Today’s RSL Updates
Sorry being a bit lazy today, so I am just going to publish the updates that Real Salt Lake Communications sent out today:
RSL and Williams cope as best they can(from SoccerAmerica)
by Ridge Mahoney, Wednesday, Feb 4, 2009 7:00 AM ET
[MLS] Real Salt Lake attained so much in 2008 - opening a new stadium, reaching the playoffs for the first time, reaching the Western Conference final - that the offseason should have been the time to savor those accomplishments and look forward to an even better 2009. Instead, the team and community rallied around Marcia Williams, wife of RSL attacker Andy Williams, in her fight against leukemia. She was diagnosed with the disease last May and this month will undergo aggressive chemotherapy, at the end of which she will need a bone-marrow transplant to have her best chance of survival. The search for a suitable match continues.
Bone-marrow drives are being staged in many cities around the country, MLS jerseys will be auctioned off to raise funds for mounting hospital bills, and Grammy-winning musician Shaggy included Marcia Williams among those needing a transplant in a video that urges donors to come forward.
“The bone marrow transplant is still the best option,” Andy Williams said. “But because of her situation being so rare — with her blood tissue being so rare — we haven’t found a bone marrow match yet.”
Yet Williams and his teammates and their coaches must tend to business, and with February comes the start of preseason. RSL has set up shop in Southern California, where it will train and play three scrimmages, starting Sunday against the Ventura County Fusion, the former PDL team of RSL’s first pick in last month’s SuperDraft, forward Jean Alexandre (No. 12 overall). Next week it plays Chinese team Shandong Luneng Taishan, which will be in Southern California for the Pan-Pacific Championship.
RSL’s California trip concludes on Valentine’s Day with a morning game against a local college team, either UC Santa Barbara or Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. That same day will begin daily auctions of 25 player-worn MLS jerseys in conjunction with Soccer Unites Utah , a grassroots charitable group, and the club’s official blog site, Behind the Shield.
Two jerseys will go up for bid each day, and the jerseys will be listed on e-Bay for seven days.
Deb Harper, founder of Soccer Unites Utah, says, “While this auction is taking place, Marcia will be undergoing aggressive chemotherapy, and the funds raised through this jersey auction will become available just in time for her to start the next step, the marrow transplant.
“The costs for the transplant procedure will be very costly, and we are just hoping that everyone can find it in their hearts to bid on these one of kind jerseys to help contribute to this life-saving procedure.”
Prospective donors can check for bone-marrow drives in their local areas at Web sites www.marrow.org or DKMSamericas.org, or on social sites such as Facebook. Suitable donors are placed into a national database registry needed for most cases, since only three of 10 patients find a suitable match among family and relatives. The Galaxy held a bone-marrow drive Tuesday.
As the struggle continues and time shortens, Williams and his teammates and the RSL organization must press on as best they can.
“She’s as serious about my job as I am,” Williams said. “It’s going be tough and I’m sure my teammates and the coaching staff will help me through it.”
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
RSL Pumping Argentine Pipeline (From Salt Lake Trib)
General manager Garth Lagerwey said there are good reasons RSL keeps turning to Argentine players such as striker Luis Miguel Escalada, who is among those joining the team during preseason training and could become the fifth player from his South American country to join the team in the past two years:
Connections, and money.
“It’s networking,” Lagerwey said last week. “And we have good contacts in Argentina. In some ways, it’s not any more complicated than that.”
The other element, of course, is money.
Team officials believe they can find quality players in South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil and Colombia whom they can afford better than similar players in Europe, where both the high-profile soccer culture and the relative strength of foreign currencies can make them more expensive for American teams like RSL.
“It’s like picking the supermarket you want to shop in, and then finding the value,” Lagerwey said.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 9:15 AM | 0 Comments
Monday, February 2, 2009
Five Prospects Join RSL Training (more from the Trib)
Looks like RSL finally is going to get a look at striker Luis Miguel Escalada, along with several others who are expected to join the team as it begins the first leg of its preseason training camp in California.
The team announced today five new players whom it said will “join us for training over the next couple of weeks,” including Escalada and two left-sided veterans in Rachid El-Khalifi and Jorginho Paulista. Goalkeeper Steve Clark and defender Kennedy Owusu-Ansah also are in the mix, but they are younger players who would best be classified as prospects.
While the 22-year-old Escalada has attracted a lot of attention since it became public that coach Jason Kreis had been scouting him in Ecuador, the others are less well-known.
