MLSsoccer.com’s John Bolster had an interesting bit on Real Salt Lake in his weekly Monday Postgame column, asking if the Claret-and-Cobalt’s star players have outstripped the club’s “Team is the Star” mantra.
Check out his take on RSL below. Click here for the full column.
"They’ve had a saying during the past few years at Real Salt Lake: The Team is the Star. It’s a motto that’s both reflected and sustained the club’s style and formula for success.
But one look at the lineup RSL put out against Houston on Saturday night – with US internationals Nick Rimando, Tony Beltran and Kyle Beckerman, crafty playmaker Javier Morales, dangerous speedsters Joao Plata and Olmes Garcia, and consistent goalscorer Alvaro Saborio – and you couldn’t help wonder if the saying should be tweaked to “a Team of Stars.”
Salt Lake are stacked with talent and increased depth; they’ve rebuilt their team without really missing a step, and they maintained their top spot in the Supporters’ Shield standings with a rugged 1-0 win over Houston that featured vital contributions from all of the aforementioned players (plus midfielder Ned Grabavoy, who’s having one of the best seasons of his career).
When you look at which team’s impact players might have the last word down the wide-open stretch run, you have to consider the superstars in LA, Seattle and New York, and you wouldn’t neglect the talent in KC or Portland, but the smart money may be on the lower-wattage, but plentiful stars of the current Supporters’ Shield leaders."
While we agree with Bolster that RSL has plenty of stars – we’d argue he forgot a few, in fact – Jason Kreis’s motto doesn’t need any tweaking. As has been detailed many different times this year, RSL's locker room is closer than ever this season. Not exactly a bad combo for such a talented group have such good chemistry. Smart money, indeed.
