Luis Gil readily admits that he doesn’t hold the most objective viewpoint on the matter, but he thinks that Rio Tinto Stadium is the ideal site for the semifinal and final Olympic qualifying matches that will take place at Real Salt Lake’s home stadium in October.
“Maybe I’m biased because I play here a lot, but I love it,” Gil grinned after learning that CONCACAF made the announcement on Thursday. “From the pitch to the fans. It’s going to be a great crowd and it’s going to be a great experience.”
Rio Tinto Stadium has hosted U.S. Men’s National Team matches in the past, including World Cup qualifying matches for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments and the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2013. Now adding the possibility of hosting the U.S. again in the final two rounds of the Olympic qualifying tournament is another opportunity to showcase the stadium and fan support offered on the Wasatch front, but also provide the fans with an opportunity to see some of the top young players from North and Central America compete for the chance to play in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“It will be very good for U.S. Soccer to see how Utah is from a soccer perspective. I’m excited for it,” Gil said.
For Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar, the chance at seeing Gil captain his U-23 national team at his home stadium is a special one. Gil has developed at Real Salt Lake since he first signed with the club at 16 years old back in 2010. In that time, he has seen success in numerous competitions, reaching the MLS Cup final, CONCACAF Champions League final and U.S. Open Cup final. However, leading the U.S. to the Olympics would be a new accomplishment altogether.
“Any time you can play in front of your home fans and represent your country at the same time it’s a special thing,” Cassar said. “I know Luis is going to represent our country and club well and we look forward to them finishing off the qualifying process.”
Gil has captained the U.S. U-23 National Team in recent competitions, including three matches already this year. IN those three matches, the Real Salt Lake midfielder has tallied four assists as the U.S. stormed to a 5-2 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina and a 3-0 win over Mexico. The other match was a 1-0 defeat to Denmark.
In the qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympics, the U.S. failed to get out of the Group Stage, going 1-1-1 as Mexico and Honduras went on to represent the region in London. Thus far, the team has looked impressive under Head Coach Andreas Herzog in the qualifying cycle though and they know not to take the tournament for granted.
“We’ve got to take care of business,” Gil said. “Obviously we’re still preparing, but little by little I’ve been seeing the team and I feel like we’ve got a really good shot at it. At the same time, we’ve got to be pushing ourselves and working hard for it.”
The Olympic qualifying tournament runs from October 1-13, with Group Stage matches being held at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado and the StubHub Center in California. The semifinal and final matches will be held October 10 and 13 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