The 29-year-old El-Khalifi can play either in the midfield or up top, and has played his entire nine-year pro career in his native Netherlands, most recently with SC Cambuur of the Dutch Second Division. The 28-year-old Paulista is more of midfielder or defender with an impressive resume that includes stints with Udinese in Italy, PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, Boca Juniors in Argentina and both Vasco da Gama and Sao Paulo in his native Brazil.
Team officials have been told that Paulista also has earned a cap with the Brazilian national team, but have not been able to confirm that.
None of the players has signed a contract with RSL, a team official said; rather, coaches are hoping to get a look at them in their own team environment. Any of them could wind up signing (or not) before the March 1 deadline for teams to comply with the Major League Soccer salary cap.
The team also was expected to meet defender Jamison Olave once it arrived in California today. Olave had been delayed in his native Colombia because of visa complications, and was not able to arrive in time for the team’s introductory preseason meetings last week and training in Utah over the weekend.
posted by www.sltrib.com @ 6:25 PM | 0 Comments
Utah Examiner / Examiner.com
Preseason training camp to have new faces for Real Salt Lake
February 3, 11:09 PM
by Brian Shaw, Utah Sports Examiner
Real Salt Lake arrived in California yesterday to kick off their 2009 preseason training camp in advance of their first actual scrimmage versus the Ventura County Fusion of the Premier Development League on Sunday and they’re giving some unknown players a shot at making the squad.
The first hopeful to make the team, and reported last week, is Luis Miguel Escalada, another Argentine striker in the mold of Fabian Espindola. The reason Escalada has RSL’s attention is that he scored 45 goals in 2006-07. (Escalada’s rights are currently owned by Liga De Quito, the club for whom Escalada scored 16 goals for in 2007.) Unfortunately, RSL fans have been this route before with Kenny “Dr. Goals” Deuchar, who came stateside with tons of promise, You Tube highlight reels and loads of goals to his credit, only to come up short in the MLS goal-scoring department before returning to Scotland with his tail between his legs.
Hopefully, that isn’t the case for Escalada, who may be replacing Espindola, himself now spending the winter training camp months with Deportivo Anzoategui of Venezuela and not with RSL. (Espindola’s current contract with Anzoategui runs out in early summer and RSL has not ruled out his return.) That rumored departure may open the door for Escalada, who recently has only netted two goals this year for the three teams Liga De Quito has loaned him to, and that’s not exactly mind-blowing.
Whether or not Kreis’ appearance at Escalada’s training session in Ecuador made any difference in the Argentine’s future at RSL remains to be seen, but it sure doesn’t hurt. And obviously RSL needs help up top and so Escalada may not only be another Argentine dynamo, but also a bargain, which would make RSL more content at taking a chance on a guy who hasn’t had a good 2008 season in terms of scoring. The other notable thing about Escalada is that RSL has first rights to him if he were to enter MLS.
Escalada is not the only player with thoughts of wearing the shield. Also with Real as they open training camp this week are two left-sided players — another hole RSL is hoping will be filled — in Dutchman Rachid El-Khalifi and Brazilian Jorginho Paulista. El-Khalifi, who is more of an attacking player, has spent his career in the Netherlands and for the past two seasons has played for SC Cambuur, where he’s scored five goals with the Eerste Divisie side.
But Paulista, a left-side defender, has an intriguing background — as most Brazilian stars do, though the 25-year-old is not to be confused with Juninho Paulista — and has played for 13 teams in his career, including stops at top clubs like PSV Eindhoven and Boca Juniors. Does that experience (along with stops at Udinese and Vasco da Gama) mean he’s out of RSL’s price range? Not necessarily.
He played in China before returning to his native Brazil for another shot at Vasco, but he is getting up there in terms of his age — although he’s still young by MLS standards at 28. The fact Paulista also plays left back probably doesn’t hurt his chances of being picked up by RSL either, in spite of his 5′9″ frame and only weighing in at about 160 pounds.
Although he was passed up by every MLS team during the SuperDraft, goalkeeper Steve Clark will get his shot with RSL as well. Clark came out of Oakland College in Michigan, where he was named the Summit League Men’s Athlete Of The Month in December and also spent three years with the Michigan Bucks of the PDL. Clark has a storied record in the PDL, having been named Final MVP in 2006 when his Bucks team were PDL champions. He’s also trained with Colorado and Columbus, but hasn’t stuck on a roster in MLS. Perhaps this year will be the turning point for Clark, but at the moment he’s in Norway and nobody knows exactly when he’ll be in camp.
The other player training with RSL in California is defender Kennedy Owusu-Ansah, currently on the Canadian Under-20 national team who would join Will Johnson as a fellow Canadian international on the team — if he makes it. There is a chance he will, since the 19-year-old has some international experience and is playing for the Hertha Berlin Under-23 side in the German Bundesliga.
