SANDY — It could have been Hillel the Elder, in 70 B.C., though Robert F. Kennedy, George Romney, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama are said to have taken a crack at it, too.

Not to mention every motivational speaker in history.

“If not me, who?” the saying goes. “If not now, when?”

Now would have been good for Real Salt Lake.

The Claret and Cobalt’s chances to make the playoffs took a possibly fatal hit Saturday night at Rio Tinto Stadium in a 1-0 loss to Portland.

Plan on RSL spending the holidays at the movies.

Former Real defender Nat Borchers headed in a goal in stoppage, putting one more nail in the tires. Real has gone 2-5-2 in its last nine MLS games. The chances to score any kind of trophy case bling are quickly dwindling. With just nine matches left in the MLS season, Real would need to go on a torrid streak just to grab the last playoff spot.

If not this year, when?

If not Real, who?

Six other teams, probably.

The combination of international duties, injuries, inexperience in places and on-field inattention have welled up. For a team that hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2007, it isn’t going down easily.

Even ever-affable coach Jeff Cassar is having a hard time staying cool. He drew an ejection in Vancouver, last week, forcing him to watch Saturday’s match from distance.

Meanwhile, RSL has eight ejections this season, a club record.

So the Utahns aren’t taking this happily.

Saturday marked a major chance for RSL to squeeze its way closer to the playoff picture. With back-to-back games against the Timbers and Seattle — call it the Tree Hugger Series — the late-season surge needed to begin immediately. Earlier in the day, San Jose — battling Salt Lake for relevance — beat Colorado.

No wonder Real unveiled its new line of “Believe” tees and scarves for the match. The gear goes along with the RSL anthem by the same name.

If you believe then stand upon your feet …

And if you don’t, you have plenty of company.

To be fair, turnover ruled the offseason, as general manger Garth Lagerwey and players Robbie Findley, Ned Grabavoy, Nat Borchers and Chris Wingert departed. RSL traded all-time leading scorer Alvaro Saborio this summer. The club was hoping to rebound with young talent, but that hasn’t materialized. Real has the second-worst goal differential in the league.

That’s partially due to unpredictable play in the back line. Injuries to key players such as Jamison Olave and Chris Schuler have taken a toll. Schuler was out on Saturday, having played in only five games this season. Olave’s appearance was just his second in the last 12 games. Forward Joao Plata was a scratch for the second straight game, due to a bad hamstring.

Real expects this week to add Argentine striker Juan Manuel Martinez, aka “El Burrito,” who was named Argentina’s co-player of the year in 2010, along with the legendary Lionel Messi.

That should improve the menu, so to speak, though it’s likely too late to make much difference.

RSL’s match on Saturday came after three weeks of nonstop airtime. During that period Real played four matches, across three competitions, in four time zones, in three countries, covering 11,000 miles.

The crew of a space shuttle should be so well-traveled.

Real hoped returning to Rio Tinto was a good omen. The team seemed early to be playing for keeps. Luis Silva had a straight shot from the top of the box in the eighth minute but it sailed far over the bar. Luke Mulholland set up Olmes Garcia a few feet in front of the goal, but his twisting volley also shot over the bar.

In the 31st minute, a diving save diverted Luke Mulholland’s blistering volley.

The second half, though, showed few moments of inspiration, other than some Nick Rimando saves.

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With nine MLS matches remaining, there is no breathing room. Only four of those games are at home.

“Believe” didn’t do it on this night.

It only left Real wondering still about the whos and whens of a season on the way out.

Email: rock@desnews.com; Twitter: @therockmonster; Blog: Rockmonster Unplugged

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