There is a changing tide in Major League Soccer when it comes to how teams approach the Designated Player rule. Of the 57 players occupying DP slots in the league in 2017, 11 of them were 23 years old or younger. As the league shifts to younger rising stars, it gives fans across the league a chance to catch talented players on their way to stardom, as opposed to the previously popular method of bringing players in in the final years of their careers.
Real Salt Lake has found itself on the forefront of that evolution with Albert Rusnák and Jefferson Savarino – the latter of whom was brought in on a full-time basis on Thursday after spending the 2017 season on loan from Zulia in his native Venezuela. In exercising the purchase option on Savarino, who was the youngest Designated Player in MLS in 2017, RSL further emphasized its focus on developing exciting young players who can serve as valuable assets on the field and in the transfer market if there comes a time when they are transferred abroad.
“It’s a huge step in the process we’ve been going through and a huge commitment from our owner that exemplifies where we are in the state of soccer in the United States but also individually as a club,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. “We are in the process of successfully redesigning and redefining who we are and Jefferson is a huge part of it.”
Savarino finished the season with six goals and five assists in 22 matches, along with making his senior international debut for Venezuela in a friendly against the United States at Rio Tinto Stadium. That success came amidst a whirlwind season that also saw him called in to his national team for World Cup Qualifying matches.
His dynamic play on the field exemplified a free-flowing RSL attack that also featured Rusnák, Joao Plata and Luis Silva – essentially four interchangeable parts that worked in concert to pose a dangerous and explosive offense in the second half of the season when RSL went 8-3-4 over the final 15 matches.
That interchange created havoc for defenses who struggled to game plan against specific players because they frequently played from such different positions on the field. Four players from four different countries, the quartet was able to exploit the imbalances their movement created. That interchange was evident with his combinations with Rusnák despite sometimes being limited in their communication.
“I have been impressed with the communication that I had with (Albert), with Plata, with Luis, it has been very important. We always understand each other on the field,” Savarino said through a translator. “Little by little he’ll be learning my movements. Despite the fact that I don’t speak English and he doesn’t speak Spanish on the field we understand each other very well.”
Although he missed preseason after coming to RSL via loan in May, he finished among RSL’s top scorers. Now more familiar with his teammates, Head Coach Mike Petke and the Utah community, he is poised to come back even stronger in 2018.
“I’m happy with this season, but I’m a person who is not content with what I have accomplished,” he said. “I talked with the coach and he told me some things that I need to improve on. I will prepare the best that I can during our time off to keep growing as person and as a professional.”
U-23 Designated Players in 2017
Atlanta United
Miguel Almiron, 23
Hector Villalba, 23
D.C. United
Paul Arriola, 22
FC Dallas
Anibal Chala, 21
Cristian Colman, 23
Carlos Gruezo, 22
Houston Dynamo
Alberth Elis, 21
Tomas Martinez, 22
Orlando City
Carlos Rivas, 23
Real Salt Lake
Albert Rusnák, 23
Jefferson Savarino, 20
