History of Real Salt Lake
On July 14, Major League Soccer officially awarded its 12th franchise to the state of Utah and ownership group SCP Worldwide, headed by Dave Checketts.
The team played its first official match on April 2, slogging through a windy, rain-soaked[2] contest against New York MetroStars at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.
With 25,287 fans present at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Brian Dunseth scored a header in the 81st minute to deliver a 1–0 victory over the rival Colorado Rapids.
Real recovered enough to log back-to-back wins later in the year, but again met with disaster: the team lost 10 consecutive matches before managing a 2–2 draw on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes.
In June, Salt Lake hosted a World Cup qualifier match between Team USA and Costa Rica, drawing a boisterous crowd of 40,586 fans for the double-header at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
After much controversy and debate (see main article), the franchise finally secured a guarantee for a state-of-the-art, soccer-specific stadium to be built in Sandy – a suburb of Salt Lake City.
The team broke ground for the structure on the morning of August 12, with representatives from soccer giant Real Madrid present, including superstar David Beckham.
Among the provisions included in the deal were a biennial friendly match between the two teams in Salt Lake City; annual February training for the RSL squad at Real Madrid's practice facility in Spain, and the creation of a $25 million youth academy in Salt Lake City that would train up to 200 youth players ranging from ages 12 to 18.
Real Salt Lake boasted a formidable attack with Cunningham and Kreis up front, joined by recently signed Panamanian international Luis Tejada.
They were supported by veteran talent in the midfield and defense, such as Chris Klein, Carey Talley, and newly arrived goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
Mehdi Ballouchy returned after a solid rookie season in 2006, and RSL acquired highly touted Freddy Adu in an off-season trade with D.C. United.
In the first match of the season, RSL controlled throughout, but a fluke goal by Carlos Ruiz in the final minute of stoppage time salvaged a 2–2 draw for FC Dallas on Real's home turf.
Kyle Beckerman, Robbie Findley, and Yura Movsisyan came to Salt Lake via trades from other MLS teams, while Fabián Espíndola and Javier Morales were brought from their native Argentina to bolster the offensive attack.
Movsisyan scored on a rebound shot in the 90th minute to secure a 1–1 draw in Colorado, good enough to clinch the first-ever playoff spot in franchise history.
Led by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the Crew stood as the defending MLS champions, in addition to owning the best record in the league during the recent regular season.
They used their strong home field advantage to post a 1–0 victory in the first match, and fought valiantly in the second leg, overcoming a 2–0 deficit to stun the Crew (3-2) in Columbus.
As improbable as it seemed, RSL claimed the Eastern Conference championship and advanced to face the LA Galaxy in the final match for the MLS Cup.
Their roster included David Beckham – arguably the most famous athlete in the world at the time – along with American superstar Landon Donovan, and several other well-known MLS veterans.
After Rimando stopped a blast by Edson Buddle in the seventh round, Robbie Russell buried his try, giving Real Salt Lake a 5–4 victory in the shootout and thus claiming the 2009 MLS Cup championship.
RSL's title run remains one of the biggest upsets in American soccer, and stands as the only time in the history of major professional sports in the United States in which a team has claimed the league championship despite finishing the regular season with a losing record.
[12] Real Salt Lake was formally honored by President Barack Obama at a press conference in the White House on June 4, 2010.
On September 4, 2010, Real Salt Lake tied the MLS record set by the Columbus Crew the year prior (2008–2009) of 22 straight unbeaten games at home by beating the New York Red Bulls 1–0.
On March 15, 2011, Real Salt Lake beat Saprissa 2–0 in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Semifinals at Rio Tinto Stadium and then lost 2–1 in Costa Rica on April 5, 2011.
[17] On April 20, 2011, Real Salt Lake played their first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Final at Estadio Tecnológico against CF Monterrey.
RSL defeated Seattle Sounders (3–2) aggregate in their two-game series, advancing to Face the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Conference Finals.
Despite a five-game unbeaten start to the 2015 season, the team eventually began to struggle in the standings, coupled with a loss to Sporting Kansas City in the semi-finals of the 2015 Open Cup.
[27] Although late-season signings Luis Silva and Juan Manuel Martinez provided strong performances, the team did not qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
The 2016 season started with the Quarterfinals on the 2015–16 CONCACAF Champions League where they were eliminated by eventual runner up Tigres UANL of Liga MX by an aggregate score of 3–1.
The 2016 season saw Real Salt Lake return to the playoffs but they were once again eliminated by the LA Galaxy, this time by a 3–1 score line on the road in the Western Conference play in game.
It also houses the team's youth academy, which was moved from Casa Grande, Arizona, offering a single location and clear path for acquiring and developing young talent.
