Is Real Salt Lake For Real?

For the first time since the World Cup last Summer I plan on watching a live soccer game on TV on Wednesday night!  That's right, I'll pass up the NBA Playoffs, a Yankees game, and even the NHL Playoffs (ok, maybe that's not too hard) to watch Real Salt Lake take on the four-time Mexican League champion, Monterrey, in the second leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Finals (CONCACAF is the soccer group of all professional teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean).  Real Salt Lake and Monterrey tied 2-2 last week in Monterrey, which means that Real Salt Lake needs a win or at worst a 0-0 or 1-1 tie in order to advance to the FIFA Club World Cup.  If Real Salt Lake advances, it will become the first Major League Soccer team to qualify and advance to the FIFA Club World Cup, where it would go up against the champions from the other major soccer confederations from all over the world in December.

Real Salt Lake's Javier Morales (left) scored the game-tying goal in the
89th minute versus Monterrey last week to give RSL the advantage
heading into Wednesday's second leg of the Championship Final.

"We haven't had that Lake Placid moment for U.S. soccer," Real Salt Lake general manager Garth Lagerway said, referring to the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" for the U.S. Olympic hockey team.  "That's the opportunity we have in front of us.  We have an event to put the world on notice that American soccer has taken another step forward."

The comparison would not be as outlandish as it sounds on the surface.  Real Salt Lake has one of the lowest payrolls in the MLS ($2.6 million for all 26 players) and will faceoff against a Monterrey team that has multiple millionaires and national team members.  The Mexican team will feel like they are playing on ice after leaving the warm-weather environment in Monterrey to head up north to Salt Lake to play at night in the lovely Utah winter April weather.  Whether it has been cold or warm, however, Real Salt Lake has been playing exceptional soccer at home currently riding a 37-game winning streak at Rio Tinto Stadium.  All American soccer fans are hoping that Real Salt Lake can bring the heat and send the MLS Champion to take on the world.

In unrelated soccer news, this link shows you to one of the nastiest broken leg injuries I have ever seen.  Disclaimer: Do not watch or listen to it if you have eaten within the last 30 minutes.