2010 Real Salt Lake season explained

Club:Real Salt Lake
Season:2010
Stadium:Rio Tinto Stadium
League:Major League Soccer
League Result:2nd
Chrtitle:Owner
Chairman:SCP Worldwide
Mgrtitle:Coach
Manager:Jason Kreis
League Topscorer: Álvaro Saborío
Season Topscorer: Álvaro Saborío (18)
Highest Attendance:20,463 vs Cruz Azul
(October 19)
Lowest Attendance:11,579 vs Toronto
(September 15)
Average Attendance:18,764
Largest Win:RSL 5-0 NE (7/2)
Largest Loss:DAL 3-1 RSL (7/17)
Cup1:MLS Cup
Cup1 Result:Conf. Semifinals
Cup2:U.S. Open Cup
Cup2 Result:Did not qualify
Cup3:CONCACAF Champions League
Cup3 Result:Finals
Cup4:Carolina Challenge Cup
Cup4 Result:Runners-up
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American:true
Prevseason:2009
Nextseason:2011

The 2010 Real Salt Lake season was the sixth year of the club's existence. It was also the sixth year for the club in Major League Soccer and the sixth-consecutive year for the club in the top-flight of American soccer.

Real Salt Lake entered the 2010 MLS season as the defending MLS Cup champions, and participated additionally in the CONCACAF Champions League and played play-in propers of the U.S. Open Cup. During 2010, the club had the most success ever in its history, finishing second place in Major League Soccer, as well as becoming the first American-based club to win a Champions League group; in which they won Group A with a 4–1–1 record. Salt Lake played two play in propers of the Open Cup before eventually falling out against D.C. United.

In the MLS Cup playoffs, Salt Lake was paired against FC Dallas, the eventual Cup runners-up, where the Royals fell 3–2 on aggregate in the quarterfinals.

Overview

March

Real Salt Lake opened the season with a 3–0 road victory against San Jose.
MLS: 1-0-0, 3 points, 3 goals for, 0 goals against

April

RSL began April with a 2–1 loss to Houston, losing after the Dynamo earned two penalty kicks just a minute apart. Upon heading back to Sandy, they played to a 2–2 draw against Seattle, with Álvaro Saborío scoring the equalizer in second half stoppage time, in front of a full stadium with a crowd over 20,000. A week later, they headed to Los Angeles to take on the Galaxy, the team they had defeated on penalty kicks to win MLS Cup 2009. Despite losing 2–1, Real became the first team to score on the Galaxy in the 2010 Season, as Los Angeles had shut out their first three opponents. RSL finished April with a 1–0 loss to the reigning Supporters' Shield winners, the Columbus Crew.
MLS: 0-3-1, 1 point, 4 goals for, 7 goals against

May

RSL began with a hard-fought 2–1 home victory over Toronto. They then hosted for the first time the new expansion team, Philadelphia, winning 3–0. The next week, they defeated Houston, who had beaten them at home in Houston in April, with a decisive 3–1 win. Going on the road to Los Angeles to face expansion partners Chivas USA, RSL found victory when Fabián Espíndola scored in the 89th minute for the game-winner in the 2–1 win. RSL finished the month with a close 4–1 win over Kansas City in Sandy. Both the five-game win streak and the 15-game home unbeaten streak held by RSL at the end of May are franchise-highs.
MLS: 5-0-0, 15 points, 14 goals for, 4 goals against

June

After a disappointing scoreless draw on the road against D.C. United, RSL returned home to hand Los Angeles their first loss of the season by a score of 1–0 on a controversial Javier Morales goal. After a two-week hiatus due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, RSL drew San Jose 0-0.
MLS: 1-0-2, 5 points, 1 goal for, 0 goals against

July

July saw Robbie Findley return from World Cup play for Nick Rimando's 100th MLS win – a 5–0 drubbing of New England. They took their aggressive playing style on the road, beating the Chicago Fire 1–0. Their 10-game unbeaten streak came to an end against FC Dallas at Dallas, followed by a disappointing home draw against Chivas USA. They were back in form against D.C. United, and came away with a 3–0 win.
MLS: 3-1-1, 10 points, 10 goals for, 3 goals against

