Real Salt Lake eye next year to make up for a disappointing 2011 term – MLS News
Real Salt Lake experienced the good, the bad and the ugly in 2011 Major League Soccer season and 2010/11 CONCACAF Champions League. But the 3-1 Western Conference championship loss to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Los-Angeles-Galaxy-c39818 on Sunday, November 6, summarized their 2011 campaign
as a disappointment.
The Claret and Cobalt ran a very successful MLS season last year but lost to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/FC-Dallas-c39095 in the initial stage of the play-offs.
Comparing the 2010 season to the recent run in MLS season, head coach Jason Kreis said: “I’ll be honest, it feels the same, it really does. It shouldn’t. I know it shouldn’t. We did so many good things this year and we faced so many adversities, so many
difficult circumstances for the coaching staff, and the players, and this, that and the other.”
Although the defeat to the FCD was the worst result for the RSL in their four MLS years, the team’s performance on the CCL front eclipsed the play-offs beating.
However, this year was full of bittersweet events for the Royals. Their first fall was the loss of CCL title to CF http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Monterrey-c39943 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Then they also gave up the two-year undefeated hom run. Moreover, injuries had been one of the major concerns
for the coaching staff throughout the 2011 term.
The team lost their key midfielder and playmaker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Álvaro-Saborío-c5302 took the toll on the
RSL performances in the mid-season.
On the bright side, the team made it to third position in the Western Conference despite all losses. Moreover, the Claret and Cobalt qualified for the Conference final and secured the fourth and final berth in the 2012/13 CONCACAF Champions League.
“We’ve had two years of playing pretty good with no titles to show for it, and that’s disappointing, but I think we’ve got a really good team,” said General Manager Garth Lagerwey. “I think we performed as well as we could under the circumstances.”
Hopefully the team will overcome the 2011 disappointments next year when they commence their 2012 MLS season starting in March and will go places in the 2012/13 CCL campaign.
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