If Albert Rusnák’s initial trip to Salt Lake City in early January was a whirlwind, then his next stateside venture must have felt like something in the realm of a tornado.
After three weeks back home in Slovakia, Rusnák joined Real Salt Lake in training camp in Tucson, Arizona, for his first day of training on Monday, just one day after traveling 24 hours to meet up with his new club on Sunday.
“It was great finally to be on the pitch. After the paperwork and my recent trip to sign the contract – that’s all nice. But the best thing is to be on the pitch with all of the players,” Rusnák said from Tucson on Monday. “I was looking forward to this moment for a long time and today it was here. It was a good first session. I still have a bit of jet lag and I’m a bit tired, but that will all go away pretty soon.”
The 22-year-old attacking midfielder was only a week behind his RSL teammates, who spent the first days of training camp in Casa Grande, Arizona, doing fitness work. However, Rusnák had been doing some fitness work of his own since signing with Real Salt Lake on January 6. After flying around the world to sign his contract and get introduced to local media in Utah, he returned to Slovakia and trained in the hills with FC Lokomotiva Kosice, a club coached by his father.
Once all of his paperwork and visa documents were completed Rusnák again flew to the other side of the globe to connect with Real Salt Lake in Arizona. Four flights and 23 hours later, he was in Tucson and ready to train for the first time in claret and cobalt.
“His touch on the ball and his soccer IQ are great. Today was a tough day. We were working on a few things and he probably didn’t get as many touches on the ball as he’d want, but I think his legs were a little heavy from the travel,” Head Coach Jeff Cassar said. “I think it was great for him to get in with the guys and start to integrate himself.”
Rusnák will continue to adjust to his new team, as well as the jet lag that comes with world travels, and RSL will let him take things slowly as the club prepares for the season opener at Rio Tinto Stadium on March 4 against Toronto FC.
However, the young midfielder was eager as ever to get in with his new compatriots.
“The guys are pretty strong. There are some real athletes on the team and that stands out,” he said. “The facilities are great. The weather’s perfect. So far, so good.”
RSL will face the New York Red Bulls in a preseason match Tuesday at 11 a.m. MT with a live stream of the match at RSL.com. Rusnák is not expected to play in that match, but could see time when RSL takes on the San Jose Earthquakes in Tucson on Friday.
