Real Salt Lake’s historic moment, CONCACAF Champions title up for grabs
It would be a monumental moment for Major League Soccer franchise http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Real-Salt-Lake-c40339 as they take on CF Monterrey in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final. The memorable fixture is scheduled to be staged at Rio Tinto on Wednesday, April 27.
The first leg, played at Estadio Tecnológico, ended in a stalemate 2—2 at the final whistle. The place is famous for being a nightmare for the visitors, however, the American club managed to cut the deficit and level the score line in the dying minutes of the game.
Garth Lagerwey, the Real General Manager, has described Wednesday’s wildly anticipated encounter as American soccer’s ‘Lake Placid Moment’.
The reason behind this hype is Major League Soccer’s first ever appearance in the final of the continental trophy and if things go as planned and Rio Tinto’s streak remains unbroken in the second leg, RSL will be the first ever American team to appear in the FIFA Club World Cup.
“That’s the opportunity that I think we have in front of us,” Lagerwey said while talking to media on Monday. “I think we have an event on that scale to put the world on notice that American soccer is taking another step forward.”
The Americans have the pedigree as they have surprised everyone on the International fronts. The US national team made it to the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals. In addition to that the team also made it to the 2009 Confederation Cup final while also appearing in the round-of-16 of the 2010 World Cup in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757. However, the Americans are also infamous for lacking in the offensive third.
“The US World Cup team got some press, but no matter how you view how that finished, everybody thought we could have beaten http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Monterrey-c39943 – if we don’t win this game.”
However, should the team etch its name on the CCL front, it would be a resemblance to a similar moment in the American sporting history; American Ice Hockey team ran through their Russian counterparts in the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. Under the supervision of legendary coach Herb Brooks, the Soviet Union were considered the greatest team of all time.
Jason Kreis can expect the same response from football fans in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/America-c38390 should his RSL win the second leg. With some of the best local youngsters, veterans and International stars, RSL houses strong players in every department. Time is now ripe for Kreis and his men to be considered the best in the region.
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