The winter is the time to dream, and today, I am closing my eyes and letting my soccer-obsessed mind wander into uncharted territory. For today, I truly believe that this season Real Salt Lake will, for the first time in their history, make the MLS Cup Playoffs. Here's a First XI that's 100 percent Real. Here are the reasons why RSL will reach the Promised Land in 2008:
11. Garth. Easily the best interview in MLS history. Garth Lagerwey is clever, funny, smart and, at times ... silly. I root hard for Garth because from Day One in MLS he was a guy who "got it." He knew there was a league to sell and that personalities were key to making people want to follow the league. Now he's the man calling the shots in Salt Lake. He's already got a captive audience in RSL's fanbase, now he's just got to help put the pieces in place to produce a few more Ws.
10. Kreis. I look at the way RSL performed down the stretch in September and October, when every game was a one-goal battle, and have to believe that was an indication that Jason Kreis had finally gotten through to his team. It must have been a tough call for Kreis to trade in his boots for a jacket and tie (gotta believe he's the league's best dressed coach), but once he made the move, it seemed like he poured his entire heart and soul into trying to make his team better. You had to like the team's effort. And you have to like Kreis' chances of having an even-greater impact with a full preseason at the helm.
9. Joy. I do not know much about Ian Joy, but he played for St. Pauli FC, which (based on my experience living in Hamburg during the 2006 World Cup) had to be a trip. I also know he has his own website, www.ianjoy.com, so that has to count for something. Seriously, this is a name we've been reading on the internet since the days when Al Gore was still working out the kinks. He was a Yank Abroad before there was Yanks-Abroad. It will be fun to finally watch this guy perform.
8. Ritchie. Sure makes a guy feel old when he glances down the roster and sees that Ritchie Kotschau is the oldest player on an MLS roster. It's now been 10 years since Ritchie (for years I thought the "t" in his name was a typo) debuted for the Chicago Fire, scoring a goal in their first ever victory and helping them to the 1998 championship. Now he's the Old Guy. Unbelievable. Anyway, I believe things go in cycles and Kotschau, who's now about the same age as guys like Peter Nowak and Lubos Kubik were when he was a rookie, is ready to play the grizzled vet on the first RSL team to make it to the playoffs. That, and he's a good guy.
7. Robbie. Last June, when RSL traded Chris Klein to LA for Robbie Findley and Nathan Sturgis, I said, "Hmmm." After watching Findley score six goals in just 11 starts for RSL, I could not help but feel that Salt Lake had made one of the season's best trades. And that's no knock on Klein, who is a player I've always rated highly. It's that Findley looks to have the stuff of a top MLS forward, and that could be something LA sorely misses in the years after Klein hangs em up.
6. The Other Becks. Here was another good trade for RSL, picking up Kyle Beckerman for Mehdi Ballouchy in July. Beckerman has been one of the better deep midfielders in the league for the past three or four seasons and now, he gives Kreis a player who, at 25, is a potential captain. Beckerman is one of the league's better long-range shooters, is a better than average passer, and helped Colorado to the playoffs for four consecutive seasons. Down the stretch last year, when RSL stayed in the playoff hunt, they seemed to feed off of Beckerman. I have a feeling this is about to become his team.
5. Fabian. One of the more exciting additions to the league last year was Fabian Espindola, who joined RSL late, but still managed two goals and two assists in just eight starts. If Fabian and Findley can learn to feed off each other, they could be one of the more exciting strike tandems in the league. Kreis has to love Fabian's goal celebration, too. If you haven't seen it, you'll have to check the highlights and you'll see what I mean.
4. Seitz. He'll have to beat out veteran Nick Rimando to earn the No. 1 job, but based on his performance in the Under-20 World Cup last summer, you have to believe Chris Seitz, all 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds of him, is on his way to becoming a big star in MLS. He's got a chance to become for RSL what Brad Guzan has become for Chivas. And that's a 'keeper who can win a game all by himself.
3. Toughness. Kreis, by his own admission, had to push his squad harder last year than it was used to getting pushed. But I think his persistence has paid off. Again, I look at the second half of last season and, even as RSL wasn't getting a ton of wins, they were always a tough out. As I stated before, of their final 10 games, none were decided by more than one goal. All those close games will pay dividends for RSL in 2008.
2. Stadium. They are supposed to be opening up their new stadium (which looks beautiful, by the way) in the fall, which will be just in time for RSL's playoff run. Salt Lake area fans will fill the place and push Kreis' men over the top. After a year of pounding it on the old turf at Rice Eccles, moving into the new digs will provide RSL with the lift it needs to forge on into the postseason.
1. It's Time. Go ahead, name a team that missed the playoffs in each of its first four MLS seasons. That's right. You can't. It's also true that no team prior to RSL had ever missed the playoffs in its first three seasons, but that's getting nit-picky. It's just time. See you in October.
Jeff Bradley is a senior writer for ESPN The Magazine. Send your comments and complaints (200 words or less, please) to Jeff at jbradleyespn2003@yahoo.com and he promises to read (but not respond to) all of them. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.
