The Real Salt Lake Season came to a resounding close on Sunday night in the 2nd Leg of the Western Conference Semi-Finals with a 5-0 loss to the LA Galaxy. I’ll be honest, I’m not surprised that LA beat RSL, because both teams on paper and on the pitch were so evenly matched. What shocked me was the way the match and the season ended for Real Salt Lake. I’ve been able to call just about every match in club history over the last 10 years. I’ve seen a ton of bad soccer, but much more outstanding soccer. Sunday night’s result at the Stub Hub Center was as bad an effort as I’d seen in at least 7 years. Oh sure, RSL has suffered some bad losses and played poorly, it’s the nature of sport, nobody brings it every single night. But considering what was on the line and how they’d played just 7 days before, the result was shocking. If you care to relive it, here you go.
So that brings us to this off season. A year ago we had the drama of Jason Kreis and his decision to stay or leave. Many believed that would be the moment that would define the franchise. I did not hold that opinion. As outstanding as Kreis was as a player and coach with the organization, the fact is that Coaches come and go in professional sports. The success of most all sports franchises comes from the infrastructure of the front office. Garth Lagerwey has been the driving force of the success for RSL. Now Lagerwey and RSL come to a crossroads.
Garth Lagerwey is by all accounts the best or at the very least on the short list of the best front office men in Major League Soccer. His fingerprints are all over the success of Real Salt Lake over the last seven seasons. Lagerwey has not shied away from the fact that he would like to be more than simply a General Manager. His ambitions go beyond being a GM, he wants to run an entire soccer organization. His contract with RSL is up at the end of the year and he is already a hot commodity in MLS circles. Real Salt Lake Ownership and Lagerwey must decide if they can co-exist and if there is enough room for upward movement for Lagerwey. If not, he’ll likely look elsewhere for his future in Major League Soccer. On a personal note, my hope is that Garth Lagerwey remains with the organization. He is as honest and straightforward a guy as I’ve ever dealt with in professional sports.
Understand this, nobody is irreplaceable in any walk of life. This includes me, you and Garth Lagerwey. With that being said, the replacing and finding someone as good as Lagerwey might be the biggest challenge that RSL has ever faced on or off the pitch.
