SANDY, Utah – There’s no doubt that Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis has strong beliefs about the way in which he would like to see the game of soccer played. Not only does he want to be successful in a results sense, but he also wants to win with an attractive, flowing style.
HIGHLIGHTS: SKC 1, RSL 0
So is Kreis a fan of the style implemented by Sporting Kansas City, who topped RSL 1-0 over the weekend in a matchup between arguably the two best teams in the league so far this season?
“No, I’m not. I think that it’s an overly physical style,” Kreis told Salt Lake-based ESPN700 Sports Radio on Tuesday. “I think that it relies on being a very disruptive game. There’s not much rhythm to any game that you watch that they play in. I don’t feel like they create a ton of their own chances. I feel like they are picking up a lot of chances off of winning the ball in the opponents' half of the field.”
Kreis did acknowledge, however, that the tactics are working for Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes, no matter the impact on the aesthetic quality of the game.
“I will say this – it’s proving to be extremely effective right now,” Kreis said. “Over the second half of last season and the first six matches, they’ve won a lot of games. And that is [ultimately what dictates] whether you are successful or not. It’s not always whether you play pretty soccer, it’s how many wins you can tuck into your belt, and they’re doing that very well.”
Just don’t expect to see RSL adopt a similar brand of soccer anytime soon.
