Real Salt Lake to play host to U.A.N.L. Tigres
August 11, 2008 by f4denz.
SALT LAKE CITY (Monday, August 11, 2008) – Real Salt Lake today announced that the Major League Soccer side will play host to Mexican Primera División squad Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (U.A.N.L) – also known as Tigres – in an international exhibition on Wednesday, Sept. 3. Kick-off for what will serve as RSL’s final exhibition contest during its tenure at Rice-Eccles Stadium is slated for 8:00 p.m. MT.
Tickets for the RSL-Tigres contest go on sale to the general public beginning Tuesday, August 12, at 12:00 p.m. MT at all UTIX outlets, by phone at (801) 581-UTIX, and online at www.utahtickets.com. Tickets for the contest are $30 (Corner/Goal), $45 (Premium) and $60 (VIP), with a $5 discount in each seating area applicable to each ticket bought as part of a group of 20 or more. RSL Royal Club members should use “Bonus Ticket A” from their season ticket package and will have an exclusive window to purchase additional seats for the contest lasting through the Tuesday noon public on-sale time.
U.A.N.L. will arrive in Utah in the middle of their 2008 Apertura (opening) campaign, the Monterrey-area based side currently sitting in second place in the Group 3 standings with an undefeated 2-0-1 record after tying Pachuca 0-0 in their opener and collecting wins at Chiapas (3-1) and, most recently, at home against Atlas (3-0) this past weekend. This year’s Tigres squad includes several ties to the Mexican National Team – including manager and former El Tri boss Manuel Lapuente, midfielder Lucas Ayala, striker Francisco Fonseca, defender Diego Martinez, and former first-choice goalkeeper Oscar Perez – in addition to Tigres stalwart midfielder Javier Saavedra and standout Panamanian forward Blas Diaz.
Founded in 1960, U.A.N.L. has grown to become one of Mexico’s most followed sides, proven by the by the fact that the team has led the Mexican First Division in attendance in each of the last 10 seasons, with more than 40,000 fans on average packing the Estadio Universitario in San Nicolas de los Garza, located in metropolitan Monterrey. Tigres has garnered a pair of Mexican Primera División (1977-78, 1981-82) and Mexican Cup (1975-76, 1995-96) championships in its close to 50-year history, and, in more recent years, collected titles in the InterLiga competiton in 2005 and 2006 that earned the squad entry into the prestigious Copa Libertadores tournament, Latin America’s premier club competition.
Tigres will be the third Mexican top flight side to square off against Real Salt Lake in exhibition play, with RSL previously taking on Monarcas Morelia in July of 2006 and, more recently, Club Santos Laguna on July 9. The match against U.A.N.L. will mark Real Salt Lake’s third international exhibition date in 2008, as RSL fell to Santos and Costa Rican power Deportivo Saprissa during friendlies contested in July. Those results brought Real Salt Lake’s all-time record against international competition to an even 4-4-2 across its first four seasons of play.
Related Links and thoughts
Tigres Wikipedia page
Recap from july 9th matchup between Tigres and Crapids
Well it is really nice that RSL is going to play a match on my birthday, but another Mexican side means another away game for RSL at RES. I would have rather had RSL let us use our “A” ticket for the Rugby match at the new stadium on Nov. 8th. This is simply another match that I really won’t care about, I understand that since the EPL season kicks off this weekend that getting a team from Europe was an issue for scheduling as well as for exchange rates, but subjecting fans to another RSL reserve match vs. a team from Mexico is just wrong. The ticket prices for this match are way too high and a clear attempt to extort money from the fans of Tigres to watch their team beat up on a mix of a couple starters and a bunch of our reserves. We should have taken the money we spent on this match and put it towards either a new player this year, or towards getting Javi’s or Olave’s loan situations taken care of. Heck I would rather we have spent the money on getting Clint signed to a contract.
OFF MY SOAPBOX
Clint Mathis to sign with Real Salt Lake?
August 11, 2008 by f4denz.
Well the rumor mill started a couple weeks ago when Clint spent some time practicing with RSL, even playing significant minutes in a reserve match against BYU, in which reports are that he looked very good in the skills area, but his fitness was questionable. Everyone debated if he was soon to sign a deal with RSL, or if he would fit in with the “new” RSL under the leadership of Garth and Jason, and many didn’t and don’t believe he would. I think too many people forget how much of a pitbull Clint is on the pitch, and forget that he still is a very talented player. People should not forget that in 2007 his play with the Red Bulls was a highlight of the team surpassed only by Juan Pablo Angel and Jozy Altidore, he scored 6 goals in 26 matches. His MLS career stats are not bad either 210 games played, 171 games started, 59 goals and 45 assists, and people should remember he played on a RSL squad that truly lacked talent (2005 RSL stats).
Why do I think Clint Mathis would be a good addition at this point for RSL, toughness, guts, and his never say die attitude. All things that Jason not only looks for but demands out of the current team, and if anyone can work to get Cletus, back into Clint Mathis shape it would be Jason who demands a very high fitness level from all players. Would Clint be a starter on our new roster, probably not in the midfield, but he would be a good option off the bench when we need a creative boost or offensive boost. I could see Clint getting a couple starts up top in conjunction with one of our other forwards, his talent with the ball would match up well with Findley or Espindola, and force defenses to account for him on the pitch.
Oh, wait I forgot to provide the info that starts this rumor, now I know that Goff has gotten a few RSL rumors wrong in the past, and well he may be wrong this time as well (Mathis to MLS?)
I think if picking up Clint is in addition to the “big move” for an offensive player, then it would be something that could help RSL out over the next couple months and he is a MLS veteran who would help settle a very young RSL squad moving into the playoffs. I know Clint would have to be happy about only two more matches on the turf of RES, and bet he would fare well on the lovely grass out at the “unnamed” RSL stadium in Sandy.
OFF MY SOAPBOX