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Feature: RSL Confident Ahead Of Their Playoff Debut
On the eve of Real Salt Lake’s first-ever playoff game, coach Jason Kreis and several of the team’s veterans say they are not simply satisfied with a post-season appearance. They are thinking much bigger than that.
Oct 31, 2008 5:23:46 PM
By Randy Davis
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—On July 14, 2004, the formation of a new club here in Salt Lake City was announced. It would be called Real Salt Lake. Exactly four months later on November 14th, DC United was able to eke past the Kansas City Wizards to win the 2004 MLS Cup.
How do these two facts relate? Current RSL starters -- goalkeeper Nick Rimando and midfielder Dema Kovalenko -- were both an integral part of that MLS Cup-winning United team. One year prior to that, Real Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams fell just short of this accomplishment as his team at the time, the Chicago Fire, succumbed to the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2003 final.
There is no doubt that as Real Salt Lake embarks on their first ever playoff adventure – starting on Saturday night with a home match against Chivas USA – these three veterans will be a valuable source to draw upon.
Over the previous three seasons, the playoffs were mostly a pipe dream for RSL. Sure, they had a chance in 2006 and only ended up a few points short of accomplishing that goal. But they played above their ability for much of the last half of the season to get close, and nobody expected them to be there. This year the team feels that they deserve to be in the playoffs, despite needing a 90th minute goal by Yura Movsisyan in the final regular season match to get there.
An important part of the playoffs for this team will be attitude and mental toughness. Coach Jason Kreis wants the team to fight the urge to have a self-satisfied attitude or pat themselves on the back like just making the playoffs is enough. In fact, the boss sees no reason to think that they can’t go the entire distance and win the MLS Cup.
“We feel in our hearts that we can go all the way,” he told Goal.com this week. “I’m confident about this team. The goal is to win the whole thing.”
This, of course, is an ambition every coach should have, but most outsiders and pundits would scoff upon reading Kreis’s words.
Rimando, however, believes that this Real Salt Lake team does have what it takes to win it all. “[The 2004 DC United team] reminds me a little of this team,” he said. “We didn’t have the most points in the league, but we came together at the right time.”
And Kovalenko, Rimando’s teammate, both then and now, agrees. “The biggest thing is to believe,” he said. “We don’t have to change anything.”
The optimism and enthusiasm on the eve of the first playoff game is obvious, and it doesn’t appear to be mere lip service. RSL have endured a lot over the past four seasons to get to this point, but there are a lot of obstacles in the way, namely, Chivas USA and the Houston Dynamo. In addition, although several squad members have been in the playoffs before, they will need to address some of their weaknesses, such as consistent scoring and an inability to get results on the road.
“It’s gonna be different in the playoffs,” Williams predicted. “We’re not just happy to be in the playoffs. We are going to make noise this year.”
“It takes more concentration, more commitment, more fight, and the team that make the fewest mistakes is going to win”, chipped in Kovalenko.
If Real Salt Lake can make the adjustments quickly, they have the talent to be successful in these playoffs. If they don’t, the team will find themselves in a similar situation as the last three years: watching the MLS Cup from their couches.
Randy Davis covers Real Salt Lake for Goal.com.
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah—On July 14, 2004, the formation of a new club here in Salt Lake City was announced. It would be called Real Salt Lake. Exactly four months later on November 14th, DC United was able to eke past the Kansas City Wizards to win the 2004 MLS Cup.
How do these two facts relate? Current RSL starters -- goalkeeper Nick Rimando and midfielder Dema Kovalenko -- were both an integral part of that MLS Cup-winning United team. One year prior to that, Real Salt Lake midfielder Andy Williams fell just short of this accomplishment as his team at the time, the Chicago Fire, succumbed to the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2003 final.
There is no doubt that as Real Salt Lake embarks on their first ever playoff adventure – starting on Saturday night with a home match against Chivas USA – these three veterans will be a valuable source to draw upon.
Over the previous three seasons, the playoffs were mostly a pipe dream for RSL. Sure, they had a chance in 2006 and only ended up a few points short of accomplishing that goal. But they played above their ability for much of the last half of the season to get close, and nobody expected them to be there. This year the team feels that they deserve to be in the playoffs, despite needing a 90th minute goal by Yura Movsisyan in the final regular season match to get there.
An important part of the playoffs for this team will be attitude and mental toughness. Coach Jason Kreis wants the team to fight the urge to have a self-satisfied attitude or pat themselves on the back like just making the playoffs is enough. In fact, the boss sees no reason to think that they can’t go the entire distance and win the MLS Cup.
“We feel in our hearts that we can go all the way,” he told Goal.com this week. “I’m confident about this team. The goal is to win the whole thing.”
This, of course, is an ambition every coach should have, but most outsiders and pundits would scoff upon reading Kreis’s words.
Rimando, however, believes that this Real Salt Lake team does have what it takes to win it all. “[The 2004 DC United team] reminds me a little of this team,” he said. “We didn’t have the most points in the league, but we came together at the right time.”
And Kovalenko, Rimando’s teammate, both then and now, agrees. “The biggest thing is to believe,” he said. “We don’t have to change anything.”
The optimism and enthusiasm on the eve of the first playoff game is obvious, and it doesn’t appear to be mere lip service. RSL have endured a lot over the past four seasons to get to this point, but there are a lot of obstacles in the way, namely, Chivas USA and the Houston Dynamo. In addition, although several squad members have been in the playoffs before, they will need to address some of their weaknesses, such as consistent scoring and an inability to get results on the road.
“It’s gonna be different in the playoffs,” Williams predicted. “We’re not just happy to be in the playoffs. We are going to make noise this year.”
“It takes more concentration, more commitment, more fight, and the team that make the fewest mistakes is going to win”, chipped in Kovalenko.
If Real Salt Lake can make the adjustments quickly, they have the talent to be successful in these playoffs. If they don’t, the team will find themselves in a similar situation as the last three years: watching the MLS Cup from their couches.
Randy Davis covers Real Salt Lake for Goal.com.
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