Obviously the players to watch out for — since RSL will be keeping an eye on their pocketbooks as well as the future — are Clark and Owusu-Ansah, who are still in their youth and could well be solid in the years ahead. Going forward, neither trialist would appear to fill both gaping holes that Real Salt Lake currently have at striker and on the left, but the price may be right.
As for the other players, it would appear that the bargain of the other three trialists would be Jorginho Paulista, who is getting up there in age for the big clubs but seems just about right age-wise for MLS. Escalada will likely be more pricey than both Paulista and El-Khalifi because of his age and goal-scoring propensity.
In the next few weeks it will be interesting to see how things pan out between these three. I think RSL may pass on Escalada because of their continued interest in bringing back Espindola and go with Paulista and El-Khalifi instead. The other unknown but intriguing piece of information is that of a defensive midfielder expected to join the team in California this evening, Alexander Viveros of Colombia. His addition — also possessing a solid footballing background — could really make this training camp one to remember, when it seemed just weeks ago that this season might be one to forget.
RSL TRAINING CAMP PRESEASON SCHEDULE
Feb. 2-14: Preseason Trip #1 to Oxnard/Ventura, Calif.
Sun., Feb. 8 – RSL vs. Ventura County Fusion – 8:00 p.m. MT
Fri., Feb. 13 – RSL vs. Shandong Luneng Taishan (China) – 5:00 p.m. MT
Sat., Feb. 14 – RSL vs. UCSB or CSU-SLO – 11:00 a.m. MT
Feb. 15-17: Training in Utah (sites/times TBD)
Feb. 18-28: Preseason Trip #2 to Tampa, Fla.
Sat., Feb. 21 – RSL vs. opp. TBD @ Univ. of South Florida – 5:00 p.m. MT
Tues., Feb. 24 – RSL vs. opp. TBD @ Univ. of Tampa – 5:00 p.m. MT
March 1-3: Training in Utah (sites/times TBD)
March 4-15: Preseason Trip #3 to Charleston, So. Car. – Carolina Challenge Cup
Sat., March 7 – RSL vs. D.C. United – 3:00 p.m. MT
Wed., March 11 – RSL vs. Charleston – 5:15 p.m. MT
Sat., March 14 – RSL vs. Toronto FC – 3:00 p.m. MT
Saturday, March 21: Exhibition contest – Opponent/Site TBD
McCarthy’s Musings: Five Can’t Miss MLS Games (from Goal.com)
After digesting the 2009 MLS schedule for a couple of days, Goal.com’s Kyle McCarthy uses his Friday Five to share the games he has already circled on his calendar.
By Kyle McCarthy
Before the MLS schedule comes out, I set aside a list of games I wanted to find straight away. That’s the magic about a schedule: most of the opponents are known ahead of time, except in years like these where some teams play others three times instead of twice.
Like a frantic shopper on Black Friday, I scoured the schedule at the first possible opportunity to find the presents I needed. Once I found them and satisfied my curiosity, I went through the rest of the games and worked through the schedule analysis column I posted on Wednesday afternoon.
Rest assured this Friday Five could be a Friday Twenty-Five. Leaving out the always enjoyable New York – Los Angeles and Chivas USA – Los Angeles contests particularly pains me. But since I can only pick five, here are the chosen few that made the cut:
1. New York @ Seattle – March 19 (ESPN2)
Admit that you’re curious about how Seattle will enter MLS. The expectations are sky high and the buzz surrounding the team won’t stop. All the hysteria will manifest into one night less than two months from now. Lower your expectations about the game itself because it’s an early season tilt. Tune in for the atmosphere instead and see if the Sounders FC faithful live up to their potential.
2. New York @ Chicago – April 5 (Telefutura)
The relations between these two sides soured considerably after Juan Carlos Osorio bolted for New York prior to last season. The Toyota Park faithful won’t shower him with flowers this year either, not after the Red Bulls made a shocking run to MLS Cup while the Fire watched on television. The atmosphere, even on a Sunday afternoon, should rock. The teams’ contrasting styles – Chicago’s rugged defense against New York’s speedy front line, in particular – could amplify the viewing pleasure even further.
3. Toronto FC @ Houston – May 30
HDNet should renew its deal just to show Dwayne De Rosario’s return to Houston. With FSC rightly in Seattle for Crew-Sounders as Sigi Schmid faces Columbus for the first time since leaving Crew Stadium, De Rosario’s return ended up on regional TV. This match deserves better as DeRo returns to face his old mates. There isn’t a ton of bad blood here, but it should make for interesting viewing nonetheless.
