Herriman • Around this time last year, Real Salt Lake was gearing up for an offseason in which certain positions needed addressing. The organization responded in kind, bringing in striker Sam Johnson and midfielder Everton Luiz, and also picking up left back Donny Toia in the Re-Entry Draft.
And after a 2019 season that saw improvement in the standings from RSL but ended with exiting the playoffs in the same round as last year, some players are calling on the organization to add more depth to the roster. Midfielder and designated player Albert Rusnák, however, sent a stronger message Monday during exit interviews.
Rusnák said with some players being out of contract or going into an option year – as well as the ever-possible additions via transfers — he doesn’t expect the same roster to show up for camp in January. In order for RSL to go further in the playoffs next year, he said, the team needs new blood.
“Definitely means bringing a few players in a few positions — new ones, I think,” Rusnák said when asked how the team can become better next season. “But they have to be top quality players.”
RSL finished the regular season third in the Western Conference and beat the Portland Timbers in the first round before losing to the Seattle Sounders in the conference semifinals. It was the club’s best regular season in years, but the second consecutive season RSL lost in the semis.
Rusnák said the most important position of need might be at striker, the position Johnson was brought in to fill last offseason. He said the team “played around” with putting players in different positions in an effort to find answers for a No. 9 position that wasn’t occupied by a single person for the entire year.
Damir Kreilach played striker at times during the season, particularly when Johnson was out due to nagging injuries. He eventually took Johnson’s place in the starting lineup by the time the postseason rolled around.
Rusnák said Johnson never grabbed the striker position and made it his alone, adding that the reason for that could have been due to his injuries. But it’s clear that Rusnák thinks that position should be upgraded next season.
“I feel like if we could get a striker who’s going to get at least 15 goals a season, then that would be a big help,” Rusnák said.
Defender Aaron Herrera said it’s not brand new players that RSL needs — it’s just more depth. He and Toia are the only natural outside backs on the team, he said, alluding to the idea that those positions need more bodies.
All in all, Herrera is happy with the way the core of the team is constructed.
“The core should definitely remain intact,” Herrera said. “I love the team we have here right now and I think as long as we just keep working on what we were doing this year, we can obviously translate it to next year to be even better. … I think we were pretty successful in everything we did this year with the guys we had.”
Defender Justen Glad also believes the team needs more depth at outside back. He mentioned that Toia is the only natural left-footed player on the team, and if he gets hurt, Herrera has to slide to his less-preferred left side and Brooks Lennon has to defender rather than play on the wing.
“I think we have an excellent core,” Glad said. “But for sure we should make some moves. … I think there’s still some holes to be filled — a little bit of depth. But I think we have an excellent roster right now and a lot of very capable players. So hopefully our GM, whoever that may be, comes in and solidifies things up a little bit.”
But it’s unclear who will be making those decisions this offseason. Elliot Fall is RSL’s interim general manager after Craig Waibel and the club parted ways. The club said in late September that the search for a new GM would begin “immediately.”
RSL also has to figure out who will be its new head coach. Freddy Juarez took the job on an interim basis after Mike Petke was fired, and helped the team become one of the best defenses in Major League Soccer in the second half of the season. He also led RSL to a third-place finish in a tight Western Conference.
The Athletic reported recently that former RSL head coach Jason Kreis is set to be interviewed for both the head coaching and GM jobs.
Some in the organization voiced support last month for Juarez to win the permanent job. That continued Monday.
“I would absolutely love to see it,” defender Nedum Onuoha said of Juarez. “I hope he does get the job.”