August

RSL's good fortunes continued in August, as the team went undefeated in league play. The month opened with four games in twelve days – three league games and RSL's first CONCACAF Champions League game. After playing to a 1–1 draw with Kansas City at CommunityAmerica Ballpark, RSL paid its first visit to Philadelphia's new PPL Park, earning a point in a 1–1 draw with the Union. RSL headed back to Rio Tinto Stadium to face its 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals nemesis Columbus. RSL won the game 2–0 on a Morales brace. The team then geared up to begin Group A play in the 2010-11 CONCACAF Champions League. RSL defeated Panamanian champions Árabe Unido in Sandy by a score of 2–1 in a wild match that featured over eight minutes of second-half stoppage time. A week later, the team traveled to Estadio Azul to play Mexico's Cruz Azul. Though RSL led 3–2 after 87 minutes, a crazy finish left Real empty-handed, falling 5–4. The team finished the month with an MLS scoreless affair at BMO Field in Toronto, leaving the team in third place on the table at 40 points with eight league games remaining.
MLS: 1-0-3, 6 points, 4 goals for, 2 goals against; CCL: 1-1-0, 3 points, 6 goals for, 6 goals against

September

September was another spectacular run for RSL, culminating in qualifying for the MLS Playoffs and the CONCACAF Champion's League quarterfinals.

October

Squad

2010 roster

(captain)

Reserves

Transfers

See also: List of Major League Soccer transfers 2010.

In

DatePlayerPrevious ClubFeeRef
February 10, 2010 Unattached Free [1]
February 23, 2010 Trade [2]
March 14, 2010 Free [3]
March 18, 2010 Free [4]
September 9, 2010 Loan [5]

Out

DatePlayerDestination ClubFeeRef
July 6, 2009 Free [6]
November 26, 2009 Trade
January 14, 2010 Trade [7]
February 12, 2010 Retired Retired

Loan

DatePlayerTransferred toFeeRef
April 2, 2010 Loan [8] [9]
April 2, 2010 Loan
August 1, 2010 Loan

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Last updated on 17 November 2010.[10] |}

Formation

Starting XI vs. Colorado on Oct. 23:

Overall

Games played 40 (30 MLS, 6 CONCACAF Champions League, 2 MLS Playoffs, 2 U.S. Open Cup)
Games won 20 (15 MLS, 4 CONCACAF Champions League, 1 U.S. Open Cup)
Games drawn 13 (11 MLS, 1 CONCACAF Champions League, 1 MLS Playoffs) -Games lost 7 (4 MLS, 1 CONCACAF Champions League, 1 MLS Playoffs, 1 U.S. Open Cup)
Goals scored 66
Goals conceded 36
Goal difference +30
Clean sheets 15
Yellow cards 64
Red cards 1
Worst discipline Jámison Olave 10 0
Best result(s) W 5–0 (H) v New EnglandMajor League Soccer – 2 July 2010
Worst result(s) L 2–0 (A) v DallasMajor League Soccer – 17 July 2010
Most appearances Nat Borchers (37)
Top scorer Álvaro Saborío (18)
Points Overall: 56/90 (62.22%)

Notes and References

  1. News: D.C. United Signs Australian Striker . Washington Post . 18 January 2010 . 19 September 2010.
  2. News: Metro acquires Chris Albright for two draft picks . MetroFanatic.com . 14 January 2010 . 10 February 2010.
  3. News: Real Salt Lake signs striker Alvaro Saborio . Yahoo! Sports . 14 March 2010 . 14 March 2010.
  4. News: D.C. United signs Floribert N'Galula . D.C. United . 21 January 2010 . 24 February 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110615031140/http://www.dcunited.com/press-release/dc-united-signs-floribert-n%E2%80%99galula . 15 June 2011 .
  5. http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/rsl-get-d2-star-paulo-jr-loan-miami
  6. News: D.C. United resigns Emilio . Yahoo! Sports . 11 January 2010 . 4 February 2010 .
  7. News: D.C United Sends Fred to Philadelphia, Reacquires Goalie Troy Perkins . CSNWashington.com . 13 January 2010 . 10 February 2010 . https://archive.today/20120723043325/http://www.csnwashington.com/pages/landing/?blockID=116886&feedID=2996 . 2012-07-23 . dead .
  8. Web site: En realidad, es Real el acuerdo. PR Islanders FC. Puerto RIco Islanders FC. Spanish. 2010-04-01. 2010-04-02.
  9. Web site: El defensa David Horst a los Islanders. PR Islanders FC. Puerto RIco Islanders FC. Spanish. 2010-04-02. 2010-04-02.
  10. Web site: Real Salt Lake 2009 Major League Soccer. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20100331192859/http://www.mlssoccer.com/stats/club/rsl/overall. 2010-03-31.