4. Seattle @ Columbus – October 3
Listen, Mr. Mysterious MLS Schedule Making Computer Man. I have one small bone to pick with you. If most neutrals were to pick one game to watch this year, this would be it. And when do you share this much anticipated game with those fans? So far into the calendar that Schmid and his former employers won’t still simmer from the off-season contractual wrangling. What a waste of a potential glamor fixture. Otherwise, keep up the good work.
5. Colorado @ Real Salt Lake – October 24 (FSC)
These two teams just don’t like each other. It’s refreshing to see rivals show abject distaste for the other team’s colors. Add in a dash of increased stakes during the season’s final weekend and a heavy dose of Utahans screaming their lungs out and the result is can’t miss television to close out the season.
South Florida Caribbean News.com
MIAMI - On Saturday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Sunrise Holiday Inn – 3003 North University Drive, Sunrise the Real Salt Lake MLS soccer team, Soccer Unites and DKMS, the largest bone marrow donor center in the world will hold a life saving bone marrow donor drive in honor of Marcia Karyo-Williams, the beautiful mother, and wife of Jamaican National team and MLS Real Salt Lake player Andy Williams.
They will also hold the drive on Sunday, February 22, at Church of the Ascension located at 11201 SW 160th St. (South Miami) 9:30 a.m. to noon.
Marcia needs to find a matching donor to save her life and urges everyone to attend the event register and be tested.
Marcia shares her story, “My husband, Andy Williams, is a professional soccer player and is currently playing for the MLS team, Real Salt Lake. He also is a member of the Jamaican National Team. Andy travels a lot in his career, however, when he is home, we do EVERYTHING together as a family. I have come to realize that my girls, Shai, age 14, Lexi, age 5 and my husband, cannot imagine life without me - a reality that we may now have to face.
In May 2008, I found out that my blood counts were very low. On July 3, 2008, we received the terrible news that it was leukemia. My world stopped, I wanted so very badly for it not to be true. I have since learned that my only chance to survive is a bone marrow transplant.
With all the love, help and support we have received, I am still desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant. I am relying on a stranger to save my life. I am asking you, PLEASE, please think about the lives you could save, my life, among many others, moms, dads, babies can be saved if you sign up and become a marrow donor.
“I know the donor who is a match for me is out there, but if you are not tested, I will never find you,” said Marcia. “My children and husband need me in their lives, and I need them”.
Marcia’s daughter, Shai, says this about her mom, “I’m always thinking ‘Will my mom be okay?’ I just hope and pray for the best every single day. My mom needs to be here. For my graduation, for my wedding, for my kids?”
Currently, 10,000 blood cancer patients need a bone marrow transplant, but only 3,000 will receive one.
Marcia’s dear friend, Deb Harper, whom she calls her “angel on earth”, has founded a wonderful organization in her honor where you can learn more about her story at www.soccerunitesutah.com.
Registering to become a bone marrow donor is quick and easy. It consists of completing a registration form and swabbing your cheeks. Understand your commitment, find out if you are eligible to register as a potential life-saving bone marrow donor and learn about the donation process.
As a non-profit organization, DKMS relies on the generosity of individuals to help finance the $65 cost DKMS pays to tissue type each bone marrow donor who registers. Donations are voluntary. Donate today! Every dollar counts! 100% of your donation will be used to register donors and add them on the National Registry.
Ventura County (CA) Star
MLS teams arrive in county to train
Ventura County Star – February 3, 2009
Ventura County soccer fans can prepare for a treat this week as two teams from Major League Soccer set up preseason training camp at Oxnard College on Monday.
Real Salt Lake, which saw its Cinderella 2008 season end in the Western Conference finals, and the enthusiastic expansion franchise Seattle Sounders set up camp Monday on the Rose Avenue campus.
Both teams will train in Oxnard until Feb. 14.
Four-time Swedish champion GAIS of Gotheberg will arrive Friday and also train until Valentine’s Day.
Chinese Super League champions Shandong Luneng Taishan is also expected to arrive this week.
All four teams will play friendlies this month against the Ventura County Fusion, which defeated the Columbus Crew last February, 1-0, on a goal by Oxnard College striker Sergio Garcia.
The Crew went on to the raise the MLS Cup.
”The preparation that they had in Ventura (County) helped them go on and win the league,” said Fusion general manager Ranbir Shergill.
The Fusion plays Real Salt Lake on Sunday at 5 p.m. and the Sounders on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. at Buena High.
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