Intro to the many new faces, and a stadium update
Intro to the 2008 dozen
So as part of getting a “Yellow Card” (the newsletter of the RCB), ready for the match this weekend I have put together the following very brief intros to the 12 new players on the roster of RSL:
So we have just a few new faces on the RSL roster as the 2008 campaign kicks off, OK it is not a few there are 12 names new to the opening day roster.
Tony Beltran 20 yr old defender/midfielder, He was our first round draft pick in 08 taken #3 overall. He was a member of the USA U-20 2007 World Cup team, and at UCLA he started all 21 matches in 2007. Most impressive stat, he played all but 4 minutes for UCLA in 2007.
Nat Borchers 26 yr old defender, Nat comes to RSL from Odd Greenland of the Norwegian league. Prior to that Nat spent 3 seasons playing for the Crapids, scoring 3 goals in 87 matches, and has one cap with the US national team.
Matias Cordoba 23 yr old midfielder, Matias is another addition to the RSL roster from Argentina. He played for both Argentinos Juniors and Tigre of the Primera Division of Argentina and had 5 goals in 38 appearances for the two clubs.
Kenny Deuchar 27 yr old striker from Scotland, he has scored over 100 goals in the 207 professional matches he has played in. In his last match in the Scottish First Division, he scored two goals against the mighty Ranger side as his Gretna lost 4-2. A most interesting fact is that Kenny is a medical doctor, which may have a lot to do with his willingness to play in MLS, and earned him the nickname of Dr. Goal
David Horst 22 yr old defender, David was RSL’s 2nd first round pick in the 08 MLS Super Draft. At 6′4 and 215 lbs he will be a sizable force in the back four, he had 85 starts in his four years at Old Dominion University.
Ian Joy 26 yr old defender, Ian comes to RSL from playing the past 4 years in Germany. FC St. Paulie, was his most recent club and he played in 21 matches for them in the last two seasons.
Dema Kovalenko 30 yr old midfielder, RSL picked up Dema in a trade with the Red Bulls for a 2010 conditional draft pick. Dema is from the Ukraine, and is known as a hard worker and a force in the midfield. In his MLS career he has 36 goals and 36 assists in 198 matches.
Alex Nimo 18 yr old midfielder/forward, he comes to RSL from the US U-17 residency program and he played in the 2007 U-17 World Cup for the US team. Born in Liberia, Alex is now a US citizen.
Tino Nunez 23 yr old forward, from UC Santa Barbara, Tino helped his team to the 3rd round of the 2007 NCAA Soccer tournament.
Jamison Olave 26 yr old defender, from Columbia continues RSL’s addition of South American talent to their roster. He is on a one year loan from Deportivo Cali, at 6′1″ he will add some size to the backline of RSL.
Kevin Reiman 22 yr old midfielder, Kevin was selected by RSL in the supplemental draft. Kevin most recently played for the Michigan State Spartans, and scored good grades at the 2008 Infosport Soccer combine.
Brennan Tennelle 21 yr old midfielder, Brennan is another product of US Santa Barbara giving RSL 3 Gauchos on their roster.
Well that is a quick introduction to the new faces of RSL, I have to say it looks like we have upgraded our talent in a number of spots. Dr. Goal should be a great partner for either Findley or Movsisyan and lead RSL to more than the 31 goals scored last season. The big shoes of Eddie Pope, will have a number of big guys trying to fill them, but Olave, Joy, and Borchers should be up to the task of helping Nick Rimando face fewer than 191 shots in 2008. I can understand why Fox Soccer Channel, picked RSL as one of the teams to surprise in 2008.
Stadium Update
So after the coaches corner radio show, the kick off of the 2008 season edition. RSL staff offered up tours of the stadium, which is looking good, the tour was a great thing for the FO to offer and was very enjoyable. The highlight was getting to see the section in the SE corner of the stadium, which will be the home of the supporter section. I believe the rumors of this section being right by the stadium bar may be just that a rumor. But the section being designated is a very large section
So this is the section that can hold 800 people, which I question, it seems a bit small for that. It sure will be a nice view of the matches, I could not find a bad view anywhere in the stadium. I plan on taking another tour once they begin actually putting the seats in.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
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