Whenever a new player joins a team, regardless of his skillset, there can be an adjustment period as that player learns about his club, his teammates, the league and the city that they are playing in.
With the signing of Juan Manuel Martinez, Real Salt Lake will do its best to expedite that integration process, but Head Coach Jeff Cassar is confident that with his style of play and his experience playing with Velez Sarsfield and Boca Juniors in Argentina, he won’t take long to fit in to the RSL locker room.
“He’s an experienced player. He’s been successful at every club that he’s stopped at. Former Argentine National Team player. He’s going to fit the style we want to play perfectly,” Cassar said in an interview with The Bill & OC Show on ESPN 700. “There’s always going to be an adjustment period. But I think with the players that we have on our team, it should make it a lot easier for Juan. Obviously we have a lot of South American’s on our team – a few from Argentina – so I think that’s going to make him comfortable. He’s an experienced player, a really smart player, and plays that winger position exactly how we want it to be played.”
RSL added another Designated Player from Argentina last year in Sebastian Jaime. While it took him time to adjust to the style of play in MLS, Cassar attributes that more to the league he came from in Chile and thinks that Martinez will have a quicker adjustment because of the style of play in Argentina, where he has played the majority of his 13 professional seasons.
“Sebastian came from the Chilean league, which is a much different league than MLS,” Cassar said. “The Argentine league is very technical, but they also are very high-paced. They do get into tackles, so I would anticipate Juan coming in a lot more up-to-speed through the way the leagues play.”
Depending on visa paperwork, Martinez could join the team as soon as next week and has been training with Velez Sarsfield in Argentina, so Cassar expects a quick turnaround from when he arrives to when he first takes the field in the Claret-and-Cobalt.
“We need to get him here, get him integrated with the guys on the team and get him up to speed on exactly how we want to play,” Cassar said. “But again, this is a player who’s very experienced, so I would think his soccer IQ is going to really help him out. And with the players we have on the team, I think that’s going to help him out as well.”
To hear the full interview with Cassar, click here.
