To preview Saturday's match at Rio Tinto Stadium, I interviewed Real Salt Lake TV broadcaster Brian Dunseth.
Real Salt Lake lost several key players in the offseason (Will Johnson, Jamison Olave, Fabian Espindola) and many expected it might be a bit of a rebuilding year fo the club. What's been the key to the team's success this season?
"It's credit to Jason Kreis and Garth Lagerway. I think it was kind of a blessing in disguise not making CONCACAF Champions League for the knockout round. I think what it did is it forced them to kind of ramp up, because of that salary cap limitation and not having that little bit of buffer, to re-evaluate. You have guys like Will Johnson, Fabian Espindola, and Jamison Olave that are all on big money. Will Johnson held the most value because of his age and Portland and a few other teams were very interested. Fabian and Jamison both ended up going to New York. Not only do you recover the salary that you're spending but you also bring in allocation money. What Jason and Garth did a great job of is they identified the possibility of bringing Robbie Findley back, an incredibly talanted young player in Joao Plata, and then the big young Colombian Olmes Garcia. What a break out year he's had (Garcia) because I don't think much was expected from the young Colombian at first. But then also solidifying the backline. You see young players having that opportunity to step up. Luis Gil's stepping up, Sebastian Velasquez is stepping up, Carlos Salcedo is stepping up. Adding a guy like Khari Stephenson, adding a guy like Josh Saunders. I think what RSL has done over the years is they've taken guys that for one reason or another financially just couldn't make it work with another team and really slid them seamlessly into the lineup and the locker room. With the announcement earlier this week, it looks like they're going to be getting that with Brandon McDonald. I think they have a good club philosophy. They have a good structure and a good policy. Because it's a small market team and because historically they haven't been able to go out and get Designated Players even though Saborio is what I call the unintended Designatd Player just because of his acquisition fee. They've done a very very good job of identifying talent and identifying talent that has the same mental makeup as the group inside that locker room."
What were the expectations for Olmes Garcia when he was signed and what's impressed you the most about his play this season?
"Expectations, I don't think a lot. I think in the beginning Jason was willling to allow him the time to develop. Allow him the time to learn and be taught the system because its a very unique system. The 4-4-2 in the diamond is for me as unique as what Peter Vermes employs in Kansas City with the 4-3-3. It takes a while to understand what you're trying to accomplish, what the rules are, and what the expectations are for each individual game. For Olmes coming in, he has this thousand kilowatt smile when he's off the field. He's got an infectious personality but the moment that the whistle blows he has this workrate that is very rarely seen from a young player and much less a striker. When you watch Olmes Garcia, you're incredibly impressed by his individual talent, his technique, his technical ability, but what's even more impressive for me is his committment off the ball. His running off the ball offensively. His tracking back defensively. More often than not throughout the course of a game you'll see him make four or five 50 yard runs tracking back players defensively and going down for a tackle. He, for me and I know this sounds super homerish because I'm the home team broadcaster, but for me Olmes Garcia is the most exciting young player in this league at this moment. If you get to watch him on a consistent basis, you'll fall in love with the style of play and I think more people don't know about him unfortunately just because Real Salt Lake doesn't play on national television that often."
What are your thoughts on Sporting KC and what you've seen from them this season?
"I've been a long admirer and public admirer of what Peter Vermes has done, what the ownership has done, and what the team has done on the field. I think that they are the most athletic team in Major League Soccer. They have a grit and a bite to their style that they play but they also have a fluidity in attack that's so incredibly impressive. When I sit down with Peter, and I have over the years on multiple occasions, you listen to his philosophy and his approach in a one-on-one setting you can't help but be drawn into that infectious appetite and attitude. I think that he's got the players to pull off a high-pressure system. He's got the players and an identity to go in with a no apologies kind of style. I think this year in the beginning it was a feeling out period with a couple of guys from last year's team away in the early part of the season, in particular Kei Kamara. Re-evaluating some of the personnel in the locker room and on the field and allowing some of the younger players to get a chance. And seeing what a guy like Soony Saad has done with a limited role and how quickly he's come on this year while watching Dom Dwyer go on loan and come back on fire. Then allowing C.J. Sapong to go out and find his form. It was a feeling out period with some of the new players but it's still for me the best team in the Eastern Conference hands down."
What are your thoughts on Saturday's match and what will be key for both sides?
"I think for Sporting KC they need to figure out a way to limit the possession that Real Salt Lake is known for, especially at altitude. It's pretty warm out here right now, obviously not as warm as in Kansas City, but when your'e chasing at altitude for long stretches fatigue starts to set in. It's going to be a physical battle. These two teams just don't like each other. I think you'll see a lot of hard tackles. A lot of serious tackles in the midfield with both teams really digging in and getting stuck in trying to assert themselves. There's a lot of speed and a lot of athleticism and I think what this game could come down to is individual mistakes defensively and which team can punish those mistakes. There's a lot of athleticism in the attack for both sides and it will be very interesting to see how the first 15-20 minutes of this game kind of lays itself out. For me, it's the best matchup currently in the league. It's the ideal matchup that you could possibly have. Two teams that want to play, that want to keep the ball on the ground, are committed on both sides of the ball, and very comfortable with high pressing. It could be a game that's really tight at times but then it could be a game that opens up on the counterattack very easily if the shape isn't a major concern defensively."
