Kyle Beckerman has been a cornerstone around which Real Salt Lake has built a formidable team over the last eight seasons. Through all the change around him, though, he has helped maintain the same standard of excellence on the Wasatch front.
In his weekly interview on ESPN 700 on the Bill and OC Show on Monday, he reiterated that the standard hasn’t changed with the departures of so many key players and a change in formation in 2015.
“I’m looking forward to getting after this year and making sure that Real Salt Lake is who we are. That’s a steady team competing for everything out there. That’s what our fans expect and that’s what we as players work hard to make sure the expectations are met,” Beckerman said. “We don’t want to take steps back, that’s for sure. We want to take this new formation and push Real Salt Lake forward and see if we can give another run at all the championships. With the staff we’ve got and the players we have, there’s no reason we can’t.”
Saturday’s scoreless draw in Portland was the first step in ensuring that the club maintains its course for the season. A strong defensive performance made up for a lackluster offensive output, as RSL managed just two shots on goal in the match. With the defense blocking nine Portland shots and Nick Rimadno saving five more, RSL showed that it will make the commitment on the defensive end, regardless of how things are shaping up offensively.
“We set the bar on Saturday with how we’re going to have to fight. We’ll have to battle. If we can make sure that’s the standard for us, the offense will start to come,” he said. “We want it to come as quick as possible, but until it does we’ll keep working, keep fighting, and then it will come around and we’ll start scoring some goals.”
Beckerman admitted that it was difficult, initially, to switch out of the diamond formation that had been such a success for Real Salt Lake through the years, but that RSL has a smart enough team to make that transition work, as well as any transition that would take place if there are further formation changes.
“I think we have smart enough players and good enough players that we can really adjust and if we wanted to play the diamond we could,” he said. “It’s about getting good players and people that have a soccer brain. If you do that, then it really shouldn’t be a big deal what formation you go to. You should be able to adjust it and play well.”
To hear Beckerman’s full interview, click here.
