What started in front of barren stands in a friendly is now an experience unto itself at Rio Tinto Stadium, where RSL saw club record crowds that exceeded the capacity of the stadium with attendance averaging 20,351.
Someday, Morales said, that fact will sink in for him. However, now he is solely focused on helping Real Salt Lake make the playoffs for an eighth consecutive season.
"I know that I'm part of it, but I don't feel like getting that credit is important. Everyone in the team feels a part of it," Morales said. "In a few years when I'm retired, I will be proud of what I've done for Real and for the league."
Before he starts thinking about retirement, Morales has other things in mind. Namely, proving people wrong.
"I'm 35 and people say I'm getting old. That's motivating for me," Morales said. "I want to show that I can still play at a high level."
Real Salt Lake opens the 2015 season on the road on March 7 against the Portland Timbers before returning to Rio Tinto Stadium for the home opener on March 14 against the Philadelphia Union.
