RSL Veterans Look Forward To Weekend Clash

The playoffs mean different things for different players.  In the Western Conference Finals there are two current Real Salt Lake players that spent last season with the opponent, New York Red Bulls:  Clint Mathis and Dema Kovalenko have each played for four different teams in Major League Soccer and are now seeing this year’s playoff run as an opportunity.  In the case of Kovalenko, the playoffs may allow his critics to see him in a different light.  For Clint Mathis, it’s a chance for him as a player to recapture the magic of the 2002 World Cup.
 
 When Kovalenko was traded to Real Salt Lake he wasn’t pleased.  “I didn’t want to be here,” Kovalenko revealed to Goal.com.  He obviously had an impression of the team.  Now his impression has changed, “we respect each other in the locker room and we are good to each other.”
 
The fiery Ukrainian realizes that many in and around Major League Soccer have an impression of him.  Dema has always been spirited, and has not shied away from making tough tackles.  Earlier in his career he was involved in two separate tackles that led to broken legs for his opponent.  The incidents, along with his aggressive style of play and his hyper-competitiveness led many to the conclusion that he was a dirty player. 
 
Kovalenko feels this impression is unfair.  “What happened in the past happens.  It’s soccer.  I had no intention of doing that," Kovalenko explained.
 
Fans of the teams that Kovalenko has played on have always been supportive of him, and he is usually a team favorite.  He explained that with each new team, fans have warmed up to him pretty quickly, “I don’t have a great reputation, but it means people respect what I do on the field."
 
Off the field Kovalenko is famous for having two surprising loves: babies and puppies.  His recently acquired puppy, Bentley, even has made an appearance with him on a local TV sports program.  And if any of his teammates have a baby, odds are that they have spent times in the arms of “Uncle Dema” on occasion. 
 
Now Kovalenko is hoping that this playoff run can help change his legacy in the eyes of those around the league that have that impression of him.  If not, he takes solace in what those around him know, “People that I care about, and people that know me – they love me, they know who I am, and what I bring.  That’s the most important thing.”
 
His teammate, Clint Mathis, has a reputation as well, but is less concerned about that, “People are going to have their opinions on me, no matter what it is – if it’s good or if it’s bad.  I don’t care about that.”  Instead, Mathis wants to get back to that era when he was at the top of his craft.
 
In the early 2000’s Mathis was riding high.  He had positive stints with both the LA Galaxy and the New York Metrostars, he was an important part of the US National team, and in 2004 he joined Hannover 96 where he was playing in the Bundesliga, one of the premier leagues in the world.  The highlight of his career came during this period, in 2002 at the World Cup, when he scored a goal against South Korea. 
 
Mathis is looking forward to winning it all, “My main focus is to win a championship," he explained.  He is not concerned about taking more of a bit role with Real Salt Lake as opposed to his high-profile roles in the past, “I don’t really care about that”. 
 
Mathis feels he can add a lot to his current team as they make this playoff run, he describes his role: “[I] just try to stay focused and keep possession of the ball.  I just concentrate on doing the dirty work here and there and try to fit into whatever helps the team the best.” 
 
The veteran player hopes that this, along with his general experience, will allow him to return to the level that he was at in the early 2000’s when he was playing high-level soccer on some of the world’s largest stages.  As to whether winning an MLS Cup will replace the World Cup goal as the highlight of his career, he insists not, “I don’t think that’s possible, but [it] would be close.”
 
For both of these veteran players they are on a quest.  That quest resumes on Saturday as Real Salt Lake and the New York Red Bulls go head-to-head for the right to a trip to the MLS Cup.
 
--Randy Davis, Goal.com