When Yura Movsisyan first arrived in Salt Lake City in his return to Real Salt Lake in January, coming on loan from Spartak Moscow in Russia, it didn’t take long for him to discover that it wasn’t the same club that he left in 2009 when he departed to play with Randers in Denmark.
The club had grown exponentially and had a prominent presence downtown, where he was introduced at a press conference at RSL’s new downtown team store. That feeling of growth was emphasized by the giant billboard announcing his return to Real Salt Lake, beaming over the busy streets and welcoming him back to the city and club where he won MLS Cup in 2009.
All of those things confirmed what he already believed – that Salt Lake City was home and that Real Salt Lake was the club he wanted to play for.
“I came in here with the thought of making it permanent,” Movsisyan said on Tuesday on ESPN 700’s Bill Riley Show, one day after the club announced his permanent transfer from Spartak. “From Day 1 I knew where I wanted to be and I wanted to make sure that I worked hard enough to earn the deal.”
Movsisyan share’s the club’s goal-scoring lead with nine goals, sharing the lead with Joao Plata in a spread out scoring load that has also seen Juan Manuel Martinez score seven goals this season. His presence and output have been key in turning Real Salt Lake around after missing the playoffs in 2015.
But even for his personal successes, he can still be critical enough of his own play to know that he can contribute more.
“I wouldn’t say it has gone fantastic. I have higher standards and I expect more of myself,” he said. “In terms of the team, I think we need to get a bit more to the team and the coaching staff to turn it around after last season and being at the top.”
It didn’t take long for Movsisyan to find his legs in the league that he called home from 2006-2009 with the Kansas City Wizards (now Sporting Kansas City) and RSL. After scoring in all three June appearances, he was named Etihad Airways MLS Player of the Month. However, his scoring has cooled recently, a struggle compounded by injury.
Movsisyan was limited to just 14 minutes in the last two matches due to a bone bruise in his heel. He has worked his way back into training and while he said last week that it was still bothersome, he won’t let that be a hindrance to his availability on Sunday when Real Salt Lake hosts Sporting Kansas City in the regular season home finale.
“That’s no excuse for me. I’m going to be ready to play,” he said. “I’m going to be ready to do everything I can on the field and get the result. As a team, you get in the playoffs and it’s a whole new game.”
RSL has two matches remaining on the regular season schedule, starting with Sunday’s penultimate match and finishing in Seattle against the Sounders on October 23. To finish strong and drive toward the postseason, RSL will need to break out of a five-match winless run in which the club has scored just one goal in the last two matches.
“We have to finish better. There’s no two ways about it. There’s not running away from it. We have to finish better. The second part is we have to defend well as a team. That means all 11 players,” he said. “We just need to do a better job collectively of scoring goals and defending.”
To hear the full interview, click here.
