Starting XI mainstay and defender Tony Beltran reintroduced himself to the starting group against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium. Forced to miss the last 10 matches while battling calf and back injuries, Beltran reminded RSL fans on Saturday why he has now featured in 225 matches for the club by going the full 90 minutes in RSL’s shutout win against the Union.
After the match Beltran was all smiles as he reiterated his drive to step back onto the field.
“I’ve been waiting to work with Mike (Petke) and work with my teammates,” said the two-time MLS All-Star defender. “It feels phenomenal to be back and contributing again, to be back playing soccer and it was a great start to the second half of my season this year.”
In the 36th minute of the match, Beltran sprung the counter attack that would lead to the game-winning goal by Joao Plata. It was one immeasurable aspect of his own performance as he spoke of the importance of hard work in all facets of the game.
“It’s just working hard. I didn’t do anything else. Joao and Jefferson did everything else on that play. That goal is phenomenal, maybe a goal of the year candidate,” Beltran said.
On his road to recovery, Beltran played the first half for Real Monarchs in a USL match against the Colorado Switchbacks, going 45 minutes on May 20 as part of his continued rehabilitation and reintroduction into the first team. Although the road to recovery took several weeks, the rehabilitation was more grueling mentally as the thought of returning to action with the first team beckoned.
With RSL’s nagging injury bug steadily dissipating, Beltran’s sight in his famed number 2 shirt at the right back position were a welcome sight for the home fans as they cheered him onto the field for warmups. In Tony’s absence RSL have had five different players fill in the right-back spot and with an important stretch of matches coming up in Texas, his return came as a welcome one for Head Coach Mike Petke.
“He has played in this stadium, he has played with this team for so long to get him back, the leadership that he brings and the experience that he brought, he calmed things down for sure. And he is clean on the ball, and I think just when we talk about a process getting these players back we are taking a step in the right direction with Tony back,” Petke said after the win.
Now having featured in 225 total matches for the Claret-and-Cobalt since being drafted third overall by RSL in 2008, Beltran has spent the entirety of his professional career in Sandy developing an image of professionalism both on and off the field.
Beltran will expect to feature in the team’s upcoming matches as RSL heads south to Texas to face off against the Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas on May 31 and June 3, respectively.
