Providing fans a peak into the minds of its players is the objective of Real Salt Lake's advertising campaign this year.
Whether it's listening to team captain Jason Kreis talk about leaving it all on the field or Freddy Adu giddily chatting about the joy of taking defenders one on one, fans are getting a unique glimpse of their favorite players this year.
In reality, the sentiments of owner Dave Checkett, the entire Real coaching staff and its 28 players can be summed up in one phrase: "playoffs of bust"
Perhaps players and fans alike should etch the slogan in deodorant on their car windows to serve as extra motivation with opening day less than a week away.
"I think anything less than a playoff spot is unacceptable," said Real striker Jeff Cunningham.
In a 13-team league, claiming one of eight playoff spots shouldn't be a daunting task for a quality soccer team, and after two years of well-publicized struggles, RSL believes 2007 is the year it ends that two-year playoff drought. Its season kicks off this Saturday at Rice-Eccles Stadium against FC Dallas.
Throughout its brief two-year history, RSL has endured some massive roster overhauls.
First it built a 28-man roster from scratch prior to the 2005 season. A year later half of those players were no longer around for the 2006 season. Now, as the team prepares for 2007, only 16 of last year's 28 players are back.
For coach John Ellinger, it's been all about identifying a core group of players and adding some depth. The process is never done, but he believes the club has finally reached a stage of its existence where it's close to leveling the playing field with the rest of MLS.
"This year I do feel we have a roster that is pretty talented and pretty deep," said Ellinger. "It's taken a while to get to this point, and next year it's going to be tougher to make this team."
The laborious process started in 2005 with the acquisition of players like Jason Kreis, Eddie Pope and Andy Williams.
The most important moments in the building process, however, without a doubt occurred last offseason. Through a variety of trades, including two during the season — not to mention nabbing emerging star Mehdi Ballouchy in the MLS SuperDraft — the club put together a very solid group.
Chris Klein, Jeff Cunningham and Carey Talley were products of those numerous offseason trades. By then acquiring Costa Rican defender Daniel Torres, who had been out of MLS for several years, in addition to pulling off one of the steals of the draft by selecting Willis Forko in the second round of the supplemental draft, Real clearly had talent to compete in 2006.
Despite that personnel, the combination of so many new faces and a three-week stretch prior to the season that drained the players mentally, RSL started the 2006 season 0-5-1 and ultimately missed the playoffs by two points.
Once it figured things out, Real was pretty good. Its record was 3-9-4 at the midway point of the season but 7-4-5 during the second half of the season.
"We played well the second half of the season, and I'm sure we can build on that," said Cunningham.
Not willing to just assume that would happen, RSL made a splash this past offseason by signing teen phenom Freddy Adu, not to mention signing goalkeeper Nick Rimando after Scott Garlick's sudden retirement. The front office further strengthened the teams depth via the draft, a trade and through other channels as well.
"It's been good for me to see we keep moving forward and in the right direction," said Kreis, Real's first player. "We've had a lot of turnover, but the group keeps getting better and better. The team is playing more and more together. The coaching staff is getting more and more of an idea of what it takes, so I think all those things being said, we know what the next step is."
That step is clearly securing a playoff berth, and thanks to a methodical three-year building process wrought with trial and error, the foundation appears to be firmly in place for a successful 2007.
E-mail: jedward@desnews.com